European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) organised a hybrid info day on Erasmus+ Sport and other EU funding opportunities on January 30, 2024.

Opening session was moderated by EACEA Acting Director, with welcome words and opening address given by the new European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Iliana Ivanova, and representative of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council Pierre-Yves Jeholet.

Several sessions were held in a plenary form; starting with the introduction to the Erasmus+ Sport Programme. Chaired by Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA, Gael Broze and Luciano Di Fonzo from Erasmus+ Sport Sector at EACEA gave introduction about the programme, while Pawel Jesien from Polish Athletic Association and Hebe Schaillee from Free University of Brussels shared their practical experiences from existing projects and activities, co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ sport actions in the field of sport.

The second parallel session focused on the Erasmus+ Sport Policy priorities, chaired by Florencia Van Houdt, Head of Sport Unit at DG EAC of the European Commission. Milena de Murga from the Union of Sport Federations of Catalunya, Carlotta Giussani from the European Olympic Committee EU Office, Vassos Koutsidoundas from Cyprus Sports Organisation and Anna Merlini from the Italian Canoe Kajak Federation shared their views, experiences and impacts on the EU policy priorities related to sport and its implementation in their organisations.

In the afternoon, three parallel sessions were held. The first one was on how to apply for Erasmus+ KA2 sport actions, primarily aimed at new applicants, explaining how to find the call on the Funding Portal, how to register an organisation and how to submit an application. The second was on how to present project proposal, presenting the application templates, the lump sum funding mechanism and the selection process. The third session was on how to present a Capacity Building proposal, targeting those interested in applying to the Capacity Building call.

The last plenary session was on other EU funding opportunities related to sport. Co-Chaired by Luciano Di Fonzo, Deputy Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA and Olivier Smith, Deputy Head of Unit Sport Policy at DG EAC of the European Commission, the Share 2.0 initiative was presented. Violeta Birzniece from the Sport Unit at DG EAC of the European Commission introduced the Erasmus+ KA1 mobility of sport staff, while Izabela Pelczynska, from the Erasmus+ Sport Sector at EACEA presented Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions in the field of sport.

In the conclusions, Member of the European Parliament Iban Garcia del Blanco and new Director General of DG EAC of the European Commission Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen shared their gratitude about the positive trends in growing budget, as well as increasing numbers of interested organisations and projects implemented, contributing to the implementation of horizontal and sport-specific EU policies in practice.

Final act of the event was attribution of a special recognition to Yves Le Lostecque, current Head of Erasmus+ Mundus & Sport Unit at EACEA and former Head of Sport Unit at DG EAC of the European Commission, at the occasion of his retirement. His dedication to sport on EU level was crucial to the development and support of the Erasmus+ Sport programme and several key initiatives related to sport on EU level. Mr Le Lostecque also received EUSA Order of Merit in 2019 for his personal dedication and engagement in development and support of university sport in Europe.

Over 500 participants attended the event in Brussels in person, including the representatives of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) and the EUSA Institute Secretary General Matjaz Pecovnik, with Projects and Policy Manager Andrej Pisl. 

The event has also been streamed online. For recordings of main sessions and presentations, please see https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/news-events/events/info-session-erasmus-sport-2024-2024-01-30_en. For more information about Erasmus+ funding opportunities, please see the latest version of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide, available in 24 languages, at https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-programme-guide.