Welcome to the world of sports

When thinking about sport, you might probably have an image of professional football players or elite athletes, performing at major sport event and whom you see on TV. Yes, it is one part of it. But except elite sport, there are so many branches, spheres and fields where you can find an inspiration and desire to be involved - health, social inclusion, equity and equality, education and employability, media and marketing, ethics and sport diplomacy. You can try yourself in the world of sports as a sport volunteer, doing projects in the field of sport or even studying sport administration in Russia with a scholarship.

Volunteering

Volunteering in sport can bring you many benefits, about which I already wrote in one of my articles about being an UEFA 2020 volunteer. I would like to share with you some sources which I use for reading and searching volunteer opportunities in sport on a local, national or international level.

https://www.scult.com/world/events - a quite big platform offering you different sport events and companies which are looking for volunteers. Personally I found there some nice projects where I took part in and volunteered. Strongly recommended for everybody, especially for those who never did but would like to try to volunteer in sports.

https://www.specialolympics.org/ - a very special big organization which makes a true and real difference in our world. They have branches and offices all over the world and they are always happy to welcome volunteers.

If you would like to volunteer at big major sport events like the Olympics and Paralympics, Football World Cup, Universiade etc - please remember that they open a call one and half year before the event, and you have to check the official website of an event every time to follow when an application period will start.

Doing projects in the field of sport

You cannot imagine how many amazing organizations and associations exist worldwide, and especially in Europe, which are working in the world of sport, using it as a tool for empowerment, inclusion, integration, equality and unity. Here are just some of those organizations to give you an example and a go:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/sport_en - this part is dedicated to the Sport Chapter in the Erasmus+ Program, which aims to support European partnerships on grassroots sport. An organization can implement a project in the field of grassroot sports, apply and get a financing.

http://www.tafisa.org/ - the international sport for all association which does many projects, with the main aim to raise awareness about the benefits of Sport for All and physical activity.

https://www.eglsf.info/ - European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation, which fights against discrimination in sport on grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation

https://ec.europa.eu/sport/week/ - one week, during which during people are encouraged to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, with the main aim of increasing the level of physical activity.

https://www.youth-sport.net/ - an exciting non-profit youth organisation with the main focus on the European youth Sport for All sector.  Every two year they have an open call for an ENGSO Youth Young Delegate. It is a program for enthusiastic persons who are willing to take meaningful action and play an important role in advocating and empowering children and young people in the sport for all sector.

Studying sports

There are so many sport business and administration programs offered worldwide. But I would like to share with you one program opportunity which is being implemented in my home country in Russia.

The Master of Sport Administration of the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU MSA) is a one-year full-time programme of further professional development in sports management, endorsed by the International Olympic Committee and located in Sochi, Russia. The main objective of the programme is to produce a new generation of effective sports managers with both strategic and operational skills.The program is called

http://www.olympicuniversity.ru/en/web/msa-eng1/home - This one-year master program is opened for everybody and you can have a chance to win a scholarship. An application period starts every summer. 

As you can see, this world of sports has so much to offer, even if you are an amateur or professional player, or not a sporty person, or even if you just want to do something good for your community. Or may be you want to make a change and contribute and bring your own ideas – everything is in your hands and everything depends on your desire and motivation.