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1. National strategy(ies)

2. Promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people

3. Physical education in schools

4. Collaboration and partnerships

National strategy(ies)

In North Macedonia, there is no dedicated national strategy exclusively focusing on sport and physical activity for young people. However, sport is recognised as an important component of youth wellbeing and is included across several thematic areas of the National Youth Strategy 2023–2027. Within thematic area 6 – Health, under Strategic Goal 3: Improved Way and Quality of Life for Youth, initiatives are envisioned to provide free and accessible spaces for physical and sports activities for all young people, including those with disabilities.

Recent institutional changes have shifted responsibilities from the former Agency of Youth and Sport to the newly established Ministry of Sport. The ministry now oversees promotion of sport and physical activity, development of recreational infrastructure, coordination of national sport programmes and international cooperation, as well as implementation of programmes targeting youth participation in sport.

Promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people

Promotion of sport and physical activity remains a key national priority. North Macedonia participates annually in the European Week of Sport (#BeActive), offering a wide range of events such as local tournaments, open-air fitness sessions, school challenges, recreational sports, and community activities that encourage young people to adopt an active lifestyle.

The Ministry of Sport, together with municipalities and civil society organisations, has supported the creation of open-air fitness zones, gyms and sports courts throughout the country. Recreational and competitive events are increasingly organised in partnership with youth offices, sports clubs, and local communities, targeting both professional and recreational youth.

The European Youth Card (Младинска Европска Картичка) continues to play a role in encouraging active lifestyles by providing young people with discounted access to gyms, swimming pools, sports facilities, and other recreational services across North Macedonia and Europe.

Physical education in schools

In primary schools, the time for physical and medical education is three-hour time-lag (progress in relation to the previous two hours). Each program and plan is based on the expressed needs and interests of the students. There is a possibility for establishment of sports clubs within the school itself.

Physical and health education is represented in secondary schools. In the secondary school there are also fitness clubs that students can use, including compulsory elective programs for music and fine arts. Sports and sports activities are defined in curricula with elective character. Sports and sports activities are aimed to allow students to express their skills and competences in the field of fitness, swimming, hiking, skiing, cycling, table tennis, sports day etc.

In the first-year secondary vocational education, sports education and sports activities (Спорт и спортски активности) are mandatory elective subject aimed to satisfy the needs of the students for securing and applying the acquired psychomotor knowledge of basic education in the field of sports in the function of maintaining and improving health, physical and working abilities, to help students to recognize the values of sport and sports activities, their positive influence on the organism, the cultural and spiritual enrichment of the person; to create habits for regular sports, maintaining the physical, health and working skills that will be used for active rest in everyday life and his future occupation; to acquire a culture of cheerleading and positive development of psycho-social-communication relations before, during and after the sporting competition.

The purpose of sport and sports activities in the second year (Спорт и спортски активности за II година) is to acquire habits for regular sports. Volleyball is listed as a dominant discipline, to be in the function of an active holiday. The other disciplines are athletics, gymnastics, fitness, basketball, tennis, dancing, sports games, swimming and hiking activities. 

In the curricula of the sports gymnasium, physical activity is represented by 4 sports: football, basketball, handball and tennis. In the first year, it includes development of psychomotor skills, the theoretical basis of all sports and training of various sports (the goal of all training is to improve the physical abilities, acquire new meanings and skills from the various sports for the purpose of achieving high sports results.

In gymnasium education, sport and sports activities for the third and the fourth year are 3 hours per week and for the first and second 2 classes and 1 for project tasks.

In vocational schools, sports education and sports activities as mandatory elective subject are 2 hours per week and 72 hours per year

In the sports gymnasium, the first year includes development of psychomotor skills with 72 classes and theoretical basics of different sports with 28 classes. Practical training-include 650 classes per year. General and specific physical preparation includes 150 classes, development of technical-tactical skills in attack – 250 classes, development of technical-tactical assault in defense – 250 classes and 34 classes for psychological preparation.

Collaboration and partnerships

Collaboration and partnerships in promoting sport and physical activity among young people in North Macedonia involve a wide range of stakeholders. Key actors include line ministries, such as the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Sport, responsible for regulating education and sport sectors; local self-government units; the Faculty of Physical Education, Sport and Health; the Institute of Sport; Sport Federations; the Bureau for Development of Education; and the Institute of Public Health. Schools—both primary and secondary—alongside the Federation for School Sport also play an important role.

Civil society organisations complement these institutional efforts, bringing innovative approaches to youth engagement in sport. For example, TAKT runs the “Sport for Development” programme across schools and municipalities, fostering leadership, teamwork, and social cohesion among young people. Sport Social Solutions implements projects that combine sport, inclusion, and well-being, such as empowering young women through rugby and training coaches on non-violent communication. The Association for Sport & Volunteering (ASV) engages youth through volunteering initiatives in sports, promoting civic responsibility and community participation. 

Financial support for sport initiatives is secured through the Ministry of Sport’s annual budget, which funds state institutions and supports civil society projects via competitive calls. This multi-level collaboration ensures that institutional frameworks, local authorities, schools, and civil society can work together to create inclusive, accessible, and meaningful sport and physical activity opportunities for all young people.