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B-FREE, Team Up For Respect

Erasmus+ Lump Sum GrantProject 1012450378 partners, 7 countries

Team up
for respect

Promoting Bully-Free Zones in Grassroots Sports

A 24-month Erasmus+ Sport project tackling peer bullying in grassroots sport, coordinated by Oslo Orcas IF in Norway and delivered by eight partners across seven countries.

Why this project existsPublic outputs

One hundred young athletes, sixty seconds

Every figure is from the Grant Agreement

Before the figures

Line up one hundred
young athletes

Every figure that follows is from the Grant Agreement.

Scene 01 · What they report

65of 100report psychological violence

Bullying, humiliation or insults, during their childhood sporting years. EU-wide survey spanning six countries.

Scene 02 · Where it concentrates

A team makes it likelier

The share of athletes who had been involved in bullying, as victim or as perpetrator.

Scene 03 · What it costs

It does not just bruise egos

Consequences recorded in the needs analysisAnnex 1

Anxiety

Loss of confidence

Physical symptoms of stress

Withdrawal from activities they once loved

In the worst cases, talented youths quit sport entirely.

Physical, psychological and social, and lasting into the rest of a child’s development.

Scene 04 · What it gets called instead

It has been allowed
to keep other names

Tough loveInitiation rites

There has been a tendency in sport to tolerate certain aggressive behaviours as motivators for better performance.

Scene 05 · Who is meant to stop it

One in three believe
it is being addressed

That is the share of survey respondents who thought youth sports organisations are properly addressing bullying. Coaches, one scoping study concluded, do not receive nearly enough training and support to fulfil this crucial role.

Scene 06 · What this project commits to

Promoting
bully-free zones

300young athletes trained
100coaches and sport staff
30clubs adopting policies
5,000reached across partner regions
Read the needs analysis
The state of affairs

Bullying in youth sports is a serious and pervasive challenge that undermines the core values of sport and the well-being of young athletes.

At its core, the project addresses the harmful behaviours, from verbal taunts and social exclusion to physical intimidation, that many young athletes encounter on the playing field. These bullying behaviours do not just bruise egos; they have profound physical, psychological, and social consequences. Young athletes who are bullied often suffer anxiety, loss of confidence, and even physical symptoms of stress.

In the long run, such a toxic environment can strip sport of its joy and camaraderie, leaving lasting scars on a child's development.

The current state of affairs across Europe and neighbouring regions highlights the urgency of this issue.

  • 65%

    of youth sport participants reported experiencing psychological violence, such as bullying, humiliation or insults, during their childhood sporting years.

    EU-wide survey spanning six countries, cited in the Grant Agreement

  • 26.7%

    of athletes in team sports had been involved in bullying, as victim or perpetrator, against 19.1% in individual sports.

    Study cited in the Grant Agreement

  • 1 in 4

    young athletes may directly face or take part in bullying on the team, as these figures suggest.

    Grant Agreement, project summary

  • 1 in 3

    is roughly the share of survey respondents who believed youth sports organisations are properly addressing bullying.

    Grant Agreement, needs analysis

Four specific objectives

What the project is measured against

Each objective carries an indicator with a baseline and a target value written into the Grant Agreement. They are reproduced here as signed, unrounded.

  1. 01Silence

    Empower young athletes with knowledge and tools to prevent bullying

    Indicator
    Athletes completing awareness training
    Baseline
    0, no existing dedicated training
    Target
    300 participants across partner clubs
    Second indicator
    80% of participants demonstrate an increase in understanding
  2. 02Guesswork

    Build the capacity of coaches and sport staff to create bully-free environments

    Indicator
    Coaches and staff trained
    Baseline
    0, no prior unified training structure
    Target
    100 individuals across partner clubs
    Second indicator
    Awareness rising from an estimated 30% to 80% after training
  3. 03Ad-hoc rules

    Equip sports clubs and organisations with effective policies and support structures

    Indicator
    Clubs adopting formal anti-bullying policies
    Baseline
    0, no centralised approach
    Target
    30 clubs formally adopting the new policies
    Second indicator
    At least 85% of participating clubs with active reporting channels
  4. 04Tough love

    Promote a culture of respect and integrity in sport through education and advocacy

    Indicator
    Campaign reach across partner regions
    Baseline
    None, no existing campaign
    Target
    5,000 total across partner regions
    Second indicator
    70% stating increased awareness
Five work packages

The research package guides the other four

The consortium agreed at kick-off that WP2 is the guiding work package: it directly informs the content, approach and priorities of the awareness campaign and of the coach and club work that follow it.

  1. WP1

    M1 to M24

    Project management and coordination

    This work package establishes a structured management framework to ensure the effective and timely implementation of the project.

    Lead

    Oslo Orcas IF

    NO

  2. WP2

    M2 to M10

    Comprehensive Research

    This work package investigates the nature and extent of bullying in grassroots sports through a comprehensive research process.

    Lead

    Hacettepe Üniversitesi

    TR

  3. WP3

    M10 to M20

    Awareness Campaign

    This work package designs and implements awareness campaigns to promote respectful, inclusive, and bully-free environments in sports.

    Lead

    Spor Gönüllüleri Derneği

    TR

  4. WP4

    M10 to M23

    Coach and Club Empowerment

    This work package strengthens the capacity of coaches and sports clubs to prevent and address bullying in youth sports.

    Lead

    Sport Singularity BV

    NL

  5. WP5

    M1 to M24

    Dissemination and Visibility

    This work package guarantees that project outcomes and good practices are effectively shared with stakeholders, decision-makers, and the wider public.

    Lead

    Riječki sportski savez

    HR

Read the work packages in full
On the record

Where the project has got to

  1. 10 November 2025

    Grant Agreement signed

    Ares(2025)9660574. Eight beneficiaries, 400 000 EUR lump sum, 24 months, no consortium agreement required.

  2. 19 January 2026

    Kick-off meeting, Oslo

    Hosted by Oslo Orcas IF. The consortium reviewed the project vision and roadmap, and agreed that WP2 is the guiding work package: it directly informs the content, approach and priorities of WP3 and WP4.

  3. 5 June 2026

    WP2 Survey and Focus Group meeting

    Online working session of the research work package.

  4. 24 September 2026

    Second transnational meeting, Rijeka

    Hosted by Riječki sportski savez. The last consortium meeting before the WP2 outputs fall due.

    Scheduled

8 beneficiaries, 7 countries

Who is doing the work

  • CoordinatorNO

    Oslo Orcas IF

    Norway

    Leads
    WP1 Project management and coordination

  • Beneficiary 2MT

    Sport Coaching Europe

    Malta

    Leads
    D1.2 Communication materials

  • Beneficiary 3SI

    Judo zveza Slovenije

    Slovenia

  • Beneficiary 4PT

    Associação de Futebol de Bragança

    Portugal

  • Beneficiary 5HR

    Zajednica sportskih udruga grada Rijeke, Riječki sportski savez

    Croatia

    Leads
    WP5 Dissemination and Visibility

  • Beneficiary 6NL

    Sport Singularity BV

    Netherlands

    Leads
    WP4 Coach and Club Empowerment

  • Beneficiary 7TR

    Spor Gönüllüleri Derneği

    Türkiye

    Leads
    WP3 Awareness Campaign

  • Beneficiary 8TR

    Hacettepe Üniversitesi

    Türkiye

    Leads
    WP2 Comprehensive Research

The consortium in detail