IDI4Sport - Inclusion and Disabilities in and through Sport
Raising awareness and training teachers and sports educators on inclusion and disabilities in and through sport.
Inclusion and Disabilities in and through Sport (IDI4Sport) is a project funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union, running from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025. Coordinated by France Education international (FEI, France), it brings together partners from 6 EU and Erasmus+ third associated countries: the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ, Portugal), the University of Macedonia (UoM, Greece), the Olympic Committee of North Macedonia (OCNM, North Macedonia), the International Sports and Culture Association (ISCA, Denmark), the Institute "España se Mueve" (IEsM, Spain) and the National Higher Institute for Training and Research in Inclusive Education (INSEI, France).
You can learn more about the project and its goals by watching the project’s video:
The European project « IDI4Sport - Inclusion and Disabilities in and through Sport »
Context
Low sports participation among young people with disabilities in schools and sports clubs is a complex challenge affecting all EU countries. Addressing it requires a coordinated transnational approach, as highlighted by the European Commission's 2021-2030 Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls for exchanges of best practices in education and sports across Europe and above.
IDI4Sport focuses on increasing sports participation for children and young people with disabilities (aged 10 to 20 years old) in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. By sharing inspiring best practices, the project helps create inclusive environments where children with and without disabilities can play and train together, on the same field. Through these shared experiences, IDI4Sport promotes social inclusion and engages teachers, sports coaches, and young people with and without disabilities, supporting participation in both schools (formal education) and sport clubs (non-formal education).
Project resources
IDI4Sport has developed a range of reports, tools and trainings, designed to help teachers and sports coaches implement inclusive sports activities that allow every child to participate.
Glossary
Inclusive sport is still evolving and not yet fully embedded in many schools and clubs. To support a shared understanding of key terms and concepts, the project developed a glossary that helps teachers, sports educators, and policymakers promote more inclusive practices.
National reports
To better understand inclusive sport practices across partner countries, national reports (D2.1) were produced. They compile research, data, and examples of good practices that promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in and through sport, in both formal and non-formal education settings.
Database
Based on these reports, a database (D2.2) was created to make the information from the national reports easier to access and use.
To help you in your search, the good practice reports produced by each country are presented in a dynamic database, filtered according to the following 5 criteria: country, sport, disability, education and stakeholder involvement.
Training pathway
Building on the practices identified in the national reports, the consortium developed a training pathway (D2.3) structured into several modules covering key topics such as inclusion in sport, legal and organizational frameworks, adapted sports, inclusive methodologies and resources.
The pathway is aimed at teachers and sport educators, as well as schools and clubs’ leaders, and anyone interested in learning more about inclusive sport practices. It is supported by presentation materials and a summary table providing quick reference to best practices and key information on rules, equipment, and accessibility. All resources were tested during the project to ensure their long-term relevance.
The training pathway is available in English, Danish, French, Greek, Macedonian, Portuguese and Spanish.
To assist you in getting started with the training pathway, a presentation document in landscape format is available for your use.
Finally, INSEI prepared a table summarizing all practices for easy access and use.
Experimentation and evaluation
To ensure the project’s resources were relevant and effective, consortium members tested them in real classroom settings and sports club training sessions involving more than 100 teachers and coaches from 32 schools and clubs. The implementation was also carefully evaluated with specific quantitative and qualitative indicators such as the access and use of the good practices or the changes in perception, attitudes and behaviours.
Coaches, teachers and students reported increased empathy, awareness, and confidence in practicing inclusive sports. Although challenges such as logistical constraints and differences between national contexts arose, the project successfully fostered meaningful change in children with disabilities practices of sport.
Generation 2030
To promote and recognize the stakeholders who participated in the project and encourage their ongoing involvement, IDI4Sport has created the Generation 2030 label (D5.4). This label goes beyond a traditional form of recognition of participation to the project’s different phases. Inspired by the Generation 2024 model, a French national initiative linked to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games that promotes physical activity and inclusion through sport, the Generation 2030 label recognizes a genuine commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable society through sport.
If you would like to be put in touch with a member of Generation 2030, please refer to the document below:
Policy recommendations
Drawing on the IDI4Sport experience, we invite policymakers, teachers and sport coaches’ training institutions, schools and sport federations at the local, national and European levels, teachers and sport educators from all walks of life to take action through a series of 10 policy recommendations (D5.3) ranging from training, reform of curricula, listening the voices of children with disabilities to funding and policy reforms.
Dissemination events
All partners organized local events to raise awareness of the project, and two European-scale events:
Conference: “How Can We Be Active Together in Europe?” – 30 July 2024, Sèvres, FRANCE
During the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, FEI and INSEI co-hosted this European conference to highlight the importance of inclusive sport. The event featured two engaging roundtables: one on the IDI4Sport project and another on the impact of major international sport events, such as the Paralympics, on sport for all.
In the afternoon, participants experienced inclusive sport activities, putting some of the project inclusive practices into action.
You can watch the discussions on FEI’s YouTube channel:
Final Conference – 2 October 2025, Skopje, NORTH MACEDONIA
The project’s final conference (D5.2) brought together over 80 policymakers, school and club leaders, teachers, and sports coaches to discuss the impact of IDI4Sport across Europe and the state of inclusive sport and potentials for its development in North Macedonia, the host country.
You can watch the roundtable discussions on OCNM’s YouTube channel.
Vous pouvez regarder les tables rondes sur la chaîne YouTube de l'OCNM
Newsletters
Follow the journey of IDI4Sport and discover our progress, insights, and resources by exploring our published newsletters throughout the project’s development.
Project Partners
The partnership includes five EU countries and North Macedonia, an associated country to the Erasmus+ program.
- France Education international (FEI), France, Project Coordinator – leader of work package 1 “management”.
- The Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ), Portugal – co-leader of work package 2 “resources and training pathway”.
- The University of Macedonia (UoM), Greece – co-leader of work package 2 “resources and training pathway”.
- The Olympic Committee of North Macedonia (OCNM), North Macedonia – leader of work package 3 “experimentation”.
- The International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), Denmark – leader of work package 4 “evaluation”.
- The Institute "España se Mueve" (IEsM), Spain – leader of work package 5 “communication”.
- The National Higher Institute for Training and Research for Inclusive Education (INSEI), France.
The project also benefits from the support of the Paralympic Committee of Greece, the Spanish High Council of Sports and Feddi (La federación de Deportes para personas con Discapacidad Intelectual), the Portuguese Cerebral Palsy Association of Almada Seixal (APCAS), and Mr. Thierry Terret, former rector, ministerial delegate for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and currently vice-rector of French Polynesia.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.