|  | Feature: “Mega Sport Events in Developing Countries” | No.53 May 2008 |
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Sports Initiatives for Socially Deprived Youth in Flanders (Belgium): the Impact of Euro 2000 on the ‘Neighbourhood Sports Project of Mechelen’ Marc Theeboom |
Abstract As a result of a shift towards a ‘target group approach’ within local sports policy in which sport is no longer only regarded as an activity in itself, but also as a means for personal and social development of disadvantaged groups (especially youth), specific sports initiatives have been set up in Flanders, the northern Dutch speaking part of Belgium, since the late 1980s aimed at underprivileged youth. In 1988, the ‘King Baudouin Foundation’ started to promote the use of sport as a means of personal and social development for socially deprived youth in Belgium. Since then, various organisations on different levels and in a variety of sectors have started to make use of sport in their work with underprivileged youth. This paper will look back at 20 years of specific sports initiatives that have been set up in Flanders. It will especially focus on the way football (soccer) has played an important role as an impetus for the further development of these initiatives. This will be illustrated through the case of the ‘Neighbourhood Sports Project of Mechelen’ (‘Buurtsport Mechelen’), and the distinct impact of the European Football Championships of 2000 (or ‘Euro 2000’), organised in Belgium and the Netherlands, had on sports development initiatives in Mechelen. Key words: sports initiatives, socially deprived youth, Flanders (Belgium) Sports Promotion in Flanders Since the 1960s, the Flemish government has actively promoted sports participation among its population (De Knop, 2000). Partly because of an active ‘Sports for all’ policy, today the Flemish population is undoubtedly more sports active than before. However, studies indicate that clear differences in sports activity levels exist between various groups (see for example, Scheerder, 2004). Statistics show that the sports participation degree of specific groups such as senior citizens, disabled persons and ethnic minorities is distinctly lower than of other groups. A number of barriers exist that can account for these differences in sports participation. These relate to a variation in personal attitudes and knowledge of sport and physical activity, but also to differences in availability of time, means, mobility, etc. Generally speaking, two categories of groups can be distinguished that are not, or only to a limited extent, involved in sport. These two categories can be characterised in relation to a) their (problematic) degree of sports participation (e.g., ‘sports inactives’ and ‘sports underprivileged’) and b) their (problematic) situation (e.g., socially deprived, ethnic minorities, juvenile delinquents, drug addicts …). Over the years, several initiatives have been set up in Flanders to reach out to these categories. The aims differ according to the specific category. With regard to the first category, the emphasis is on increasing the interest in sport (e.g., through raising the quality of the offer, an increased demand-orientation, improving communication and accessibility of the offer). Although these strategies are also used in reaching out to the persons in the second category, there has been a tendency to focus on a more ‘instrumental’ function of sport, in which sports participation is regarded as a means to increase personal and social development among specific target groups, such as underprivileged youth. Sports Initiatives for Underprivileged Youth The first specific sports initiatives for socially deprived youth in Flanders date back from the late ‘80s. A number of factors have influenced this development at the time: the government campaigns which were introduced since the beginning of the ‘90s aimed at improving the quality of youth sports provision and which also emphasised that sports promotion should reach all youth, no matter their origin or situation (Wylleman, De Knop, Theeboom, De Martelaer, Van Hoecke, & Van Heddegem, 2000); the growing belief that sport is an activity that strongly appeals to these youngsters and can be used as a means of personal and social development. The King Baudouin Foundation has played a major role in this through its ‘youth and sport’ programme that started in 1988 and actively stimulated and supported good practices (De Knop & Walgrave, 1992; De Mol & Knops, 1995); the shift in aims among local sports policy makers in which the promotion of sport moved from a narrow (physical) health promotion perspective to a wider welfare perspective (de Graaff, 1996). This resulted in financially supporting sports initiatives through specific government funds aimed against social exclusion and poverty. It is interesting to note that a number of specific developments have occurred when looking back at 20 years of sports initiatives in Flanders aimed at underprivileged youth. Next is a brief discussion of some of the most interesting developments that have occurred. The first sports initiatives were primarily situated within the youth welfare sector (Theeboom & De Knop, 1992), where sport has always been regarded from an emancipatory perspective in the work with underprivileged youth. Gradually, local sports services of (especially) larger municipalities and cities became also involved in the organisation of these initiatives as they began to regard this group as a specific target group of their sports policy. However, targeting underprivileged youth and focusing on a more instrumental function of sport by local (municipal) sports services has often been triggered by the growing concern among local policy makers regarding the public ‘nuisance’ specific youth cause in urban deprived areas (for example, vandalism, offensive behaviour, …). This difference in perspective has shaped the first initiatives that were set up by local sports services, which mostly emphasised the prevention of ‘undesirable’ behaviour among these youngsters. From the beginning, the sports initiatives within the youth welfare sector were mostly characterised by highly motivated and sports minded youth welfare workers with good insight in the problematic situation of the youth they are dealing with, as well as with good guidance skills. However, most of these organisations were confronted with a lack of sufficient means and adequate sports equipment, as well as no or limited opportunities to make use of the existing local sports facilities. Moreover, there was a lack of sports technical and teaching skills among its guidance staff. On the other hand, most sports services were ‘overwhelmed’ by the sudden availability of specific funds for sports initiatives coming from government subsidies to tackle social exclusion and poverty. In many cases, this resulted in rapidly designed programmes with no structural basis. Contrary to the initiatives in the youth welfare sector, adequate sports facilities were available here and well-trained sports instructors were recruited to guide the activities. However, most of these instructors had no prior experience in working with these kinds of youngsters. Also, while most organisers within the youth welfare sector allowed the youngsters to be actively involved in different aspects of the organisation (e.g., listening to their needs and wishes, recognising their informal leaders, providing opportunities for some youngsters to be involved as assistant instructors and referees, giving them logistical tasks, ….), the initiatives from the local sports sector in most cases did not have any involvement of youngsters. Consequently, it may come as no surprise that many of these initiatives set up by local sport services only lasted until the extra funds ran out. For these reasons these initiatives were often not well received, both by providers and participants. It is interesting to note that, next to the ‘moderate’ enthusiasm among local sports services, the organised sports sector (i.e., sports clubs and federations), has never played any significant role in the provision of sports opportunities for underprivileged youth. While over the years, a number of (local) government initiatives have been set up to stimulate the sports sector to become more involved, to date, their involvement can still be described as ‘marginal’. Instead, somewhat surprisingly, other providers have become gradually involved in the organisation of specific initiatives, in some cases stimulated by similar activities within the youth welfare sector. This is surprising as most of these ‘new’ providers are traditionally not directly linked to sports. For example, over the years, an increasingly higher involvement could be noticed within the social welfare sector, community centers, ethnic minority organisations and some other municipal services (e.g., integration, social affairs, prevention …). Local youth services and community schools also became often involved. Through the years, several of these new providers have found each other and have started to work together, thereby increasing their potential. As the majority of the initiatives in Flanders can be situated outside the ‘regular’ sports offer (i.e., local sports services and sports clubs), the limited availability of adequate sports facilities remains one of the major problems for these organisers. Among other things, this situation has led to the occurrence of an ‘alternative’ sports organizational format in Flanders, which gradually became known as ‘neighbourhood sport’ (buurtsport) (Theeboom & De Maesschalck, 2006). While neighbourhood sports initiatives occasionally make use of regular sports facilities, they are often organised in a variety of facilities (from outdoor places such as public parks and squares to indoor facilities such as renovated warehouses, parking spaces, etc.). This format is characterised by its local and flexible organisation in which a number of structures work together in providing specific activities (e.g., municipal sports and youth services, organised sport, youth work, schools, welfare services, etc.). During the first years, neighbourhood sport was primarily aimed at underprivileged youth in urban deprived areas. However, as a result of the growing number of initiatives that have been set up in recent years in Flanders, this concept has now become more diverse, attracting more target groups in a variety of organisational formats. In 2006, 33.4% of the Flemish municipalities offered neighbourhood sports activities (Theeboom & De Maesschalck, 2006). Football as an Impetus Looking back at two decades of sports initiatives for underprivileged youth in Flanders, it becomes clear that football has always played an important role in attracting youngsters as well as organisers to become involved. It can be said that on several occasions football has served as an impetus to start new initiatives. Within the context of the present paper, it will not be possible to go into detail of all kinds of initiatives in this matter. It is clear, however, that the concept of neighbourhood sport originated as a football initiative. In 1989, the King Baudouin Foundation in cooperation with the Royal Belgian Football Federation launched a campaign ‘street football’ (Beeckmans, Theeboom & Van Heddegem, 2000). The aim was to improve the social integration of underprivileged youth through the organisation of football competitions on the streets in urban deprived areas. As the range of areas to organise the competitions became larger (i.e., public parks, squares, beaches, etc.), its name changed into ‘neighbourhood football’ in 1992. Two years later, the name changed into ‘neighbourhood ball’ as other ball sports were included (i.e., basketball and volleyball). Finally in 2001, it changed to its present name, ‘neighbourhood sport’, as more sports became part of the programmes. Neighbourhood Sports Project Mechelen The remainder of this paper will focus on one specific sports initiative, named ‘Neighbourhood Sports Project Mechelen’. Today in Flanders, several interesting projects can be found each with a variety of unique characteristics (Theeboom & De Maesschalck, 2006). The case of Mechelen is chosen because of the central role football has played in its development. In particular, it is interesting to look at the impact the organisation of the European Football Championship in 2000 has had on this development. The data for this case was collected through a number of interviews with expert witnesses1 and an analysis of relevant documents. Mechelen The city of Mechelen, located less than 25 km north of the Belgian capital, Brussels, has a population of around 78,900 inhabitants, with 7.5 % people of foreign origin, mostly Moroccan. In the beginning of the ‘90s, the municipal sports service of Mechelen started a specific sports project aimed at ethnic minority youth with a focus on social integration. For this purpose, the project received government subsidies at the time. Due to limited experience and lack of enthusiasm, the project however was stopped after a short time. In 1993, the municipal welfare service started its own sports project, which can be regarded as the actual start of the Neighbourhood Sports Project Mechelen. Before the start of the project, a number of youth welfare organisations were already providing occasional football activities in deprived neighbourhoods mostly for Moroccan boys. Since its inception, the general aim of the neighbourhood sport project has been to provide a meaningful and accessible sports programme for 6 to 16 years-olds. Most of these youngsters live in socially deprived areas and are of Moroccan origin. Through its programme, the project attempts: to communicate with youngsters within the context of the social practice of sport on a variety of topics (e.g., dealing with winning and losing, communicating with referees, opponents, team members, coaches and organisers); to be an alternative for the ‘regular’ sports offer which holds a number of barriers for these youth (e.g., financial, structural and cultural); to bring these youngsters in contact with youth with different backgrounds; to take these youngsters off the streets and provide them with alternative leisure activities that bring structure in their daily life through regular sports participation. The project has also a number of secondary aims: to provide a possible transfer to regular sports clubs; to offer social assistance on an individual level. Through the project, the organisers get to know the participants better as well as their backgrounds. In this way, problems can be detected and, if possible, individualised support in concrete situations can be provided; to integrate these youngsters in the community (e.g., through personal invitation and sometimes accompanying them to all kinds of local events). In practice, the project focuses mostly on the oldest group (10 to 16 year-olds). These youngsters are the most visible as they often hang out on the streets with no structured leisure pattern. Central to the approach within the project is the organisation of the so called ‘teener meetings’, in which all teener workers of Mechelen come together on a regular base and exchange ideas and experiences. The meetings can be characterised by their dynamic and organic profile and are intended to synchronise all activities that are planned. As a result, the range of activities as well as the scale in which youngsters can be reached, has gradually increased over the years. The Impact of Euro 2000 Although successful in reaching specific youngsters, during the first 7 years of the project, neighbourhood sport in Mechelen was regarded as a ‘side phenomenon’, receiving limited or no attention from local officials. While the project reached hundreds of children and youngsters every week and provided them with a regular sports offer, the sports sector (i.e., clubs) as well as the local sports service hardly knew of it or did not show any interest in it. In the beginning of 2000, the Belgian Ministry of Internal Affairs started a number of preventive measures in preparation for the organisation of the European Football Championships that were to be held later that year in Belgium and The Netherlands (Euro 2000). Next to measures aimed at escorting football fans, the authorities also wanted to start a number of local prevention initiatives in so called ‘transit cities’ that were situated along important roads that were going to be used by fans during the Championships and, as such, regarded as possible ‘risk areas’. Because of its specific location, Mechelen was also selected as a transit city. These cities were to receive considerable funding, which needed to be used to organise activities for youngsters in deprived areas during the time of the Championships in order for them to ‘stay out of trouble’. While at first, the local authorities of Mechelen were not sure how to take on this project, they eventually contacted the neighbourhood sports project. The project coordinator proposed a big one-day neighbourhood football tournament to be organised in the Nekker Hall (a 18.500 m2 exposition and event hall) during the time of Euro 2000. The proposal was almost immediately accepted by the local government and a steering group was formed including the neighbourhood sports project coordinator and a number of local officers (i.e., prevention, community development and neighbourhood development). It is interesting to note that the steering group also included the local sports service officer. So called ‘football coordinators’ were appointed consisting of youth welfare workers, volunteers from the various ‘problem’ neighbourhoods and representatives of the district sports councils (representing sports clubs). Participants were specifically recruited through the existing network of teener meetings as well as through local schools and sports clubs. Interestingly, where sports clubs before were reluctant to become involved, a number of football clubs now participated. Several preparatory meetings were set up to make sure that all of those involved were well aware of the specificity of the tournament and the participating youngsters (for example, referees, football coordinators, area supervisors, technical and maintenance staff). The actual event attracted in total 72 teams with nearly 700 boys (mostly from Moroccan origin) between the age of 10 to 16, divided into 3 age groups. As the emphasis was on fair play rather than on winning, the fair play trophy was much bigger than the ‘real’ one. Afterwards, the football equipment purchased for the event was donated to the participating youth work organisations. It is beyond any doubt that this one-day event can be regarded as a very important initiative for the further development of the neighbourhood sports project of Mechelen. It has helped to enable a number of steps, which would probably not have been taken if the tournament was not organised (or at least not within the same period of time). Next are some of the developments that have occurred since the year 2000. The tournament turned into a yearly event and has become the largest indoor football competition in Flanders, attracting each year more than 500 boys in 3 age categories (with even a few mixed teams). It includes a number of side activities (e.g., panna cage, human table football …). The maximum has been set at 60 teams, due to capacity reasons. Half of the teams are recruited from other cities and several ‘regular football clubs’ take part. Since a number of years, the event is co-organised by ‘Neighbourhood Sport Flanders’, a coordinating structure on Flemish level that also helps to finance the event. In 2001, the neighbourhood sports project moved from the municipal welfare service to the local sports service where it is still located at present. Neighbourhood football is organised in different open air locations and is one of the most successful activities to date. Other football alternatives have grown from it since. For example, in 2004 a beach football cup was organised for the first time. Also, a weekly indoor football competition has been introduced and includes a variation of type of teams (i.e., regular indoor as well as outdoor football teams and more informal neighbourhood teams). The various youth welfare organisations that started to work together several years ago by means of the ‘teener meetings’ are now officially recognised by the local government and, for the first time ever, they now even receive financial support by the municipality of Mechelen. In the context of this paper, only initiatives regarding football have been described. However, it is important to note that, at the moment, the neighbourhood sports project of Mechelen offers a programme with a variety of sports and organisational formats. In most cases, participation is free for the participants. Concluding Remarks It goes beyond the scope of this paper to look at everything that can be learned from 20 years of sports initiatives for underprivileged youth in Flanders, or to describe all problems and challenges. This paper has highlighted only a few of these experiences and has attempted to provide a rough picture of some developments that can be illustrated by the case of Mechelen. Over the years, the neighbourhood sports project of Mechelen has evolved from a ‘side phenomenon’ that did not (or to a limited extent) receive any official recognition and was dependent on the goodwill from small scale local youth welfare work initiatives that used sports as a means to work with youngsters in deprived areas. It is without any doubt that the project has greatly benefited from prevention measures introduced for the European Football Championships in 2000. The emphasis on ‘prevention’ as stipulated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2000 was not fully in line with the more educational and social aims of the organisers of the neighbourhood sports project, but the government support was seen as an ideal opportunity to further develop their project. Through this different accent, the project received recognition from the local government and was able to grow. At present, the project has become a component in the local sports policy of the city of Mechelen. Although the evaluation of the effectiveness of such initiatives remains complex, the project leaders have convinced local officials of its value. Not only because it showed that accessible sports initiatives can attract youngsters that otherwise do not become involved in regular sports participation, but also because local police reports have mentioned a decrease in problems with youngsters in specific deprived areas. As indicated, the case of Mechelen is illustrative of the development on the Flemish level, as recently, a number of important structural measures have been taken by the Flemish Minister of Sport, which can stimulate and offer opportunities for sports policy makers on different levels to focus more on socially deprived groups. This, for example, in the case of the neighbourhood sports project of Mechelen, will lead to an increase of the number of paid professionals involved in the co-ordination or organisation of neighbourhood sport (increasing from 1 to 6 persons). Also, other aspects in working with underprivileged youth through sports will shortly be introduced in the project (e.g., a specific educational and employment programme for poorly qualified and unemployed youth). The case of Mechelen shows the impact of a mega sports event on the development of an alternatively organised regular sports initiative for underprivileged youth. For sure it is only one of many opportunities that the organisation of a mega sports event can offer. References Beeckmans, G., Theeboom, M., & Van Heddegem, L. (2000). Een vergelijkend onderzoek naar 10 jaar “Buurtbal” en “Sports de quartier” [A comparative study of 10 years of “neighbourhood ball” and “Sports de quartier”], Vlaams Tijdschrift voor Sportbeheer, (159), pp. 57-62. De Graaff, D. (1996). Ontwikkelingen in het Gemeentelijk Sportbeleid in de Jaren Negentig: een Verkennende Studie in Drie Gemeenten [Developments in local sports policies in the ‘90s: An exploratory study in three municipalities]. Doctoraal dissertation, Amsterdam, University. De Knop, P. & Walgrave, L. (Eds.)(1992), Sport als integratie. Kansen voor maatschappelijk kwetsbare jongeren [Sport as integration: Chances for socially deprived youth]. Brussels: King Baudouin Foundation, pp. 19-36. De Knop, P. (2000). Veertig jaar sport- en vrijetijdsbeleid in Vlaanderen [Forty years of sports and leisure policy in Flanders]. Brussels: VUB Press. De Mol, A., & Knops, G. (1995). Jeugd en sport [Youth and sport], Tijdschrift voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding, 3, (157), pp. 8-10. Scheerder, J. (2004). Spelen op het middenveld. Vrijetijdssport als ontspanning, ontplooiing en ontmoeting [Playing on the midfield: Leisure sport as recreation, development and encounter]. Tielt: Lannoo. Theeboom, M., & De Knop, P. (1992), Inventarisatie binnen het jeugdwelzijnswerk in Vlaanderen [Inventarisation in the youth welfare sector]. In: P. De Knop & L. Walgrave (Eds.), Sport als integratie. Kansen voor maatschappelijk kwetsbare jongeren [Sport as integration: Chances for socially deprived youth]. Brussels: King Baudouin Foundation, pp. 119-130. Theeboom, M., De Maesschalck, P. (2006). Sporten om de hoek: een brede kijk op buurtsport in Vlaanderen [Sport around the corner: A broad look at neighbourhood sport in Flanders]. Sint-Niklaas: ISB. Wylleman, P., De Knop, P., Theeboom, M., De Martelaer, K., Van Hoecke, J., & Van Heddegem, L. (2000). Jeugdsportbeleid in Vlaanderen [Youth sports policy in Flanders]. In P. De Knop (Ed.), 40 jaar Sport- en vrijetijdsbeleid in Vlaanderen [Forty years of sports and leisure policy in Flanders]. Brussels: VUBpress. pp. 189- 202. The author wishes to thank in particular Pascal De Maesschalck, Mohamed Meftah and Kris Jannes. Contact Dr. Marc Theeboom Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels, Belgium Email: mtheeboo@vub.ac.be http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 Sports Initiatives for Socially Deprived Youth in Flanders (Belgium): the Impact of Euro 2000 on the ‘Neighbourhood Sports Project of Mechelen’ Marc Theeboom