From the 17 to 19 November EOSE members gathered for the EOSE General Assembly and Annual Members’ Seminar 2025 on the mediterranean island of Malta. The event brought together 49 participants from 25 countries, expertly organised by the host, SportMalta. This key event in the EOSE calendar provided the chance to bring together all member organisations to discuss issues in sport employment and education, as well as driving the development of EOSE.
General Assembly
Following welcoming remarks from Mark Cutajar, Chief Executive Officer at SportMalta, the General Assembly was opened by EOSE President Kirstie Simpson. This was followed by a video message from Glenn Micallef, EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture & Sport, who congratulated EOSE on its contributions to the sport sector over 23 years of operation and outlined some of the key EU objectives for sport over the coming years. Members then received presentations from Lydia Abela, President of Special Olympics Malta, and local sport representatives (SportMalta, Aquatics Sports Association, Special Olympics Malta) which showcased their excellent work on stimulating physical activity and integrating participants with disabilities. Fábio Jorge da Silva from the Portuguese Institute of Sport & Youth (IPDJ) then gave an overview of the EU sport policy context including the European Commission’s consultation on the European Sport Model.
The formal part of the General Assembly included a report from Aurélien Favre, Executive Director, on the membership situation (now 38 member organisations from 31 countries, including 25 EU Member States), a positive financial report and a presentation from the staff team on the main elements of the 2025 Activity Report.
The General Assembly concluded with the unanimous re-election of three Board members whose two-year mandates came to an end in December 2025: Simone Digennaro (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy), Abel Santos (ESDRM, Santarém Polytechnic University, Portugal) and Mark Cutajar (SportMalta).
EOSE Annual Members’ Seminar
Over the following two days, members explored a number of important topics.
The first session of the Members’ Seminar gave the members an opportunity to explore and define what it means to be an EOSE member, their needs, expectations and commitment.
This was followed by a presentation and interactive debate led by Geoff Carroll (EOSE Director of Skills Development) on the sport employment statistics for 2024 and findings from EOSE’s European survey of sport organisations on employment challenges which provided further insights into some of the unusual features of the workforce (a widening gender gap, the high proportion of young workers and the difficulty of retaining them, and the large number of part-time and fixed term contracts) which highlighted the need for more stable employment to grow professionalisation in the sector.
In the afternoon, members turned their attention to the impact of EOSE’s work and a valuable model on measuring the social return on investment (SROI) presented by EOSE Past President, Thierry Zintz.
This was followed by presentations from EOSE members (SportMalta, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Mykolas Romeris University, Sportwerk Vlaanderen, Sports University of Tirana) who shared successful initiatives and innovations in which they had been involved.
Elizabeth Lewis, representing Cardiff Metropolitan University, commented on the event:
The EOSE General Assembly & Members’ Seminar is a highlight of my calendar. For me as an academic it is an opportunity to meet with people from other institutions and sport organisations to discuss all things sport employment. I really enjoy the passion that people share for workforce development and everyone’s willingness to engage in conversations and share ideas. This year Malta was a fantastic host, and the activities around the schedules meeting such as outdoor yoga / Pilates in November was a real treat. I left feel inspired by a group of people who are passionate about developing the sporting workforce in order to ensure that sport and physical activities thrives, not only in our own countries and across Europe.
First-time GA participant, Umit Yildrim from Bayburt University shared the following feedback:
Participating in the EOSE General Assembly & Members’ Seminar in Malta for the first time was an extremely valuable and enriching experience. The event provided an excellent platform to engage with new organisations and professionals, initiate concrete discussions on future collaborations, and gain a much deeper insight into EOSE’s vision, principles, and strategic priorities. In addition, the highly professional structure and efficient management of the meetings ensured productive, focused, and outcomeoriented discussions. The open exchange of views on upcoming initiatives under the EOSE umbrella clearly demonstrated EOSE’s strong coordinating role and its growing impact within the European sport and skills ecosystem.
Aurélien Favre, EOSE Executive Director, commented:
All the feedback we have gathered shows the 2025 General Assembly and Members’ Seminar was a great success. With 49 representatives from 25 countries, this was the biggest and broadest ever. The three days of constructive debate and shared learning emphasised EOSE’s growing strength and our members’ commitment to advancing and modernising the sport sector across Europe.
The event provided an important opportunity to share and review EOSE’s latest achievements, explore ongoing initiatives from the network, and discuss the evolving challenges, priority actions and opportunities linked to employment and skills in sport. The quality of the exchanges and the openness of discussion created an environment that was productive and personally inspiring.
In particular, the group discussions and the Lego Serious Play session generated valuable insights and creative ideas, helping us to capture diverse perspectives and identify shared priorities for the years ahead. These contributions will strongly support our strategic planning and guide EOSE as we continue to respond to the needs of the sector and expectations from our members.
I would like to sincerely thank Sport Malta for their amazing hospitality and all participants for their engagement, expertise and continued faith in EOSE. Your active involvement plays a crucial role in driving our collective progress and shaping the future of EOSE.
Contact
Mr Aurélien Favre – EOSE Executive Director – Click here