Sport dans la Ville

Sport dans la Ville is the foremost non-profit organization devoted to job placement through sports in France. The NGO was founded in March 1998 with the goal of creating a sports activities program that could be used to help underprivileged children who live in difficult neighborhoods. The program uses sports as a means to encourage young people to avoid antisocial behavior, teaching them the importance of teamwork, leadership and social integration. Around 4.000 children are currently involved.

Sports and activities offered include soccer and basketball while four summer camps and two winter camps take place each year involving 300 children. An international exchange program also operates every summer involving 60 children and is run in conjunction with similar charities in Brazil (Gol de Letra), in the USA (Harlem RBI), in India (Tomorrow’s Foundation) and in England (Street League). The successes are evident, not only in terms of number of participants, but also through the visible changes in the attitude and behavior of children involved in the project.

In order to enable youth, aging from 15 to 23 years old, to find a job, Sport dans la Ville has also developed an innovative training program with a group of 50 corporate sponsors. Every young registered in this program is sponsored by a volunteer employee of a business partner, who introduces him to the professional world. 84% of youth in the "Job dans la Ville" program gets a job or a qualification after the training and coaching. 600 youth are participating in the program in 2014.

Sport dans la Ville has also created a program helping young people creating their own businesses. “Entrepreneurs dans la Ville” has been developed with EM Lyon Business School: since its creation in 2007, more than 70 companies have been set up.

Sport dans la Ville currently employs 45 people and 80 sport educators on the field, in Paris, Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne.