Football for Kids – the ball is spinning for everyone!

Over the past 10 years, Football for Kids programme from PluSport has been establishing football as a sport for everyone. Weekly training sessions and competitive tournaments run by many programmes all over Switzerland meet the high demand and enable children and young people to practise their favourite sport. Roughly 100 children with various kinds of disabilities presently enjoy football and new teams are being set up all the time.

To finance the programme, we rely heavily on support from local partners, sponsors and donors. A key project partner for many years withdrew its support at the end of 2021, putting the programme in jeopardy. The financial support of the UEFA Foundation secures the future of the football activities for kids and youngsters.

Project content

Football for Kids offers weekly training sessions and competitive tournaments for children with disabilities through several programmes all over Switzerland. It positions football as a sport for everyone, but it does more than that: it provides children with an opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie and emotions of a team sport, fosters inclusion, provides both physical and mental benefits as well as a sense of accomplishment. It builds social bridges and provides everyone involved with a sense of respect and admiration for each other and the game of football.

Objectives

General objectives (2022–24)

• Ensure exercise through sport (especially football) for children and young people with disabilities
• Systematically promote and develop football as a sport of inclusion
• Facilitate access for children and young people with disabilities
• Expand the number of participating children and young people (+20 new children)
• Increase the proportion of girls taking part in this sport
• Secure enough financing to ensure the continuation of the football programme, especially the weekly training sessions and the tournaments

Project activities

Football is the world’s most popular sport, including among people with disabilities. Almost all youngsters want to play football. Promoting football and ball sports in general as integrative disciplines is of major importance to PluSport : they bring joy and team spirit to the lives of young athletes together with essential qualities that also help children with a disability to progress in their daily lives. Over the past few years, the development of disability football has been in full swing. What started with the promotion and integration of children and young people with disabilities in a youth development project has continued successfully with the creation of football teams and regular tournaments for all age groups and all kinds of disabilities.

• Regular weekly training sessions held throughout Switzerland
• Four or five tournaments per year
• Opportunity for trial training sessions
• Programme promotion through PluSport’s communication channels and network

Expected results

• Expand the number of children and young people taking part (+20 new children)
• Set up or expand football teams for children and young people
• Increase the number of girls taking part (+5)
• Expand the number of annual tournaments to at least five a year

Partner