How Olympic athletes helped improve children’s mental health through sport in Croatia
Eurochild member "Croatia for Children Foundation" shares the results of its “My Strength, My Path” 2025 campaign, which strengthened youth mental health through sports and benefited more than 200 children.
As part of the campaign, which has a particular focus on vulnerable groups, large-scale mental training and sport-based events were delivered in partnership with Community Service Centres in Osijek, Zagreb, Opatija and Split, engaging more than 220 children and their educators from institutions across Croatia.
Through guided physical activities and motivational sessions, children worked on building self-confidence, managing emotions and developing social skills. A significant number of participants expressed interest in returning to sports clubs or joining new sports programmes following the activities. The campaign was further expanded through the Foundation’s participation in the Days of Krešimir Ćosić in Zadar, where mental health workshops for children, young people, parents and teachers were organised in cooperation with clinical mental health experts, including a dedicated programme for children with behavioural difficulties from care centres in Split and Zadar.
Elite athletes and coaches, including Olympians and national team members, were actively involved in the campaign, using their personal stories to promote healthy lifestyles and contribute to the destigmatisation of mental health challenges among children and young people.
Key results:
- more than 220 children and young people directly engaged in mental training and sport-based activities;
- delivery of four major field events in Osijek, Zagreb, Opatija and Split;
- mental health workshops organised for children, parents and teachers in Zadar;
- involvement of Olympians and national athletes as role models and mentors;
- increased interest among participants in joining or returning to sports clubs;
- contribution to the destigmatisation of children with behavioural difficulties and to strengthening prevention and early intervention approaches.
Supported by the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, “My Strength, My Path” demonstrates how connecting sport, child protection and mental health systems can generate measurable and sustainable outcomes, particularly in the areas of prevention and early intervention for children in alternative care, in line with European priorities on social inclusion and deinstitutionalisation.
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