Finding your place and having a sense of meaning and belonging in life are crucial for successful integration. But so are having rules to follow and people to look up to, according to Patrik Asplund, the man behind the Goodsport Foundation.

Goodsport encourages young people to build bridges, develop self-confidence and create a new circle of friends through sport – work supported by Stadium.

Patrik knows how it feels to live in the shadows, be excluded by society and survive in an unsafe world. But he picked himself up and managed to turn his life around, and through Goodsport he wants to help others take their rightful place in society. Across Sweden – from north to south – Goodsport has therefore teamed up with leading local figures to create natural meeting places where young people from different areas can meet up and establish new friendships. This successful initiative was recognised at the Swedish Sports Gala 2019, when Patrik Asplund proudly received the “Årets Peppare” award for his inspiring work.

Patrik Asplund and Hannah Andrén from Goodsport accepted the “Årets Peppare 2019” award from Prince Daniel.

“It was a huge deal to have that moment in the spotlight to present Goodsport’s projects in front of all those massive sports heroes. I personally experienced exclusion as a teenager and ended up in various gangs. Many of the young people I meet all over Sweden have similar problems. Combating this exclusion is my greatest motivator. To be honest, I’ve also done some bad things in my time that I now regret. ‘Paying back’ may be a bit of a cliché, but it absolutely applies to me. Being able to do good and guide young people is a privilege, and the award was confirmation that I’ve managed to pay something back. It gives me a really warm feeling,” he explains.

According to Goodsport, the secret to successful integration is getting people to meet across boundaries, both visible and invisible – encouraging them to step outside their comfort zone. Night Football and the schools-based Skolträffen are two of the foundation’s projects that have used physical activity to achieve exactly that. Night Football has given young people something to do in the evenings instead of wandering around town. Here they learn to respect each other, take personal responsibility and work together towards a shared goal. In the Skolträffen project, young people from different areas and socioeconomic backgrounds meet in relaxed circumstances and build up trust and self-confidence through a range of different exercises.

“Sport is a great way to make new friends, but maybe the most important thing is that any mutual prejudices the young people might have tend to fall away once they get to know each other. Success comes when you’re not thinking about integration and it just happens organically. In football, everyone has a specific task that has to be completed together, with clear roles and rules,” says Patrik.

Since it first began, Goodsport has provided over 100 000 opportunities for young people across Sweden to take part in the foundation’s projects. And they are all proof of how great sport is at engaging and uniting people by creating platforms where everyone is on a level playing field. The foundation also provides the leaders with a chance to grow through courses and mentoring. Sargon Akcan, project leader for Night Football in Norrköping, is one of the local heroes who has received guidance from Goodsport:

“The foundation has meant so much to us. They’ve been with us from day one, shaping, educating and training us up. Being able to open up a sports hall and give young people a social outlet on a small budget – there’s nothing better. Without Goodsport, none of this would have been possible.”

Stadium has supported Goodsport financially for many years, but the partnership has expanded more recently and now we are an active partner, sharing knowledge, contact networks and mentoring opportunities.

“We have many different partners, but Stadium is one of the most important. Through their extensive network of contacts, we can jointly strengthen the position of the clubs and generate greater social benefit by providing alternative paths for our young people,” says Patrik Asplund.

Stadium supports Goodsport, a foundation that encourages young people to build bridges, develop self-confidence and create a new circle of friends through sport. Goodsport’s activities include Night Football and the schools-based Skolträffen project.