An EVEC Sport initiative · For Erasmus+ Sport partners, schools & youth NGOs
Let’s build youth drone sport — across Greece and Europe.
We’re launching a youth drone-sport ecosystem from Athens: simulator-first training any school can start, safe indoor drone-soccer clubs you can run, and a planned path from local matches to regional competitions — all on recognised international standards. Partner with us to build it, or start a club with our help.
Why drone sport, why now
A real sport — governed, school-ready, and only now reaching Europe.
Drone sport isn’t a gadget demo. It has world federations, rulebooks and international championships — and one discipline, drone soccer, was purpose-built to be played safely in a school gym.
Internationally governed
The FAI (the world air-sports federation) recognises drone soccer as class F9A; FIDA is the international drone-soccer federation.
Safe by design
In drone soccer the drones are caged and indoor — collisions are the point of the game, not a hazard.
Europe is opening up
The first-ever European Drone Soccer Championship is set for 2026 — and no Erasmus+ school network exists yet.
STEM in disguise
Players build, repair, tune and pilot the drones — digital skills, engineering and teamwork.
The model
One pathway, four levels — from a laptop to the podium.
We don’t start with expensive racing drones. We start on a screen, move into a safe indoor team sport, and let the talented few climb toward competition. Every level builds on recognised international standards.
FPV racing & freestyle
The competitive flagship — goggles-on racing through gates (FAI F9U / MultiGP). Advanced, mostly outdoor.
Tiny-whoop racing
Tiny ducted drones raced indoors — the safe gateway from soccer to real FPV piloting, under €100.
Drone soccer
Caged, indoor, full-contact team sport for school gyms — the broad participation base of the whole sport.
Simulators
Learn to fly on any laptop with a real controller, for almost nothing. Everyone starts here — and competes online.
The anchor discipline
Drone soccer — the safe team sport schools can actually run.
Two teams of three fly small drones, each wrapped in a protective ball-cage, inside a netted arena. One “striker” per team has to fly through the opponent’s hoop to score, while teammates block and defend. Players stand outside the net; the drones bounce off each other and the walls — so contact is the game, not the danger.
It needs no airfield, no pilot licence and no open airspace — just an indoor space. The school-size class (20cm “drone-balls”) fits a gym or large classroom. Students learn to build, wire, repair and tune their drones like a pit crew, then pilot them as a team: real STEM, real teamwork, real fun.
Caged · indoor · team-based
- Safe by design — collision-proof cages, low speeds, indoors
- No licence or airspace permit needed
- Team sport — great for inclusion and youth work
- Build & repair = hands-on STEM and digital skills
- A recognised rulebook (FAI class F9A) to adopt
The timing is rare. The first European Drone Soccer Championship runs in 2026 and a European federation is only now taking shape — and we’ve found no dedicated Erasmus+ drone-sport school network yet. There’s a real first-mover opening.
Build it with us →Simulator-first
Start for almost nothing — on the laptops you already have.
The single biggest way to cut cost and risk is to learn on a simulator before flying anything real. Free simulators run on a school PC; one reusable controller flies the simulators and binds to many real drones later. So you can train and even compete online before owning hardware.
A drone club on existing PCs
Free simulators + a few shared controllers. Train pilots and run zero-travel online matches against partner schools.
from ~€100First real flights, indoors
Add low-cost controllers and a few all-in-one “tiny-whoop” starter kits (drone + controller + goggles in one box) for a class.
~€800–1,500 / classA competition-ready team
Competition drones and a netted regulation arena, ready to host local matches and tournaments.
multi-thousandSpend on controllers first — they’re the durable asset students keep, and they carry across the tiers. Equipment figures are indicative; we cost each setup with you against current EU prices.
Partner with us
We’re building this — and looking for partners to build it with.
We’re not claiming to run leagues we haven’t started. We’re an experienced Erasmus+ organisation opening a new sport, and we want committed partners — schools, youth NGOs, sports clubs, national federations — to launch it together.
EVEC brings the delivery experience and the methodology; the sport already has neutral international standards. Together we adopt them, localise them, and grow a cross-border school network.
What EVEC brings to the partnership
Reliable Erasmus+ delivery
An accredited NGO with 20+ Erasmus+ & ESC projects — we deliver our work packages on time.
Non-formal & STEM method
We turn technology into hands-on, inclusive learning young people engage with.
Standards, adopted
We build on the FAI / FIDA rulebook — we don’t invent our own and stall recognition.
Simulator-first, inclusion-first
A near-zero-cost entry so any school — and youth with fewer opportunities — can take part.
Dissemination & events
Open resources, an online inter-school league, and competitions worth watching.
What we’d build together
How it’s funded
Fundable through Erasmus+ Sport — framed honestly.
Drone sport fits Erasmus+ Sport best through its digital transformation and inclusion priorities, and “education in and through sport” — not as a cardio/physical-activity pitch. The EU has already funded esports projects under Erasmus+ Sport, so a screen-and-skill sport with a real STEM dimension is a credible fit.
Small-scale Partnership
Newcomer-friendly. Pilot the simulator-to-real pathway and the first school clubs across a couple of countries.
€30,000 / €60,000 · 2+ countriesCooperation Partnership
Build the shared rulebook, equipment spec, coach/referee certification and a cross-border school league.
€120k–€400k · 3+ countriesHonest by design. We’d lead a bid on digital skills, inclusion and youth participation — not health claims — and adopt recognised FAI/FIDA standards rather than inventing our own. The next Erasmus+ Sport deadline is around early March; if a round comes too soon, we aim for the next one.
Want to start a drone club?
Near Athens or beyond — we’ll help you set up a simulator-first drone club, from the free software and first controllers to safe indoor flying and, when you’re ready, a drone-soccer team. Start small, grow into the league.
Trust & credibility
A new sport — backed by a real, EU-recognised organisation.
Drone sport is new for everyone; what isn’t new is EVEC. We’re an officially recognised Erasmus+ & ESC organisation with a track record of delivering — the safe pair of hands a young sport needs.
Erasmus+ accreditation
KA1 Youth field. (For Sport we partner & organise — no sport-specific accreditation is required.)
2023-1-EL02-KA150-YOU-000188397ESC Quality Label
Volunteering quality mark — active.
2023-1-EL02-ESC50-QLA-000195138Organisation IDs
Our official identity in the EU system.
OID E10172681 · PIC 909448430Proven track record
20+ Erasmus+ & ESC projects since 2017, with partners across Europe.
GR · MK · PL · RS · BG · RO · ES · DK · ATDrones in our toolkit
Drones are already part of our STEM toolkit — taking them into sport is the natural next step.
A new EVEC Sport initiativeAthens, Greece
Polifimou 17, Zografou 157 71, Athens.
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Co-funded by the European UnionCo-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Let’s begin
Let’s get drones in the air. Tell us who you are.
Whether you’re a potential partner, a school, a youth group or a sports club — tell us where you’d start and we’ll get back to you with next steps.
