Neighbourhood-based sport for young people

"I was impressed by the enthusiasm of the facilitators right from the first contact with "Sport dans la ville" in 2002 and so was keen to work with them. This personal commitment is now shared by my team. It's an ambitious project but it is being overseen by a well-run organisation with an established reputation backed by a solid network of public and private partners."

Bruno Giraudel

Warmly welcomed by the communes of the Lyon region and by the families of the young beneficiaries, the sports-based social integration programmes run by the "Sport dans la ville" association have seen a significant take-up. With its 46 employees, including 40 educators, every year it runs activities for 850 children across ten or so sites with over 200 of them also taking advantage of the adventure activities and sports holidays which it also offers.
The association has now entered a new phase by setting up a social-integration-through-sport unit aimed at meeting local needs. This facility in the Vaise district of Lyon, will include two football pitches and two basketball courts for inter-site tournaments as well as facilities for educational support, sports classes and career guidance for young people.

Investing in educational support

The "Sport dans la ville" association has made education support a key part of its activity which justifies the widespread backing for this development which should lead to the creation of ten jobs. By providing 115,000 euros in funding, the Veolia Foundation is joining forces with public (state, Rhône-Alpes regional authority, Lyon municipalities) and private (Olympique lyonnais, Fondation Décathlon, etc.) investors contributing to this 1,850,000 euro project.
Bruno Giraudel, an executive at Veolia Water who is heavily involved upstream of the project in his role as sponsor, has helped managers finalise the operating budget by making use of both internal (rental of rooms and pitches as well as pay-for courses) and external resources. Moreover, at his initiative, Veolia Water and "Sport dans la ville" has established close ties particularly through the recruitment as meter readers of young sports instructors from the neighbourhoods concerned whom the association introduced. One afternoon each week, they work as facilitators in the centres, running courses for facilitators at Veolia Water or overseeing events intended to introduce children to athletics.