The University of Pablo de Olavide (Seville) along with partners from across Europe, have been developing a learning platform to tackle discrimination and other issues in sport.

The project aims to implement a platform to help coaches, teachers, students, practitioners and ‘agents of change’, to use sport psychology tool to promote integrity and to tackle violence, discrimination, intolerance and match-fixing in grassroots sports.

During a recent 2-day meeting in Halmstad, Sweden, discussions focused on best practices for the implementation phase of the project and the objectives moving forward.

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the PsyTool project involves educational institutions, clubs, international federations and institutions, which includes European universities - Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), University of Leon (ULE), University of Lisbon, Halmstad University and Sapienza University of Rome (SUR). Also as project partners are Sporting Lisbon (SCP), Seville Football Club Foundation, Fare Network, the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE), International Center for Sport Security (ICSS Europe) and Sport Foundation Portugal (SFP).

The network represents partners with an extensive background in the education and development of sport psychology, sport coaching and youth development promoting integrity in grassroots; promoting sports as a mean to disseminate social integration, tackling discrimination and prejudice.

This initiative focuses on helping coaches, teachers and practitioners in obtaining the necessary knowledge for positive coaching, understanding the psychological state of young sport players – based on their social and cultural backgrounds (i.e. refugees, ethnic minorities, etc.) and their well being to ensure sport tackles dangerous environments (i.e. gender based violence, doping and match-fixing). Effective use of the platform will help users to gain valuable information.

A third co-ordination meeting took place hosted by Halmstad University from the 2nd to 3rd of February.

The specific objectives of the PsyTool project are:

• To obtain more objective data on the impact of violence, discrimination, intolerance
• To create educational and innovative tools based on sport psychology to promote integrity
• To train 'agents of change' to act as mean of intervention in the sport psychology education

To find out more about the project click here