Sport dans la Ville was founded in 1998 in Lyon to create a sports programme that would help young people from difficult neighbourhoods. It has since grown into France’s largest non-profit sports organisation. Its programmes use sport —in particular football —to encourage participants to avoid anti-social behaviour and value teamwork, leadership and social integration. The organisation focuses on working with young people at an early age to instil the core values that will help them integrate themselves into society and improve their chances of employment.

In recent years, issues of social integration in France have emerged on the world stage, most famously in the suburban riots of 2005. First-, second- and even third-generation immigrant communities, often from North and West Africa, have in many cases fallen into the lower classes of society. Many young people from these communities are discriminated against and dispossessed. Relegated to overcrowded schools and faced with a lack of educational opportunities, young people begin to experience problems at school that can lead to violence and crime.

France’s high youth unemployment rate only serves to exacerbate the issue. Twenty percent of individuals aged 15-24 in France are unable to find work; the figures double in the more disadvantaged segments of the population. The social exclusion of young people and their communities has serious repercussions on their ability to escape a cycle of dispossession and find gainful employment.

Every week, 2,000 young people aged 7-20 in 18 of the most deprived areas of the Rhône-Alpes region can participate in football, basketball and rugby programmes free of charge. Local, free participation in sports such as football serves as the initial attraction as well as the impetus for further engagement.

The same coaches are present at the same time and place each week, creating a stable, committed environment for young people. As young participants show their commitment to the programme, they can earn recognition for values such as punctuality, politeness and respect for others that can in turn lead to them taking part in reward programmes such as international exchanges or holiday camps. Their passion for football is what brings young people into Sport dans la Ville, but it is the act of playing the game itself that helps them to develop the social skills they require to find gainful employment in the future.

Each year, young people who have demonstrated their commitment to the project and a positive attitude are eligible to be selected for summer and winter camps. The camps include football and other sports, as well as artistic activities such as drama and painting.

In the camps, Sport dans la Ville staff can encourage participants more directly as well as expose them to a new environment—a useful experience for young people who will soon be navigating the job market. Participants are encouraged to explore their potential and surroundings, to remain open, and to develop personally.

Exemplary young people are also eligible for international exchange programmes; these trips to Brazil, New York and India are aimed at discovery and development of individuals and serve as a first step toward the Job dans la Ville programme.

Initially, young people begin and stay at Sport dans la Ville for the football and other sport programmes. Once the foundation has been laid and football has been used to establish values such as respect and commitment, young participants are ready to progress to more formal job training. Job dans la Ville offers employment training and mentorship for young people aged 14 and over. Entrepreneurs dans la Ville assists young individuals aged 20-30 with their entrepreneurial plans. L dans la Ville is dedicated to girls aged 12 and over; through football training, workshops, cultural events and travel, it helps them integrate into society and prepares them for the Job dans la Ville and Entrepreneurs dans la Ville programmes.

Since 2007, Sport dans la Ville has seen rapid growth. Its recently established ‘Campus’ building has allowed for the expansion of services, particularly in the Job dans la Ville and Entrepreneurs dans la Ville programmes. A separate infrastructure is currently under construction to support the latter programme. A refitted bus called the Apprenti’Bus serves as a successful portable classroom for children aged 9-11.

Growth has been hard-won in several respects. Like many organisations, Sport dans la Ville has had difficulty breaking down barriers and prejudice between the privileged and the underprivileged; the winter and summer camps address this issue directly. It has also had to put a significant amount of effort toward targeting socially excluded individuals while they are still at an impressionable age.

In order to remain unrestrained in working effectively toward its vision, Sport dans la Ville has developed successful fundraising techniques that ensure that the organisation can remain independent of externally imposed biases and targets.

With football at the root of their experience, participants are proactively fighting the effects of social exclusion, taking advantage of promising employment opportunities and even creating their own. Sixty-one of the 150 individuals enrolled in Job dans la Ville have work contracts, and 78% of the young people who completed Entrepreneurs dans la Ville have developed their business idea. Sport dans la Ville has had significant success in using football and other sports to integrate young people from disadvantaged communities into French society.

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