Audrey Giral Napels: Sports infrastructure should improve quality of life for city residents

Sports infrastructure should be perceived not merely as a construction project, but as an important tool for urban development, social integration, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, stated the head of the department of the French Development Agency (AFD), Audrey Giral Napels, during a panel discussion at WUF13 in Baku.

According to her, the connection between sports and urban development is becoming one of the key topics on the modern urban agenda.

"Sport is present everywhere in the city, but it is still perceived as a secondary sphere," she noted.

According to her, investments in sports infrastructure need to be considered much more broadly than simply constructing facilities.

At the same time, she noted that the success of such projects depends not only on the volume of funding. "Sometimes we saw that two years after opening, facilities became unsuitable for use or stood empty. And the problem was rarely about money. More often, it was a question of concept, as well as how the infrastructure would be managed and operated," she stated.

According to the AFD representative, when evaluating projects, particular attention is paid to how well the infrastructure meets the actual needs of the population and is accessible to the most vulnerable groups.

"The most important question is whether this infrastructure will serve those people who need it most. In practice, this concerns women, youth, and vulnerable communities," she emphasized.