IN-FORMS partners meet in Portugal to review upcoming practical tools for innovative employment in sport

The IN-FORMS project partners met in Rio Maior, Portugal, on 28 and 29 April 2026, hosted by the Escola Superior de Desporto de Rio Maior (ESDRM). The meeting brought together partners from across Europe as the project moves towards the publication of new practical resources for the sport sector.

About IN-FORMS

IN-FORMS focuses on how innovative forms of employment can help respond to changing needs in sport. Across Europe, sport organisations face common employment challenges, including seasonal work, staff shortages, limited HR capacity, budget constraints, demand for more flexibility, and difficulties retaining qualified people. These issues affect clubs, federations, employers, workers and future professionals entering the sector.

Bringing together 12 partners from 10 countries, the project is developing resources to help sport organisations better understand different employment models and consider how they may be used in practice. Existing IN-FORMS outputs already include a research report and policy recommendation paper Building a More Professional Sport Workforce – New Approaches to Sport Employment (available in 10 languages) exploring the current employment realities and the role of non-traditional employment in sport and the conditions needed to make such approaches useful, realistic and sustainable.

Developing the final phase of the project

The next phase will focus on practical guidance. A set of roadmaps will be published to support understanding and implementation of selected employment models, including employee sharing and platform work. These resources are being designed for sport employers, while also taking account of the needs of employees and future employees, including students preparing for careers in sport. The roadmaps will provide an accessible starting point for organisations interested in exploring whether these forms of employment could be relevant in their own context.

An online tool is also being developed to make the project’s guidance easier to use. The tool will help users identify suitable employment solutions for their workforce needs.

Further upcoming opportunities will include an online capacity-building course for national employment innovation experts and a final European online conference.

Partner meeting in Portugal

Meeting participants visited the facilities of the host ESDRM, toured the DESMOR performance centre in Rio Maior and visited Salinas de Rio Maior, the traditional salt production facilities.

EOSE and the IN-FORMS consortium thank ESDRM for hosting the group in Rio Maior and supporting the partners during the meeting.