Meeting of the members of the iSport team

The iSport project team met for the first time on 6-7 February 2018 in Zagreb, Croatia. The kick-off meeting was the opportunity to present the project activities and partner organisations, as well as the individual team members representing partner organisations in the project.

The iSport team consists of experts in the field of sport economy, sport science and education, public institutions. Some of the team members (e.g. Anna Kleissner, Guenther Grohall, Themis Kokolakakis, Richard Anner) were members of the EU Expert Group on Sport Statistics and Economy. Their expertise in the field of sport economy is crucial for the success of the iSport project. We have asked them what they think about the expected impact of the project on participating countries and the EU as a whole, and this is what they said.

“Sport Satellite Accounts are a valuable tool that gives us important information about the potential of sport to boost the economy on national and EU levels. We are planning to use this wealth of information to exploit it further and create a new set of information that can be applied by policy makers in participating countries”, said Guenther Grohall, the lead researcher in charge of the development of the research methodology.

“Research methodology”, Anna Kleissner added, “enables us to conduct the Study on the economic impact of an investment in sport. This study will provide the indicators for investments in sport infrastructure, but it will also indicate the economic effect of such investments on an EU level, which is a valuable information for those who make decisions about such investment in the EU institutions.”

Impact of the iSport project was discussed at the kick-off meeting, especially in relation to the policy formulation and evidence-based decision-making about investments in sport which has the potential of sport to tackle societal and economic challenges which requires a better understanding of the role of sport as a driver for economic growth and employment.

The next activity is the workshop for researchers to be organized by SportsEconAustria.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.