(Tarafal , Cape Verde, 11-14 May 2025)
One of the fundamental human rights is gender equality, which is present both within the strategies and objectives of the European Commission and in the focus of the Female Sport Coaching Training Program – FEMCoach project .
Given that the project is halfway through implementation, a project meeting and seminar for female trainers was held in Tarafal, Cape Verde, from 11 to 14 May 2025.
The project consortium consists of eight partners from different sectors and countries, such as universities, Olympic committees, NGOs and sports organizations: University of Trás – os – Montes and Alto Douro (Portugal) , Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece),University yes Girona (Spain) , Universidad part Pa í s Basque / Basque Herriko Uniber (Spain) , Institute for Sport Governance ( Poland ) , Association for couple and Form of yes Development Desportivo (Portugal). Comit é Ol í mpico Cabo Verde (Greenland Islands) and the Association Sport for All Serbia (Serbia).
The meeting was hosted by the project partner, the Cape Verde Olympic Committee.
The project aims to create a unique online course ( MOOC ) , which together with the manuals should support hundreds of thousands of users . The project between science and practice, in its first phase, will deal with a systematic examination of curricula and all existing manuals for the education of (female) trainers, as well as the design of course content and teaching/learning processes. In the second phase, the manuals will be developed and their practical application will begin among selected participants, while in the third phase, national workshops will be organized to showcase the achievements of the project.
The project is aligned with the recommendations and action plan of the High-Level Group on Gender Equality in Sport (2022), emphasizing equal opportunities for women and men in sport, including access to facilities, funding, training and career development. By providing training for female coaches, it enables them to acquire the necessary skills to effectively interact with young athletes, taking into account their age, gender, level of education and social context.
The meeting was started by coordinator Nuno Leita with a brief overview of the activities carried out, after which each work package was presented by the partners with results and plans for further development of program activities.
The main topic of the meeting was the creation of criteria for selecting candidates who will participate in the program, namely the international webinar, online seminars and Conference in Girona, Spain in May 2026.
During this year, the partners will work on selecting the best participants to attend the course next year, as well as on optimizing the teaching and learning process and on innovative solutions to the everyday challenges that women face in their careers as athletes or coaches.
The course
During the second day of the meeting, a hybrid seminar – round table and workshops for women trainers was held in Tarafal. A multiplier event, particularly in the context of EU-funded projects like Erasmus+, is a specific type of event designed to disseminate project results to a wider audience beyond the direct participants. These events serve to maximize the project’s impact by sharing intellectual outputs and encouraging the adoption of best practices.
All attendees were welcomed by the Mayor of Tarafal, Jose dos Reis , and the President of the European Union Order in Cape Verde, Carla Grijo . and the President of the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee, Filomena Fortes . The partners had the opportunity to discuss the main objectives of the project, and the speakers presented the current state of women’s sports in Tarafala. The moderator was Susana e Feitor , a Portuguese athlete, a specialist in speed walking, a bronze medalist at the World Championships in the 20km walk, who today chairs the Portuguese Sports Foundation .
- Link for one of the news: https://opais.cv/femcoach-promove-curso-no-tarrafal-de-santiago-para-capacitar-treinadora-feminina/09/04/2025/
FEMCoach is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HRDC. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
