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The European Children Love Sports Programme, implemented by the Hellenic Olympic Committee with the co-financing of the European Union and mainly for refugee children, began with the inaugural event that took place online due to the pandemic. Through the European Programme 'Kids Love Sports', 4,000 children aged 6-12 years, the majority of refugees, staying in open accommodation structures in greater Attica, will have the opportunity to visit, within the next 24 months, the Panathinaikos Stadium. The children will get to know the history of the Stadium through an organized tour and will experience sports under the guidance of great athletes.
The event was attended by the President of the EEE and IOC member Spyros Kapralos who symbolically stressed from the Panathinaikos Stadium that sport has repeatedly proven to be one of the most powerful tools for promoting integration and social cohesion. He recalled the ROLE of the IOC in supporting the refugee population and referred to the representation of refugees on their own team at the Tokyo Olympics for the second consecutive event. The event was addressed by the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Migration & Asylum, Ms. Sofia Vultetsi, while the Programme Manager Mrs. Georgia Papathanasiou stressed in particular the importance of the synergies that have already emerged through the Programme and warmly thanked the civil society bodies and representatives of the Ministry of Migration & Asylum for their cooperation with the EEE for the benefit of the children who will participate in the Programme. At the same time, the 'Kids Love Sports' Programme aims at other complementary activities to connect refugee children with sport, such as sport, within the open accommodation structures of students of the School of Physical Education and Sport Science of the EKPA, with the assistance and supervision of the EEE.
