News item | 11-12-2025 | 1:00 PM
To encourage more young people to participate in sports and exercise, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is starting a pilot with a free sports pass together with three municipalities. With a contribution from VWS, the municipalities of Waadhoeke, Heerlen and Dordrecht can get started with the experiment. The pilots will start in early 2026. The results will be available from summer 2027.
The pilots are part of a study by VWS into the possible effects of a national sports pass. The aim is to investigate whether obstacles for certain groups of young people to participate in sports and exercise are removed with such a sports pass. The results and learning points are expected in July 2027.
Freedom of choice
Young people aged 12 to 23 in the municipalities of Waadhoeke, Heerlen and Dordrecht receive a sports pass with between 100 and 300 euros per year to spend on sports. The participating municipalities have determined what amount is available for which group of young people. This amount can be spent on introductory activities, individual sports lessons or annual subscriptions or memberships. The intention is to remove the barriers to (continuing to) exercise.
Three different municipalities
The three participating municipalities each have a unique profile. The population profiles are different everywhere, such as the number of inhabitants, different ages and backgrounds. They also all have a different sports infrastructure. VWS is working with three different municipalities – Waadhoeke (Fryslân), Heerlen (Limburg) and Dordrecht (South Holland) – to gain more insight into the effects of the sports pass based on the differences. The credit on the sports pass and the number of young people who can use the sports pass also differ per municipality. Extra attention is paid to contact with young people who do not participate in sports and young people with a lower income. The municipalities do this with specific programs and actions, targeted communication and guidance from, for example, neighborhood sports coaches.