Mgarr Nursery teamUP for sports thanks to Erasmus+ Sport Programme

23 Jan Mgarr Nursery teamUP for sports thanks to Erasmus+ Sport Programme

Mgarr Youth Nursery are proud to announce that the application under the Erasmus+ Sport Programme (Small Collaborative Partnerships) has been selected for EU co-funding by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

The project, Team Up for Sport – TU4S, will have a duration of 12 months commencing January 2019, and will be led by Mgarr Youth Nursery (Malta) having as associated partners NK Maribor Tabor (Slovenia) and KS Legionovia (Poland).

Given the transnational nature of the issue of gender inequality within football, the partnering organisations will implement a project aimed at addressing an issue which is present and prevalent within each partnering organisation and corresponding member state. As such, all three partnering
organisations will seek to contribute to the Erasmus+ Sport priority of encouraging social inclusion and equal opportunities through sport’ through this project with the aim of achieving the following:

1. To contribute to the increase of female athletes in football at grassroots level.
2. To contribute to the increase of women football teams at grassroots level.
3. To contribute to the increase of female uptake of volunteering/careers in relation to Sport.

Correspondingly, the above aims will be achieved through the following objectives:

• Organisation of a 10-month online Awareness Raising campaign to encourage female participation in football, through the promotion of women’s achievement in football, career opportunities in sport, as well as through the promotion of upcoming project events.
• Organisation of three 3-day Transnational Collaborations discussing female participation in football, female progression in football, and discrimination, sexism and stereotypes in football.
• Organisation of three Sports Days promoting gender equality in football.
• Develop and disseminate one Guidelines document on gender mainstreaming at grassroots level football.

Transnational collaborations and added value

The three transnational collaborations envisaged are in themselves innovative, providing a unique opportunity for 79 individuals to collaborate transnationally and discuss common issues. The structure of each transnational collaboration allows for the discussion and structured dialogue of topical and prevalent issues, as well as various awareness activities; targeting various specific stakeholders and individuals, be it the female athletes and coaches, women in sport careers as well as relevant public authorities, NGOs, trade unions and national football associations.

The added value of this project will be primarily beneficial to the direct participants of this project, namely athletes, coaches and other organisational staff. Each individual will be given the opportunity to participate in a number of transnational activities in partnering countries. Such cross border activities provide athletes with the opportunity to collaborate with their international counterparts. Having common needs and interests will help create a sense of European citizenship and a multicultural understanding within the participants. Moreover, athletes will be given the opportunity to create international networks, which will serve to benefit not only the athletes themselves but also the future of sports by integrating different sport organisations and athletes within Europe. The development of this network will be an important introduction to the sustainability of the project; foreseeing future collaborations and the implementation of bigger and better transnational projects.

This project will contribute to the overall goals of the EU Action Plan for Sport. Direct participants and participating organisations stand to benefit as well as directly contribute, through participation in this project, in better understanding and promoting: social inclusion and equal opportunities in
football.