Located at 43 Avenue des Arts in Brussels, Belgium, the House of Sport is a joint initiative established by several leading organisations in the sport and active leisure sector. It is composed of four physical partners: EuropeActive (European Health and Fitness Association), FESI (Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry), ICSS (International Centre for Sport and Security) and the European think tank Sport & Citizenship.
In addition, House of Sport is welcoming seven ‘non-physical partners’ namely ACES Europe (European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation), EMCA (European Multisport Club Association), Sporsora, EHLA (European Healthy Lifestyle Alliance), FEDAS (Federation of European Sport Retailers), EFCS (European Federation of Company Sports) and EPSI (European Platform for Sport Innovation).
According to the partners, the main objective of the House of Sport initiative is to ‘benefit from working together in an organised cross sectorial approach and raise awareness on the benefits of sport and physical activity.’ Furthermore, the partners aim at joining forces in order to share and coordinate strategic goals for the overall development of the sport sector. In doing so they will also aim to support charity organisations.
A launch event, organised as part of the European Week of Sport, was seen as an opportunity, in respective keynote addresses, for:
- Jens Nymand-Christensen (Deputy Director General EC, DG EAC) to stress the importance of sport and physical activity for the EU; and
- Antonio Campinos (President OHIM) to share the results of OHIM’s latest study on the economic impact of IPR infringement in the sport goods sector.
After being introduced to the public, the House of Sport and more precisely the organisations under its umbrella, will be ‘ready to join forces under a common goal – enhance the relevance of sport and physical activity in all dimensions of our society such as economic, educational, cultural and social.’
