The network Cities for Sports

connects European cities and local organisations in terms of promoting everyday exercise in children's life.

Partner cities of "You need exercise!" are Athens, Copenhagen, Innsbruck, Rotterdam and Stuttgart

The promotion of children's physical activity is a key topic of the network. There is an experience and approaches in place in the participating municipalities, that can be found in the member area. An exchange of experience is nevertheless desired, particularly at primary school level. Therefore one challenging question is how can the concept of sport be developed so that it can be successful in all-day school structures?

You'll find documents as well as best practices, guidelines and presentations on the theme on the left. 


What the promotion of exercise can do for children

One side-effect of the change in today’s society is that more and more children in Europe are overweight or even suffer from obesity. Nowadays children spend most of their leisure time with media, such as television and play stations, which leaves less free time for exercise. The increased traffic in large cities makes it hardly possible for children to play safely outside. It is difficult for them to make their way safely to school or kindergarten or to their leisure facilities, such as music schools or sports clubs. To get from A to B children often have to depend on public transport or are driven by their parents – what we call social isolation. Children need exercise to lead a healthy life. Scientific studies have shown that exercise not only has a positive influence on physical health but also on the cognitive development and performance in children.

The aim of Cities for Sports is to ensure that our citizens are healthy and efficient by taking the appropriate measures to make the everyday life of our children in Europe more active and support the natural urge children have to move.