Training Needs – Corplay

Evidence provided by the CORPLAY stories, indicates that the effects of racism and exclusion can be found at grassroots level sports organizations, both at professional and at amateur level, and that a lack of awareness is observed about the impact that intolerance can have in young people.

The CORPLAY stories have detected a strong demand for training/ learning, considering that most (82%) of the coaches, referees, sport managers, physical education teachers and grassroots sport organizations have reported that they lack the necessary skills and competences to understand and detect signs and indicators of radicalization, and appropriately deal with radicalization processes and cases.

Lack of specific tools to tackle radicalization and de-radicalization in sport, tailored for coaches, referees, sport managers, physical education teachers and grassroots sport organizations, is also observed.

Furthermore, the Stories have detected training demands also in the case of athletes and some parents, who have reported feeling alone and unskilled to actively intervene when facing troubling situations.

Sport organizations are used as a “reservoir” for actions to proselytize led by radical nationalist or religious organizations.

People who have suffered marginalization (or feel they have been discriminated) abandon the team, join radical informal groups, also a-political or a-religious, or use sport to express extreme aggressiveness;

Coaches and managers that impose a highly authoritarian sport ethos, asking for extreme forms of submissiveness to athletes.

In changing rooms or during matches some people are systematically labelled and excluded because of their national, religious or social belonging.

“I definitely have not got enough skills to deal with such situations. So far I have not been trained on this topic and I have reacted by intuition. I’m not sure if this is the right way, and I think the result is temporary, limited to the specific case. All colleagues have been involved in the case, but they also do not feel confident about this”

(Teacher, 50 years old, Female, Bulgaria)

“I felt and I feel that I lack the skills and knowledge necessary to manage that kind of situation. The most difficult part was when I had to speak with her mother as I did not know what I would be dealing with”

(Volleyball coach, 30 years old, Female, Greece)

Coaches in sport clubs, associations and federations and physical education teachers are the people in direct contact with those most at risk of radicalization and they are able to detect, from their privileged stand- point, symptoms of uneasiness, situations of discrimination and isolation and violence that could be invisible to other adults, parents included.

Within this scope, CORPLAY proposes a mix of non formal training, e-learning, formal training and Awareness- raising events.

Some of the formal training could be included in the curriculum of the educational institutions and organizations training coaches and physical education teachers.

CORPLAY training proposed aims

raising awareness about the phenomenon of radicalization;
providing skills to detect its early signs and monitor youth in riskof radicalization;
Improving competences to build communities, encounter intol- erance, tackle discrimination and take appropriate measures to prevent radicalization.
Approaching the training subjects that have been defined as training needs of coaches, sport managers and physical education teachers in relation to radicalization, as identified in the Needs Analysis.

TRAINING SHOULD

provide up-to-date knowledge
Inform about the main risks
highlight the coaches’ pedagogic role
promote an holistic approach to integrate principles and values in sport organizations
make sport staff aware of all forms and channels for violent radicalization
include “awareness raising” to the “majority

Different learning models have been developed according to the training subjects. These models are designed to provide knowledge and develop skills to detect radicalization processes in sport environments and take suitable measures.

Learning models can be used separately or can be combined taking into ac- count the context and the specific needs of the trainees.

Training Needs

TRAINING PROGRAMMS