On 4th June 2026 the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and European Olympic Committees EU Office are organising an event dedicated to "The enabling role of sport to achieve EU objectives and future support via the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2028-2034".
Sport and physical activity address many objectives that are closely linked to EU objectives. Sport organisations, and particularly volunteers’ engagement, play a key role in building communities and a proven capacity to create a sense of belonging and teamwork.
The CoR has acknowledged the importance of sport in a number of key areas like social cohesion and inclusion, territorial regeneration, economic growth etc. Moreover, by highlighting the value of sport as a tool for local and regional development, job creation and labour market integration, the CoR has urged for ensuring EU funding (including European Structural and Investment Fund) to support sport-based policies/projects and improve the sustainability of grassroots sport.
On 16 July 2025, the European Commission presented its proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework for the years 2028 to 2034.
The support for sport via the future Erasmus+ programme remains the most evident and accessible for sport organisations to contribute to EU policy priorities, currently. Contrarily, it is not clear whether and how the enabling role of sport and sport organisations will be recognised in the MFF 2028-2034, in particular in the National, Regional Partnership Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, and the European Social Fund.
To this end, the CoR and EOC EU Office are organising a high-level EU event meant to:
- highlight the enabling role of sport and sport organisations in achieving key EU objectives by providing concrete examples from local/regional level and
- discuss particularly with Members of the European Parliament how this role could be better recognised in the future MFF in view of the ongoing discussion on the future MFF.