Sport dans la Ville (SDLV) was founded in 1998 with the goal of creating a sports activities program that could be used to help underprivileged children who live in difficult neighbourhoods. The organisation uses sports, primarily football, as a means to encourage young people to avoid antisocial behaviour, teaching them the importance of teamwork, leadership and social integration. Over the past ten years, SDLV has grown to become France’s largest not-for-profit sports organisation, regularly reaching 1600 participants in and around Lyon and Grenoble.

Its activities include a job placement programme for 100 young people per year and an entrepreneur initiative supporting young people establish their own businesses. SDLV has close ties with the national and local government, corporations and Olympique Lyonnais, and also runs annual exchange programmes with organisations in USA and Brazil. In 2008, SDLV participated at Foca 08, the first European Street Football Festival held in Bosnia and Herzegovina.