Location and general information
Access to Sport - 
Children with disabilities - 
Conflict victims - 
Personal developmentContext
Oltalom Sport Association (OSA) was founded by a group of individuals and NGOs in Hungary in 2005. Its goal is to use sport as a tool to increase self-esteem and promote a healthy lifestyle among people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Playing football with teams from other social groups enhances the social integration of the target group. OSA provides free, regular football training sessions and equipment for homeless people, refugees, disadvantaged young people and children.
The young participants come from dysfunctional families that lack one or both parents and face constant problems with unemployment, substance use, housing and finance. Many are also abused and neglected. Other problems they face include criminal behaviour brought on by the lack of secure employment, a shortage of employment opportunities and insufficient education. OSA also works with refugees and homeless people, with many participants coming from a refugee or migrant background. Attitudes towards migrants and refugees that have emerged in Hungary in the past few years make their situation in the country difficult. They also have to cope with problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, which requires urgent treatment, a lack of family and friends, loneliness and isolation from mainstream society.
Project content
OSA has developed a programme of regular training sessions at local schools in Budapest to help Roma minorities, migrants and refugees to develop their skills. The weekly sessions are held at six locations (three pitches in Budapest, a girls’ correctional institution, John Wesley Primary School and Fót Home for Unaccompanied Minors). As OSA does not have its own permanent pitch, training sessions are held on public pitches or at residential homes.
As in previous years, OSA will organise Fair Play Football Roadshows at six different locations – three in Hungary and three in neighbouring countries – using a portable pitch that was purchased with the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children.
OSA also runs a scholarship programme for participants in an employment scheme that helps beneficiaries find suitable jobs or start or complete their education.
OSA also provides continuous social support through a network of social workers who help resolve housing, employment, education, health care and administrative issues. Focusing on individual needs, social workers create individual development plans in order to offer a more comprehensive, customised service.
Objectives
- to enhance participants’ physical and mental health
- to increase participants’ employability
- to develop participants’ English language skills
- to enhance refugee inclusion
- to increase social connections by organising Fair Play Football Roadshows and international tournaments
Project activities
- Regular football training sessions in six different locations
- Fair Play Football Roadshows
- Scholarships for young leaders and street soccer coaches
- Workshops:
- Health education
- Prevention and handling of bullying
- Appreciative inquiry
- Girls’ club: a group activity for female participants focusing on sex education, partner violence, various issues linked to gender and relationships, and opportunities to increase social connections.
- Continuous social support
- Data collection for monitoring activity
Expected results
Fair Play Football Roadshows will be held at three locations in Hungary and three in other countries. In 2019, two coaches from developing countries (India, South America, etc.) will be invited to help train and educate OSA and other Hungarian coaches. Since the target group includes children with health problems such as obesity and diseases caused by lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition, OSA will organise monthly workshops on themes such as personal hygiene, physical changes, basic anatomical knowledge, nutrition, etc.
In summer 2019, OSA will organise a five-day football camp in north-eastern Hungary for 40 children, five staff members and between five and eight volunteers.
OSA will participate in four international events across Europe: the Wroclaw Trophy, the EU Fair Play Street Soccer Championship, the European Street Football Festival and the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff, Wales (although the latter was not mentioned in the proposal).
Through its activities, OSA tries to improve participants’ life skills and problem-solving abilities in order to increase their chances of a successful future.
Partner
