Working Lunch:
SMEs meet sport - Information exchange between politics, sport and business- Frankfurt
July 04, 2022 - 1 PM
On Monday, July 4th, 2022, the second information exchange on the topic "SME meets sport" of the Healthy Lifestyle at Work & Home initiative took place in Frankfurt am Main.
Healthy Lifestyle at Work & Home in Frankfurt - Promoting grassroots sport and networks.
At our second event in Frankfurt am Main, the focus was as before on the question of how to inspire more people to start or take up sport activities (ideally in clubs).
Growth potential for grassroots sport promotion
50 percent of Europeans do not do any sport, two thirds are overweight! All participants agreed that the main focus should therefore be on "non-athletes" of all ages. It is important to raise this potential for clubs in order to get people "to exercise". The type of sport would initially be irrelevant. However, since financial support is almost only available for top-level sport, grassroots sport in particular is severely underfunded. The issue of financing of exercise instructors has emerged as a particular problem for sports associations.
In order to achieve improvements here, politics is also called upon. In times of scarce public funds, it is also essential for clubs to be attractive to regional partners from small and medium-sized enterprises in order to create a win-win situation.
Network idea
Up to now, individual interests rather than networking and synergies have often been in the foreground of associations and clubs, according to the critical stocktaking. There was also no targeted cooperation with associations from other sectors (e.g. health). The network idea of HLI was therefore received positively as a "great opportunity" to bring more attention to the entire socially and ultimately also economically relevant topic area of grassroots sport, clubs, health and nutrition.
Many thanks to all participants from sports and politics for your great commitment at the second Healthy Lifestyle at Work & Home (HLI) event in Frankfurt am Main. We also want to use your valuable suggestions and the insights gained from the meeting to develop new ideas and projects together with sports clubs and medium-sized companies.
Klaus-Dieter Rommeiß, Federal Chairman of the Federal Association of Club, Association and Foundation Managers BVVGF eV, Dr. Horst Heitz, Chair of the Steering Committee SME Connect, Markus Hofmann, MdL (Bündnis 90 / DIE GREEN), political spokesman for medium-sized businesses, Yanki Pürsün, MdL (FDP) political spokesman for health, Moritz Klapdohr, Sportkreis Frankfurt am Main eV, Karl Rothmer, President of the Hessian Wrestling Association eV, Dennis Erbe, Head of the Hessian Table Tennis Association eV, Elke Jonas, President of the Hessian Fencing Association eV, Ralf Koch, Chairman of the Lahn-Dill e. V
Image rights: SME Connect/Hartung