Play for Life results: practical deliverables and learning outcomes for sport youth workers

The Play for Life – PFL project is not limited to raising awareness about youth substance abuse. One of its main ambitions is to create concrete, accessible and replicable results that can support sport youth workers, coaches, volunteers and sport organisations in their daily work with young people.

The project deliverables will be designed to transform the idea of sport as a prevention tool into practical resources that can be used in local sport environments.

The first key deliverable is the Play for Life Method. This educational resource will guide sport youth workers in understanding how sport can be used to prevent substance abuse among young people. The method will include contents on the numbers and risks of youth substance abuse, the power of sport in prevention, the educational role of sport youth workers, and the importance of communication, collaboration and effective motivation.

This deliverable will help participants acquire knowledge about youth addictions, risk and protection factors, and the connection between sport, well-being and prevention. It will also support sport youth workers in developing a clearer understanding of their role as educational figures.

The second deliverable is the Advocacy Campaign. This campaign will include digital and social media materials aimed at raising awareness about the role of sport in preventing youth substance abuse. It will include infographics on data related to youth addictions and social media carousels on the benefits of sport as a preventive and educational tool.

Through this deliverable, participants will improve their ability to communicate prevention messages in a simple, accessible and engaging way. They will also develop digital and communication skills connected to awareness raising, public messaging and community engagement.

The third deliverable is the Graphic Tools Package. This package will include visual materials such as posters, roll-ups and brochures. These tools will support both the internal training activities and the external dissemination of the project message.

The Graphic Tools Package will help sport organisations make prevention messages visible and understandable in their own spaces. It will also support youth workers in using visual communication to involve young people, families and local stakeholders.

The fourth deliverable is the Targeted Sport Exercises Package. This package will include 15 innovative training programmes designed to support young people at risk through sport. Each activity will include a name, number of participants, objectives, materials needed, rules, implementation steps and feedback phase.

The exercises will focus on key personal and social skills such as resilience, cooperation, self-esteem, stress management and sense of belonging. The learning outcomes connected to this deliverable will include the ability to design sport activities with an educational purpose, adapt exercises to young people’s needs and use physical activity as a tool for inclusion and prevention.

The fifth deliverable is the Analysis Tools Package. This package will include practical instruments for sport youth workers, such as personalised registration forms, self-assessment sheets, risk factor evaluation checklists, release forms and informed consent documents.

These tools will help youth workers better understand the needs of young people at risk, identify early signs of discomfort and plan more personalised and responsible sport-based interventions. They will also support a more ethical and structured approach to working with young people in vulnerable situations.

Overall, the project will generate important learning outcomes for the participants. Sport youth workers will increase their knowledge of youth substance abuse, improve their ability to recognise risk factors, strengthen their communication and motivation skills, and learn how to design inclusive sport activities with a preventive purpose.

They will also develop transversal competences such as teamwork, intercultural cooperation, digital communication, advocacy, active listening, conflict management and non-formal education methods.

The results of Play for Life will therefore not only be materials to publish, but practical tools designed to create long-term impact in sport communities.