Sports promotion in children and adolescents: Analysis of good practice interventions in 7 European countries

Background: There are many interesting sports promotion interventions in European countries. Which ones are effective and can serve as good practice examples among children and adolescents? This study has examined sports promotion interventions in seven European countries.

Program Delivery: To identify effective sport promotion interventions, we conducted desk research and interviews with country representatives in these selected European countries: Austria, Germany, England, Finland, France, The Netherlands, and Norway.

Evaluation: In total, we identified 73 sport-promoting policies, action plans or programmes in the seven countries. As part of the detailed analysis of the most promising interventions, we examined the national strategy “On the move” of Finland. This superordinate intervention stands out for its clear objectives and comprehensive implementation. Additionally, we identified several interventions for which we consider a high added value in terms of sports promotion and a feasible implementation in Switzerland or other countries. These are “The Daily Mile” (15 minutes run or walk every day at school), “Girls Active” from England (enhancing of sport and physical activity in girls in the school setting), “Doorstep Sportclub” from England and “Community Sport Coaches” from the Netherlands (both address in particular children and adolescents with a migration background or low socio-economic status and are offered through the municipality and the associations).

Conclusions: This study provides an overview of effective sports promotion interventions for children and adolescents across seven European countries.

Practical implications: Interventions that include comprehensive measures such as a national strategy or low-threshold programmes in schools or communities targeting vulnerable groups such as girls, educationally disadvantaged families, children and youth with a migration background or low socio-economic status are particularly interesting from a Swiss perspective and certainly also for other European countries.

Funding: This study was commissioned and funded by the Federal Office of Sport, Switzerland.