Football for Respect!

Location and general information

Closed

Location Central Hungary – Budapest, Fót and north-eastern Hungary – Abaújkér

Start date 01/01/2018

End date 12/31/2018

Cost of the project €79,080

Foundation funding €63,264

Project identifier EUR - 0141

Partners Oltalom Sports Association

Context

Hungary has been reluctant to keep its border open to the influx of refugees since 2015. This difficult situation is a major obstacle to the integration of these people and in particular refugee children.
This project targets:

underprivileged children and teenagers, e.g. those living in the slums of Budapest and the most deprived north-eastern region of Hungary together with their families
children and teenagers living in institutions
refugees and asylum-seeking children and teenagers

Project content

Regular football training: Regular exercise improves physical and mental health and overall well-being. Team sports help children enlarge their social network and gain a sense of belonging, which is very important to their mental health. The success they lack in other areas of life can be found in football, boosting their self-confidence.

Continuous social support: Social workers are present at each training session and football activity. Through this contact the participants can receive support services for housing, employment, education, healthcare, mental health and administrative issues. Close cooperation with teachers provides support for the children’s education.

Girls’ club: This club will provide special support for girl players. Experience shows that they face different challenges from boys and lack sufficient support on account of their underprivileged background. Experts will hold ten monthly sessions on specific issues, such as prevention of early pregnancy, drug prevention, knowing your rights, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking.

Employability programme: Tailored support is provided, such as individual job coaching and weekly English classes to improve employability. International tournaments are great opportunities for players to practice their English in real-life situations and that increases their motivation to learn.

Young leader scholarship programme: Experience shows that special emphasis needs to be put on supporting young leaders who have been taking part in the football programme for a long time. Throughout the project, ten young leaders will be selected to take part in the scholarship programme. Their task will be to organise football activities, while they will also take part in the employability programme and receive a monthly allowance to cover their accommodation and living expenses, which will enable them to study without needing to work full-time. Young leaders play a key role in the sustainability of the project, as they will be able to hold training sessions and organise football events independently.

Fair Play Football roadshows: Special emphasis is placed on marginalised participants, especially refugees, playing football with other social groups. Peace-building and social inclusion of underprivileged groups are fostered by six Fair Play Football roadshow events, at which teams from different backgrounds play each other using football3 rules that teach players respect, improve their tolerance, help them articulate their interests, and negotiate with others. They learn how to manage their anger and their communication skills improve. Playing against others helps challenge stereotypes and reduces social exclusion.

Summer football camp: A summer football camp will be organised in a remote village called Hejce in north-eastern Hungary. A total of 40 children, 5 staff members and 5–8 volunteers will take part in the five-day camp that will give the underprivileged children a holiday. Besides various sporting activities, the camp is a great opportunity to make new friends, enhance their social inclusion and improve their Hungarian.

International tournaments: Taking part in an international tournament boosts motivation that can then be invested in studying: learning English, starting or re-starting education, setting new goals in life.

Monitoring and evaluation study: The Oltalom Social Network (OSN) database records data on all participants (training attendance, physical state, school results, training activities, any needs or issues, training memo, etc.). The OSN is a client-centered system to monitor the work done, achieve greater transparency, and improve the quality of the work.

Objectives

Regular training and tournaments provide a prejudice-free experience for refugees and local youngsters where they can get to know each other by playing football together.
The knowledge of Hungarian and customs improves through social contacts with locals.
Tournaments provide great opportunities to make new friends and improve language knowledge.
Regular sport contributes to the well-being of refugees suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome.
New qualifications, good knowledge of English and positive experiences give young people more self-confidence and the opportunity to escape from their current situation.

Expected results

Regular football training in six locations. (three pitches in Budapest, and one each at the correctional institution for girls, the home for unaccompanied minors in Fót, and a local school in Abaújkér)
Special support for girls with ten monthly theme sessions to help them face various challenges
Support ten specially trained young leaders by means of a scholarship programme
rganise six Fair Play Football roadshows bringing various social groups together to play football, challenge stereotypes and reduce social exclusion.
40 children invited to a summer camp.