Erasmus+ Sport Mobility

What is a Sport Mobility Project?

‘Erasmus+ Sport for Staff in the field of Sport’ supports European partnerships in grassroots sport. Ultimately, the aim is to establish a European network of coaches and sports staff.

The programme aims to provide the staff of sports organisations, primarily at a grassroots level, with the opportunity to improve their competencies and qualifications. Coaches can acquire new skills through learner mobility. This is done by spending time abroad in another Erasmus+ country and bringing back new ideas that contribute to the capacity-building and development of  your sport organisation.

Erasmus+ Sport projects promote:

• voluntary activities in sports
• social inclusion
• equal opportunities
• awareness of the importance of health-enhancing physical activity.

Participating organisations should actively promote the priorities of Erasmus+ through their activities:

• inclusion and diversity
• environmental sustainability
• digital education
• and active participation.

They can do this by using the specific funding opportunities provided by Erasmus+ for these purposes as well as raising awareness among their participants, by sharing best practices, and by choosing an appropriate design for their activities.

Who Can Take Part in a Mobility Project?

Erasmus+ Sport Mobility supports the professional development of:

• Staff involved in grassroots sport (both paid and voluntary)
• Staff involved in a for-profit organisation (if they can demonstrate a clear link to grassroots sport).

Although the programme is focused on coaches and other staff in grassroots sport, the programme recognises that staff in non-grassroots sport, including those engaged in dual sport and non-sport careers, can also enhance the learning impact and knowledge transfer for grassroots sports staff and organisations. Therefore, learning mobility opportunities for staff in non-grassroots sport may be supported when it is clear that the participation of such staff can benefit grassroots sports.

Please checkout our Quick Guide to Eligibility for European programmes to see if your organisation qualifies for Erasmus+ Sports funding.

Application Deadline

Visit our Deadline page for more information on Erasmus+ Sport Mobility deadlines.

What Happens on a Sport Mobility Project?

A Sport mobility project involves Sport coaches travelling to another Erasmus+ country to ‘job shadow’ fellow coaches or to take part in coaching or training assignments.

Job Shadowing

Participants can receive support while learning new practices and gathering new ideas through observation and interaction with peers, coaches, volunteers or other staff members in their daily work at the hosting organisation. Job Shadowing lasts between two and 14 days.

Coaching or training assignments

Participants can spend between 15 and 60 days either coaching or providing training at a hosting organisation in another country, thereby learning through completing tasks and exchanging ideas and practices with peers.

In addition to this physical mobility, all staff mobility activities can be blended with virtual activities too.

Erasmus+ Sport activities cannot have a profit-making purpose.  As inclusion is an integral part of the programme, additional support can be provided for persons accompanying participants with specific needs for any activity. Accompanying persons can be supported for the whole or part of the activity’s duration.

How Long is a Sport Mobility Project?

Projects can run from three to 18 months.

When Do They Happen?

Organisations apply under the 4th October 2023 deadline. Projects that are successful can start from 1 January 2024.  If an optional round is opened, projects funded under that round will start between 1 January and 31 May of the following year.

What is the Funding for a Mobility Project?

Erasmus+ funding is available to contribute to costs in distinct categories. The information here gives you an idea of the funding categories available, but you must check the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for full details.

• Organisational Support – preparing and managing all phases of the project
• Travel – return travel costs from participants’ homes to the venue of the activity (for example, where they will work or attend a course)
• Individual Support – ‘subsistence’ costs of participants (for example, food and accommodation)
• Inclusion support – additional funding to enable people with fewer opportunities to take part
• Preparatory visits – for visits to hosting organisations before the ‘mobility period’ takes place
• Linguistic support – for language learning materials and training, where needed
• Exceptional costs – Such as costs for providing a financial guarantee, if the National Agency asks for it; or expensive travel costs (for example, when a participant is travelling to or from a very remote place).

What Happens Next?

Once the project is planned, the organisation can submit an online application before the deadline. The application requires a lot of detail and organisations should allocate at least six weeks to plan and write it.

Léargas evaluate applications using strict Erasmus+ criteria. We contact applicants with our decision three months after the deadline. If your project is funded, the organisation receives a large proportion of the funding at the start of the project. The organisation then carries out the project and submits a Final Report on its progress. The remainder of the funding is paid when this Final Report is approved.

Other opportunities in Erasmus+ Sport

The following Erasmus+ Sport 2024 activities are available through the European Commission directly (i.e. not managed through Léargas):

• Capacity building in the field of sport
• Not for profit European Sport Events
• Cooperation Partnerships
• Small-scale Partnerships

More information on how to apply on the European Commission website.