It’s time to get every school in Europe moving — and the European School Sport Day (ESSD) 2025 is your chance to lead the change! Across Europe, a quiet crisis is affecting our young people. Physical inactivity, often driven by a lack of access to facilities, support, or time, is placing millions of students at risk of poor physical and mental health. While the importance of movement and play is universally acknowledged, far too many children are unable to participate in regular physical activity due to constraints that schools alone cannot overcome. But the tide is turning — and the solution lies in the power of cooperation.

Enter the European School Sport Day (ESSD) 2025, a movement that goes far beyond a single event. This year’s theme, “Power of Cooperation: Strengthening Links Between Sport Clubs and Schools”, calls on communities to rethink how sport is delivered to young people — not as a privilege for the few, but as a right for all.

At the heart of this campaign is the newly released ESSD 2025 Toolkit: a comprehensive, engaging, and practical handbook designed to help schools and local sports clubs come together for a common cause. This is not just another awareness campaign. It is a hands-on roadmap that empowers schools to build meaningful partnerships with sports clubs, municipalities, parent groups, and other stakeholders. The toolkit offers step-by-step guidance for everything from identifying local sport partners and making initial contact, to conducting a joint self-assessment, planning joint activities, and evaluating their impact both during the European School Sport Day and across the school year.

What sets this year’s toolkit apart is its strong focus on sustainability. ESSD 2025 encourages teachers to use the event as a kickoff for long-term, mutually beneficial cooperation. It’s about moving away from isolated, competitive sport experiences and towards inclusive, everyday physical activity that welcomes every child, regardless of skill, socio-economic background, or circumstance. For many students, especially those who may not feel welcome or capable in traditional sport environments, these collaborations offer the only real opportunity to develop a positive relationship with physical activity and sport.

The toolkit also showcases inspiring real-life examples from across Europe that demonstrate just how powerful these partnerships can be.

In Croatia, the Special Power League brings together children with disabilities and mainstream sports clubs in an inclusive football and handball league.  For more information, please visit: https://healthlifeacademy.com/special-power-league/

In Spain, primary school students take the lead as “Healthy Influencers” (Hazte Influencer), organising wellness events and promoting healthy habits throughout their communities. For more information, please visit: https://soltra.org/hazteincluencer/inicio-english/

In Denmark, basketball clubs are embedding themselves in schools not just to train players, but to engage girls and families in meaningful, non-competitive physical activity. These stories show that when schools and clubs cooperate, the results are not just healthier students, but stronger, more connected communities. For more information, please visit: www.bornebasketfonden.dk

ESSD 2025 places the school at the centre of this community transformation. Schools are uniquely positioned as local hubs, where children, families, teachers, and external partners naturally come together. The toolkit recognises that by building bridges — whether through a shared coaching program, a co-hosted sport event, or a joint infrastructure project — schools can amplify their role in promoting lifelong health and well-being. With support from the European Union and key partners across the sport and education sectors, ESSD 2025 aligns with broader initiatives such as Active Schools Scotland, the Irish Active School Flag, Hungary’s Aktív Iskola, and Estonia’s Schools in Motion. It reflects a pan-European commitment to embedding physical activity into the culture and rhythm of school life.

This year’s event, which takes place during the European Week of Sport from 23–30 September 2025, is the perfect opportunity for schools and sports clubs to put this vision into action. The toolkit includes branded invitation templates, planning tools, evaluation forms, and ready-made frameworks to support schools in taking that first — and most important — step toward partnership. Whether you’re a PE teacher, a school head, a local coach, or a parent, the message is the same: cooperation is the key to unlocking every student’s potential.

But ESSD 2025 is not just about physical education. It’s about inclusion, well-being, and equity. It’s about ensuring that every child has a chance to move, to belong, and to thrive. It’s about building communities that are healthier, more connected, and more resilient.

Now is the time to act. The toolkit is available online and free to use, and the resources provided make it easy for anyone to start planning, coordinating, and celebrating an ESSD event that goes beyond sport — and into the heart of what education and community life can be.

Start your ESSD 2025 journey today at www.essd.eu and join a growing movement that is reshaping how Europe thinks about youth sport. The power of cooperation is real, and it starts with you.

#ESSD2025 #BeActive #PowerOfCooperation