REPLAY "Refugees PLAY United"

The REPLAY “Refugees PLAY United” project, promoting the inclusion and integration of young refugees in Italy through sporting activities began in September 2024 and will last 18 months. The project, funded by the European Commission, is led by PLAY International teams based in France, in partnership with Italian sports club Liberi Nantes and Belgium-based Think tank Sport & Citoyenneté.

In 2022, over 20,000 young refugees arrived in Italy. Faced with an increasingly restrictive migration policy, their inclusion remains limited. Sports clubs are seeking to fill this gap by facilitating their integration through physical activities.

The REPLAY project is a pilot scheme focused on building the capacity of Italian sports clubs to welcome young refugees. In collaboration with Liberi Nantes, a pilot project will be carried out to test and adjust training and coaching tools. Subsequently, 5 other clubs will be supported to train their sports educators to integrate sustainable inclusive practices, thus strengthening their capacity to welcome and include refugees through sporting activities.