News
SOPROS Final Conference, 9 December 2025, European Parliament Offices
Over the past three years, the SOPROS project has analysed and compared the state of social protection for elite athletes in five European countries.
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From People to Policy – How local networks provide sports and physical activities for all
On November 21, 2025, the final conference of our ERASMUS+ project ALLSTARS – “Good Practice for Active Lifestyles in Local Sports Policies” will take place at the North Rhine-Westphalia State Representation in Brussels.
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MA-DEV Studierende treffen auf Spitzen der Sportpolitik in Brüssel
Gleichzeitig nehmen sie teil an der offiziellen Verabschiedung des scheidenden Direktor des EOC-EU Büros, Folker Hellmund.
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New Publication: Orientation framework “Global Development for Secondary Level II” in collaboration with the GSU
Prof. Karen Petry and Dr. Fabienne Bartsch are co-authors of the chapter on “Sport.” In total, more than 180 experts from schools, academia, civil society, and state ministries of education and culture were involved.
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Anniversary in Beijing: 10th Symposium on German-Chinese Research
This year's meeting in Beijing focused on "Sport in Transition: Navigating the Changing Landscapes of Elite and Leisure Sports."
moreWelcome!
Due to the ever increasing integration of sport with other social areas and actors, due to the ever increasing influence of political actors in particular on the shaping of sport and its framework conditions, as well as due to increasing Europeanization and globalization, the field of action of sports policy has become decisively more important.
The Institute for European Sports Development and Leisure Research provides the framework for the sports policy and leisure research activities of the German Sport University Cologne. In conjunction with cooperation partners, political, social and sports science findings are brought together in such a way that a distinct core of sports policy thinking becomes visible. The team of the institute offers students, scientists and all other interested parties numerous offers in teaching and research.
The focus is on the topics of "sports policy," "sports and development cooperation," and "leisure and tourism research". The Institute and its Jean Monnet Chair devote special attention to the European dimension of sport. The Institute is also home to the "Forum Sportpolitik" and hosts the annual symposia on sports policy. Since the beginning of 2024, the UNESCO Chair “Sport for Development, Peace and Environment in a Multidisciplinary and Global Perspective” has also been affiliated with us.
Since the winter semester in 2016/17, the IESF has also been coordinating the master's program "International Sport Development and Politics". The program is science-oriented and aims as much at problem-solving skills as at methods for understanding and analyzing sport. The master's program combines the expertise available at the University of Sport in the fields of social sciences, economics and the humanities. The Master "International Sport Development and Politics" consists of 13 modules and concludes with a Master's thesis.
Based on this website, the Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies would like to provide information on its activitites, but also encourage to get in contact with us. We are looking forward to a constructive dialogue.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag / Prof. Dr. Karen Petry