Chapter 1

Despite all the self-evident fact that sports in general, and FFS even more, have numerous benefits and a wide positive influence to everyone involved in it, the results on a global level are not as encouraging as expected.

In fact, according to the WHO, 1 in 4 adults globally do not meet the global recommended levels of physical activity. Despite the scientific data warning us that people who are insufficiently active have a 20 % to 30 % increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active, more than 80 % of the world’s adolescent population is insufficiently physically active.

And what about sports clubs and organizations? Do they involve FFS in their regular programs and if yes…how often is that? What is the reaction of their target groups in such initiatives – do they welcome and exploit such opportunities or are they still project hesitations and indifference? What kind of challenges do they face along the way and which are the voids that still need to be covered in order for FFS to become integral part of their work?

In an effort to provide a valid response to those questions we conducted the “FFS Research” which involved a quantitative online survey targeting sports clubs and organizations with no or limited experience in FFS, as well as relevant stakeholders, and a qualitative phase of interviews towards representatives of sports clubs and organizations who identified as practitioners of family-friendly approaches and thus having certain experience, coming from fiv5 (4) countries around Europe: Spain, Belgium, North Macedonia, Serbia and Greece. According to the research results, the respondents showed great interest for organizing and participating in more family-friendly activities. Around 45% of them rate this interest with the highest grade on the scale, while 48% shows moderate to high interest.

So, it is rather obvious the idea of FFS is here to stay and make a huge change in the lives of everyone involved. Let’s see how we can make this happen!