THE ROLE OF SPORT IN THE MODEL OF EU YOUTH POLICY

In the last three decades the youth are in the focus of the policy makers ranging from local through national, reaching European and international level. While respecting Member States' overall responsibility for youth policy, the EU is pacing efforts to provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and the job market. It is also trying to encourage young people to actively participate in society. Sport is one of the main tools to approach young people. Despite all the measures significant number of young people are out of school and social life. The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of youth policy and work, to define the role of sport and to explore the effectiveness of the respected policy. Qualitative methods of research were applied including content analysis, retrospective analysis and comparative studies. Sport is recognized as a key factor for youth development. We found a growing tendency for common governance of youth and sport, as well as overlapping in the related policy. In terms of structures we observed both subject specific and combined governmental and non-governmental organizations. The existing studies are showing greater association between youth policy and sport activities. Sport activities are considered the most attractive among young Europeans. More studies are necessary to explore the capacity of the cross-sectoral and multy-level cooperation between the sport and youth policy. It is also necessary to develop new governance tools in order to enhance the role of sport in the model of EU youth policy.