The project is grounded in the principle that access to sport is a fundamental right, not a privilege. Beyond its well-established health benefits, sport serves as a powerful tool for social inclusion by strengthening self-confidence, fostering social connections, and enabling the development of new skills.
Recognised for decades as an effective driver of integration, sport can play a key role throughout the reception and settlement process for refugees and migrants.
The project aims to support the integration of migrants living in Paris through structured access to sporting activities. Participants are first engaged within the association’s own facilities before being progressively encouraged to take part in external sports environments, supporting gradual and sustainable social inclusion.
Who benefits
Young people who are migrants, although not exclusively. The project is designed to benefit any young person facing hardship or vulnerability.
How it works
The initiative combines sport-based activities with structured personal development to strengthen participants’ confidence, social connections, and pathways to social inclusion.
T Cap is implemented in collaboration with social services, including educators and social workers, and is tailored to the specific needs of young participants. Sport is used as a core tool for inclusion, learning, and empowerment, supporting the development of independence, self-confidence, and values related to coexistence and mutual respect.
Communication with participants is primarily conducted via WhatsApp, with dedicated groups for each activity used to share key information such as training schedules, venues, and meeting points. To ensure accessibility for a multilingual audience, information is generally provided in French, English, and German.
- Start date
- 1 Jan 2021
- Project locations
- France
- Project website
- Up Sport !
- Age and gender
- Children and youth
- Migration status
- Newcomers
- Topic
- Education and training
Results
Football, as a unifying activity, has played a central role in bringing participants together and strengthening engagement within the project. To promote gender equality, mixed-gender matches have also been organised.
Through sustained participation and commitment, participants successfully joined a team registered in the UFOLEP (French Union of Secular Physical Education Organisations) championship in September 2023. Their progress has been significant, with the team reaching the top of the league table midway through the 2024–25 season.
Overall, approximately 60 young migrants have benefited from the project to date.
Evaluation
The project has been successful in supporting participants to develop key psychosocial skills through sport, which have been documented in individual skills logbooks. These tools also support partner accommodation providers in assessing participants’ autonomy, particularly in contexts where young people are housed in hotel-based accommodation.
Participant feedback is collected internally through structured questionnaires and interviews, conducted either orally or in writing, to better understand their experiences and perceptions of sports sessions. An official external evaluation has not yet been published.
The initiative was recognised under the “Impact 2024” programme, supported by the French National Sports Agency, the Paris 2024 Endowment Fund, the CNOSF and CPSF, the City of Paris, and the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council.
Funding and resources
The project is funded through the “Impact 2024” call for projects, led by the French National Sports Agency and aimed at organisations within the sports sector, as well as associations and local and regional authorities.
Launched in 2020 in partnership with the Paris 2024 Endowment Fund, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF), the programme has since expanded to include additional partners such as the City of Paris, the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council, FDJ, France Travail, and the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area.