According to the EC, only 14% of all top decision-making positions in EU sports federations were occupied by women. Sports have been traditionally dominated by men in terms of participation and governance, while on the other hand women’s participation in sports governance structure has been slightly improving. Moreover, the gender pay gap still exists at a high degree although it has been narrowing. Women’s participation in decision-making bodies has not been addressed adequately up to date and this is proven by the statistics which indicate that only 23% of women participate in the International Olympic Committee. On the other hand, while gender diversity on boards is an ethical issue in terms of adequate representation of society as a whole, it also has an impact on organisations’ performance. Research data indicate that women’s presence on boards opens up new perspectives to decision-making, contributes to more effective corporate governance and promotes non-financial performance measures such as innovation and social responsibility. Building upon these facts, the PROGRES project aims to promote gender equality, encourage social inclusion and equal opportunities in the sports sector and specifically in football, by promoting gender mainstreaming within football federations / associations. PROGRES aspires to set a reference in gender mainstreaming in Europe through the implementation of the following activities: Identification and analysis of the gender gap within European football federations and associations; Collection of good practices of gender mainstreaming in sports organisations; Capacity building of employees of football associations and federations and sports stakeholders with respect to gender mainstreaming; Development of methodologies and tools for the improvement of gender mainstreaming in the governance of football federations and associations; Awareness-raising campaigns about gender mainstreaming targeting sports stakeholders in project areas.