On 24 August 2017, the European Commission adopted its annual work programme for the implementation of Erasmus+. The document provides detailed information on the objectives, eligibility and award criteria of the different kinds of projects that can be financed under Erasmus+. The annual work programme for Erasmus+ is covering all actions, including the sport chapter. Regarding the actions related to sport; the Commission dedicates 46.5 Mio. € for the different activities in this chapter.
Regarding the three types of projects funded under the annual call (to be published in October 2017) 37.4 Mio. € are foreseen:
- The small collaborative partnerships (bringing together minimum three organisations for a maximum fund of 60,000 €) will be funded with 6.5 Mio. €, with the Commission aiming to fund 110 different projects. The funded aim remain unchanged from the previous years (social inclusion and equal opportunities; European traditional sports and games; mobility of volunteers, coaches, referees, managers and staff; Protect athletes from health and safety hazards by improving training and competition conditions).
- The bigger collaborative partnerships (minimum five partners with maximum funds of 400.000 €) receive a budget of 26.4 Mio € to support 93 projects. The same priorities as 2017were kept, but the budget for projects aiming at combating violence, racism, discrimination and intolerance in sport, projects aiming at encouraging social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport will now make up 30 %, with the part for integrity of sport such as antidoping, fight against match-fixing and good governance in sport reduced to 20 %.
- Finally, the Commission plans to fund fourteen Not-for-profit Sport Events for an overall budget of 4.5 Mio. €. Four of these events are planned to be in relation to the European Week of Sport (EWoS), while at least one each should focus on the external dimension of sport/sport diplomacy and on the role of grassroots sport respectively.
Regarding the European Week of Sport, the programme foresees a slightly increased grant for National Coordinating Bodies (NCBs) to around 136.000 € per country.
Following from the adoption of the Council Work Plan for Sport 2017-2020 in May, the budget furthermore includes a funding line for cooperation between Member States, which will support the newly introduced “Groups of Interested Member States” (minimum seven MSs) with overall 100.000 €.
Similar to previous years, the programme also foresees specific cooperation agreements with international organisations “with highly recognised expertise that will strengthen the impact of sport initiatives at European level”:
- Next year, the Commission will again support initiatives of the Council of Europe in the field of Gender equality as well as the fight against violence in sport with 400.000 €;
- The EU will also work together with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to “strengthen the integrity in sport in the EU by enhancing abilities of relevant criminal justice agencies and stakeholders to investigate match-fixing and develop strategies to prevent corruption in major sporting events.” (100.000 €);
- Another new partnership is the Cooperation with the national football information points (NFIP network), with the project aiming to “contribute to efforts to minimise safety and security risks in connection with the UEFA 2020 European Football Championships.
After its first edition in 2017, the Commission will also continue the European Award for social inclusion in sport. The 2017 award, which awards 10.000 € to three organisations, will take place on 22 November 2017 in Brussels. Selection for the award is done in two stages: a pre-selection of maximum 30 best applications, and then a final selection of the three best projects by a jury composed of expert members.
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