5th Transnational Project Meeting – SDG Striker Project
EFDN hosted the 5th Transnational Project Meeting for the SDG Striker project. The meeting was held in the city of Breda at the stadium of NAC Breda. All the project partners were present either on-site or online – Ecoserveis, Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz (EI-JKU), European Football for Development Network (EFDN), Portugal Football Federation (FPF), Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) and Scottish Football Association (SFA).
The goal of the meeting was to update the partners on the progress and discuss the next steps for finalizing the project. During the two days, the NAC Academy provided their facility for the project partners. Furthermore, NAC Breda hosted a tour for the project partners around the stadium and its facilities.
Ecoserveis updated partners on the general progress and reporting. In general, the project is going in the right direction. It is necessary to focus on the finalization of the project – the dissemination, evaluation, and reporting.
EI-JKU has already finalized the best sustainable practices in energy efficiency, PV deployment, and artificial grass infills. Moreover, they have created various webinars to present the best practices. These webinars are on the YouTube channel of Ecoserveis. Now, they are focusing on the evaluation of the impact of the 3 pilots – energy efficiency in Scotland, PV deployment in Portugal, and ecological infills for artificial grass in Norway.
Scottish Football Association is trying to increase the sports facilities‘ efficiency and raise awareness of energy poverty. They have planned the energy efficiency workshops – one in person on the 27th of February and 1 online. Furthermore, a community workshop which would be led by one of the SFA clubs and Scottish FA staff trainings are planned.
The Norwegian Football Federation is looking for alternatives to microplastics that could be used as infill for artificial football pitches. They are now testing the materials and asking for feedback from the players – on how they feel while playing and training. Version 2 of the infills will be installed in Kristiansand in February. The biggest issue they are facing is the lack of data on the durability of the birch infills.
The Portugal Football Federation is analyzing the social and economic impacts of installing PV solar panels in sports facilities. During the year 2022, they gathered data about the impacts of PV solar panels at the training facility of football club Benfica. The best months for using the PV solar panels were April, May, and June because during these months the PV solar panels generated the most energy.
EFDN started working on the practitioner’s guide, which will show potential users of one of the 3 pilots how to replicate them and use them at their club/association/company.
The next and last Transnational Project Meeting for the SDG Striker project will be held in Oslo, Norway on the 27th and 28th of April 2023.
