ALLSTARS - Good Practice for Active Lifestyles in Local Sports Policies

Project Leader
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag

Project Coordinator
Dr. Till Müller-Schoell

Project Staff
Constanze Schulte

Period of Research
February 2024 – December 2025

Project Funding
European Commission

Background of the project are the well-documented deficits of existing sport policies with regards to sports for all and sports participation. The mainstream of existing sports policies within the European model of organised sport is rather successful in activating the affluent, healthy, young, non-migrant, male members of society, but they struggle in catering to the less affluent, physically impaired, older, migrant or non-male members of society to varying degrees. Key to an improvement of this situation is a better understanding of the creation and implementation of policies that aim at usually less organised segments of society. The proposed project’s goal is to identify and analyse successful local sport policies for enhanced sport participation. This means projects and programs at the local level particularly oriented towards enhanced integration and participation of usually less organized, marginalized segments of society into the practice and the governance of sports. The project is intended to improve participation in sports for those segments of society that are usually underrepresented or excluded. By identifying and understanding good practice for the integration, inclusion and participation of all segments of society, in particular the marginalised, the aim is to better understand and popularize procedural, institutional dimensions of such policies and programs. The project assumes that the local level, cities and municipalities are the focal point for improvement as they are practically involved with sports for all. It is here that new and innovative approaches can be developed and it is the very locus of participation in a tangible sense. By combining good practice, institutional change and the analysis of local networks, the project seeks to highlight new and successful ways in process and content of local sport politics and governance.