Getting into the Game Understanding : the evidence for child-focused sport for development. Report Summary

Abstract

The report analyses available evidence on sport for development (S4D) initiatives for children and youth, to identify what works, how it works, and how to improve S4D policy and practice. Getting into the Game – the first phase of a two-stage research project – seeks to strengthen the evidence base on policies and practices for S4D and to build knowledge on how to effectively use S4D to promote positive outcomes in four specific areas: Education, Social inclusion, Child protection and Empowerment. The goal of the research is to map current initiatives and present evidence on harnessing the power of sport to improve the lives of children and youth. This study first defines sport and presents data to show the coverage, content, and monitoring and evaluation approaches of S4D programmes from an array of organizations surveyed in this research, including UNICEF and the Barça Foundation. It then compares a diverse set of evidence-based programmes and practices to refocus attention on the advantages of S4D approaches to meet the needs of children and youth and to foster cross-national learning.