First 6 months of the Inclusive Play project: How are we changing European sport?

The first official six months of intensive work within the framework of the international project Inclusive Play (Inclusivity Training for Educators, Coaches and Trainers in Sports), co-funded by the European Union, are now behind us.

Our main goal is simple yet crucial: we want to provide sports clubs, coaches across all disciplines, and physical educators with concrete knowledge and practical tools to successfully include children and youth with special educational needs (SEND) into regular sports activities, without segregating them from their peers.

Official Launch: The Inclusive Play project successfully kicked off in Thessaloniki!

The project officially started with the Kick-off meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece. Partner organizations from Greece, France, Austria, Serbia, Slovenia, and Poland gathered with a clear purpose: to align objectives, plan work packages in detail, and define the exact next steps for the coming months.

We are extremely happy and motivated to have started this joint journey and to stand together with a vision of creating more inclusive sports opportunities for everyone who needs special support. A big thank you to all participants for their commitment and enthusiasm!

Who stands behind the Inclusive Play team?

In order to cover a wide variety of sports environments as well as the specific neurological conditions of young athletes, the project brings together a strong and diverse consortium from 6 countries:

1. G.S. Iraklis (Greece): A historic sports club with over 116 years of tradition and 2,000 active young athletes, leading the overall project coordination.
2. IRSIE (Poland): A specialized Institute for the Development of Sport and Education, focusing on sports psychology and traditional sports.
3. Socialability (France): An expert organization from Paris, bringing scientifically backed knowledge in the fields of neurodiversity and autism.
4. AIS (Austria): The Austrian Association of Inclusive Society, focusing on holistic learning and adapting environments for vulnerable groups.
5. Red Star FC (Serbia): A world-renowned football club from Belgrade with a strong youth academy and extensive experience in corporate social responsibility projects.
6. BODIFIT (Slovenia): The largest organization in the field of fitness, guided exercise, and recreation in Slovenia, bringing professional kinesiological expertise to the project.

Highlights from the field: Reimagining sport through inclusion on World Autism Awareness Day

As part of the Inclusive Play project, the lead partner G.S. Iraklis organized a high-profile event at the Chortatzides Sports Complex in Thessaloniki on April 2, 2026, marking World Autism Awareness Day.

The event, implemented in collaboration with the ARIADNE II boarding house, brought together more than 200 participants – including educators, coaches, parents, students, and organizations active in the fields of disability and social support. Through shared sports activities and direct interaction, the action highlighted the importance of equal participation and the meaningful inclusion of people on the autism spectrum into everyday social life.

Dr. Giorgos Chatzinakos, Strategy and Community Officer at G.S. Iraklis and main project coordinator, emphasized:

“Inclusion is not about trying to fit children into existing sports. It is about shaping sport so that it works for every child. It means creating a form of sport that listens, adapts, and makes space. That takes more than just good intentions. It takes knowledge, the right tools, and consistency in everyday practice. The Inclusive Play project was created precisely to make this shift real.”

What else have we achieved in the first 6 months?

In addition to major local events and a successful Kick-off, we successfully completed the Inception Meetings with local experts across all partner countries. Based on real challenges from everyday practice, we designed a training program with 6 specialized modules that deliver concrete kinesiological solutions for sports and fitness environments:

1. Understanding SEND conditions on the sports field.
2. Space and leadership modifications for youth with dyslexia.
3. Dynamic training structures for children with ADHD.
4. Sensory zoning for athletes with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
5. Adjusting the rhythm and intensity of exercise for bipolar disorder.
6. Soft skills and motivation to prevent exclusion within the group.

What lies ahead in August?

In the next step, we will transfer the gathered and developed materials into practice. This August, sports experts and educators from all six partner organizations will meet for an intensive international Training of Trainers (ToT) in Poland. There, we will practically test the curriculum, fine-tune it, and prepare for local workshops and pilot training sessions that will take place in our home environments (schools and clubs) this autumn. In the BODIFIT team, we are already preparing a unified line of promotional materials and apparel for this event to ensure top-tier project visibility.

Follow our journey!

We are fully committed to making sport a safe and accessible environment for every single young person. To support this, the official project website has been launched. Starting from the end of this year and throughout the next year, all expert materials will be collected here in all partner languages (including Slovenian). The website will thus serve as a direct practical manual and a source of advice for all coaches and sports educators.

We invite you to explore our growing platform and follow the project’s pulse on our official channels:

– Official Website: https://www.inclusive-play.eu/
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587901348397
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inclusive-play-eu/
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inclusiveplay_project

Stay tuned as we turn our joint project into reality! Be sure to stay informed about upcoming free regional workshops and educational events.

Interested in learning more? Would you like to involve your children or join us as a coach or partner organization? Contact us!