About the project

Leading the Game – Shaping the Future of Sport Governance

YOULEAD addresses one of the structural gaps in European sport: the significant underrepresentation of gender-balanced youth in sports governance and decision-making roles. While youth are highly active in sport as athletes and volunteers, their participation rarely extends to leadership and strategic positions.

The project focuses on building practical and institutional pathways that enable young people to transition from participation to leadership. Rather than temporary engagement, YOULEAD promotes long-term integration of youth within governance systems.

By combining research, education, pilot implementation and policy development, YOULEAD supports sport organisations in modernising governance structures and creating more balanced, representative leadership models.

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Only 2% of sports board members are aged 18–29, highlighting the lack of youth representation in sport leadership.

Source: Bitel & Grainger, Diversity in Sport Governance (2019).

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Sport clubs remain the most popular organised space for youth participation across Europe.

Source: Flash Eurobarometer 545 – Youth Survey (2024).

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The average age of sports board members is 54 years, showing a significant generational gap in sport governance.

Source: Bitel & Grainger, Diversity in Sport Governance (2019).

What We Aim to Achieve

YOULEAD aims to:

  • Increase youth representation in sport governance bodies.
  • Improve gender balance in leadership and decision-making roles.
  • Establish structured pathways for youth integration into governance.
  • Strengthen governance literacy, leadership competences and policy-making skills among young people.
  • Support sport organisations in adapting governance models and embedding inclusive practices.
  • Foster intergenerational dialogue between senior leaders and emerging youth leaders.
  • Develop an Inclusive Governance Certification Process and self-evaluation tools for sport organisations.
  • Promote mentorship and knowledge transfer through the Leaders Circle initiative.
  • Generate evidence-based recommendations and good practices for the sport sector.
  • Develop scalable governance practices that can be replicated across Europe.

  • YOULEAD’s work is:

    • Structural – focusing on institutional change rather than symbolic participation.
    • Educational – building governance knowledge, leadership skills and mutual understanding between generations.
    • Collaborative – engaging youth and senior decision-makers together.
    • Evidence-based – grounded in research, benchmarking and mapping of current gaps.
    • Mentorship-driven – connecting experienced leaders with young representatives through the Leaders Circle.
    • Practical – tested through pilot experiences and real governance environments.
    • Digital – supported by online self-paced training and self-assessment tools.
    • European – connecting partners and governance systems across countries.
    • Transferable – producing tools and practices that can be adopted by organisations across Europe.

Young people represent the present and future of sport communities, yet they remain underrepresented in decision-making spaces that shape policies, priorities, and resources.

Without structured inclusion:

  • Youth perspectives remain unheard
  • Governance bodies risk becoming disconnected from new generations
  • Gender imbalance persists
  • Leadership pipelines remain limited
  • Sport organisations miss opportunities for innovation and renewal.
  • Democratic principles, diversity and accountability are weakened.

 

YOULEAD works to ensure that youth are not only participants in sport — but co-creators of its future direction.

In YOULEAD, Leading the Game means:

  • Moving from participation to decision-making
  • Taking responsibility within governance structures
  • Contributing to strategic planning and policy development
  • Challenging gender imbalance in leadership
  • Building confidence and institutional competence
  • Creating sustainable leadership pathways for future generations
  • Strengthening more inclusive, democratic and resilient sport organisations.

6 Countries Involved

1 Project Coordinator

7 Project Partners

30-Month Duration

December 2025 – May 2028

Why YOULEAD Matters

  • It modernises sport governance structures
  • It strengthens youth leadership pipelines
  • It promotes gender-balanced decision-making
  • It supports long-term institutional sustainability
  • It aligns sport governance with European inclusion priorities
  • It builds a new generation of leaders ready to shape sport policy

 

YOULEAD is not about preparing youth for the future — it is about giving them a seat at the table today.