The Enhancing Sport Organization and Management (ESOM) project was concluded on 31st of August with the last partners project meeting held at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb, hosted by the Croatian Academic Sports Federation (CASF).

The main aim of the project is to strengthen management and event organisation in university sport. This will be done through blended learning, sharing experiences, gaining new information and skills on the key topics of sports management, funding, communication and other key topics.

The project was ongoing for two years, primarily and directly addresing EU priorities on supporting Good Governance in Sport through promoting the quality of coaching and staff, and also indirectly promoting Sport and Education, supporting the dual careers of athletes.

The last conclusive project meeting of the partners, served as an occasion to go through the general overview and the activities implemented during the project, as well as to share the action plan of the next activities foreseen, before the technical and official closure of the project.

Mr Andrej Pisl, EUSA Projects and Policy Manager, presented the general overview, and reminded the present partners of all the tasks and deliverables that were successfully done throughout the past 2 years of duration of the project.

He, as well, gave a detailed presentation of the next action steps that each partner needs to complete before the official closure of the project, including reports, evaluations, factsheets, collection of good practices and other actions related to dissemination of the project impact.

At the final ESOM project meeting, Ms Hristina Hristova EUSA Communications Officer, presented the main points and results of the survey done as one of the foreseen activities of the project – European University Sports at a Glance.

The goal of this survey was to compile the reality of University Sports in the European countries. In the survey, 24 National University Sports Associations (NUSA) from Europe participated and helped to better understand the student participation and shed light on gender distribution, to identify the range of sports organized across Europe and understand the funding mechanisms used. The data refers to the year (or sport season) of 2023.

Before continuing with the next project steps, Mr Ivan Kaselj, from the Croatian Academic Sports Federation gave a short visual overview of the past days of FISU World Forum programme, highlighting the educational and cultural activities.

Next on the agenda of the project meeting, Mr Andrej Pisl presented the financial overview, as well as the reporting in terms of promotion and dissemination. A discussion regarding the promotion, dissemination and communication part of the project was held, arranging planned further steps and strategies to complete this part of the finalization of the project.

Details regarding the dissemination reporting, were as well explained during the meeting.

The last ESOM project partners meeting was then concluded with a group photo and a round of captured lessons learned among the representatives of the partner organizations present.

The ESOM project, it activities and results were presented by Ms Hristina Hristova, during the Officials Seminar, part of the FISU World Forum, which was held from 27-31 od August in Zagreb. The presentation was done on the second day of FISU World Forum's programme, along with the presentations of the Education and Development Committee of FISU. 

The results of the survey presented the main points and results of the reasearch survey done  as part of the Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management project (ESOM). The name of the survey is European University Sports at a Glance. The survez includes data regarding Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering gender equality, inclusivity, and accessibility in university sports. 

The primary objective of this survey was to gather detailed insights into the multifaceted reality of university sports, encompassing student participation,
gender di-stribution, the roles of individuals involved, the variety of sports organized, and the funding mechanisms supporting these activities. By analyzing
this data, we aim to empower stakeholders with the knowledge necessary to make informed, data-dri-ven decisions that will enhance the quality and accessibility of university sports for all students. Understanding student participation is crucial as it reflects the level of engagement and interest in sports within our national university sports associations. This survey sheds light on participation rates, helping us identify areas where we can encoura- ge more students to get involved, promoting physical well-being and a balanced lifestyle. Moreover, gender distribution data enables us to ensure that our sports programs are inclusive and equitable, providing equal opportunities for all students, regardless of gender.

ESOM is led by the EUSA Institute (SLO), with national university sports associations: Croatian Academic Sports Federation (CRO), Hungarian University Sports Federation (HUN), Students Sports Association of Montenegro (MNE), Student Sports Association the Netherlands (NED), University Sports Association of Poland (POL), Sports Students' Union of Ukraine (UKR) and the University of Ljubljana (SLO). The project is co-financed by the European Union.

For more information about the ESOM project, please see https://esom.eusa.eu.