🇬🇧 Why TRANSPORTACTION Matters: Addressing the Inclusion Gap in Today’s Sports

TRANSPORTACTION is co-funded by the European Union

The inclusion of transgender, gender diverse and intersex people in sport is one of the most urgent social challenges of recent years. Although sport is widely seen as a space for participation, well-being and personal growth, for many individuals it remains a place from which they feel excluded. European data reveal a concerning situation: more than half of transgender people avoid sports environments due to fear of discrimination, while stereotypes and cultural prejudice continue to undermine equal access to sport at all levels.

In recent years, the social climate has become even more complex. Restrictive policies and hostile narratives targeting gender-diverse identities have increased in several Western countries, fuelling stigma, insecurity and social isolation. As a result, many individuals—particularly those who would benefit the most in terms of psychological and social well-being—are withdrawing from sport.

At the local level, many grassroots sports associations still lack the tools needed to welcome transgender, gender diverse and intersex people safely and competently. There is a need for shared guidelines, targeted training, and practical examples on how to adapt workouts, communicate inclusively and manage shared spaces.

This is the context in which TRANSPORTACTION was created: a European initiative designed to strengthen the skills of grassroots sports organisations and help build communities that are more welcoming, aware and respectful of gender diversity.A project that aims to transform sport into what it should be for everyone: a space of freedom, growth and participation.