PlayForward

Driving Civic Engagement and Sustainability in AI-Powered Sport Management

Social change, innovation, and technological progress are creating new challenges for sport and sports clubs. Managers, staff, and volunteers need the knowledge and skills to rethink, plan, and deliver sports events in ways that take sustainability and climate resilience into account. Sport should also be recognised and used as a way to strengthen social cohesion by promoting democratic values and active citizenship across national borders and in communities affected by conflict.

Objectives and Content

PlayForward aims to define the competencies needed by today's sports managers and to develop and test a new educational programme for future professionals in sport and sports management. Sustainability is the guiding principle of the project and includes social, environmental, and economic aspects. The programme also covers the use of AI-based tools throughout the planning and delivery of sports events, methods for assessing environmental impacts, and ways of involving local authorities, non-governmental organisations, and citizens in sports initiatives.

The educational programme, Sustainability Manager in Sport, will be developed jointly by the PlayForward partners as an 11 ECTS modular microcredential. It is mainly designed for university students in sport and related fields who would like to gain an additional qualification alongside their degree. It is also suitable for professionals working in the sports sector, sports clubs, and the cultural sector who want to expand their knowledge and skills through new learning opportunities.

The programme follows a three-stage learning model. It begins with an online module based on theatre methods, continues with a job-shadowing placement at a sports club in another country, and concludes with a service-learning experience at a local sports organisation. This combination gives participants practical experience from different perspectives and highlights how sport can contribute to more democratic, inclusive, and participatory communities.

Projekct partner

Lead partner:

• Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM), Germany

Project partner:

• Universidad de Valladolid, Spain
• Özyegin Universitesi, Turkey
• Room Service theatrale Erlebnisräume e. V., Germany
• Associacao Desportiva Cultural e Social de Carvalhais, Portugal
• Univerzitetna sportna zveza primorske, Slovenia