Sport & Refugees

The project   

In the period from 1 November 2015 to 31 March 2017, NOC*NSF (Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federation), COA and Kenniscentrum Sport (Dutch Knowledge Hub for Sports) implemented the project “Sport & Refugees“. This project aimed to facilitate interaction between the residents of 23 COA asylum reception locations in the Netherlands and the local population through sports. The cooperation between COA locations and established sports clubs in Dutch communities to organize sports offerings was central to this project. 

The project fostered cultural sensitivity amongst host communities and asylum seekers by facilitating sports activities during which host communities and asylum seekers interact with each other. The project furthermore contributed to cultural sensitivity by offering workshops on the nexus of sport, trauma and refugees. 

Sensitivity to gender and age differences was also crucial to the project. One of the main findings of the baseline study, for example, was that young female asylum seekers participated less in sports activities than middle aged male asylum seekers. The project specifically addressed this gender and age imbalance.

The impact of the good practice

The evaluation report concludes that the intervention increased the number of sports activities per COA reception location. Since 2017, additional locations have set up a multi-annual policy plan for improving the sports offer. More sports activities have been organized for targeted groups (reflecting on the baseline analysis) and the participation of these groups has increased. The overall satisfaction of participants and supervisors with sports activities increased during the project. 

With regards to the cooperation between COA-locations and sports clubs the evaluation notes that goals have more or less aligned; a majority of the respondents indicated that the goal of cooperation is to facilitate integration. It further notes that sustainability of the initiative would require attention to COA staff retention, and an enhanced commitment to cooperation with local sports clubs by COA decision makers. Societal trends, moreover, also affected cooperation. Negative perceptions within host communities affected cooperation with sports clubs, highlighting the importance of good personal contacts and clear expectation management.