Moving On: Access to Sport for Roma, Sinti, & Travellers in Europe

13 February 2024

Sport is often framed as a tool of public health policy in Europe. It is also lauded for its ability overcome cultural and class barriers to promote understanding and tolerance between players of varied backgrounds. However, such things are rarely envisaged when it comes to national or European policy for Romani and Traveller people. This report not only exposes the barriers which deny Roma, Sinti, and Travellers access to sport and physical activity, it also explores the potential for sport as a tool of anti-racism. The research relies on expert opinion, interviews with policy makers, and interviews with Romani and Traveller athletes in four European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, and Spain) to uncover discriminatory structures and propose solutions through sport. The report considers the intersection between gender and identity as a cross-cutting issue throughout the research, focussing on the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity for Romani and Traveller women and girls as forms of intersectional discrimination and prejudice. 

The research was carried out by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in cooperation with INEX-Sdružení dobrovolných aktivit (INEX-SDA), Exchange House Ireland, GEA Social Cooperative, and the Federación de Asociaciones Gitanas de Cataluña (FAGiC). This report is part of the EU-funded Moving On project which seeks to improve access to sport and physical activity for Roma, Sinti, and Travellers. The project is the result of a coalition between seven civil society organisations: ALDA, the ERRC, Exchange House Ireland, FAGiC, the Fare network, GEA Cooperative, and INEX-SDA Fotbal Pro Rozvoj.

The report Moving On: Access to Sport for Roma, Sinti, & Travellers in Europe can be downloaded here in English, Czech, Italian, and Spanish.