Urban Soccer for Dream and Hope

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Montréal, Canada
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €137,000
Foundation funding €42,000
Project identifier 20210813
Partners Rêves Passion Montréal
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Almost 70% of Montreal’s population are immigrants. Most low-income families live in the same neighbourhoods, where we focus our work on team sports activities in partnership with the local community centres. Our project promotes football not only for exercise but above all as a way to integrate, emphasising social integration for girls.

Rêves Passion Montréal helps community centres in the city to provide mixed football activities based on equality and inclusivity. If girls and women are able to realise their potential through sport, they will be able to bring about positive change in society and thrive both at home and at work.

Sports activities are just as mixed as everyday life. It is therefore essential to bring boys up to value tolerance and respect while helping girls develop sufficient self-confidence to feel at home in mixed activities.

Project content

The Urban Soccer for Dream and Hope project guides the community centres in underprivileged neighbourhoods and provides them with the tools to develop football activities for everyone, but girls in particular.

The aim is to provide an environment in which these girls and boys can thrive. Through football and tools such as the Football3 methodology, the project encourages better interaction between these vulnerable youngsters while teaching them about respect and inclusion. They learn how to come up with rules for the group, helping them to develop their own self-esteem, tolerance and leadership skills.

The project is run by Rêves Passion, a football league for adults that works on the principle that ‘everything starts and ends with football’.

Objectives

  • Use sport as a tool for social development and integration by promoting fair and equal participation to fight social and gender-related discrimination.
  • Boost girls’ self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities by integrating them into mixed sport.
  • Increase positive behaviours and attitudes among young people and improve their teamwork.

Project activities

The project focuses on the following five values:

  • Inclusion: our project supports community centres in their weekly mixed football sessions by providing a structure, a coach and a methodology based on fair play; some materials may be supplied
  • Courage: the No Girls Offside programme is a series of workshops, generally combined with other activities (Zumba, basketball, singing) to promote leadership, self-confidence and a sense of belonging
  • Integrity and creativity: at the end of the project, we hold the Urban Soccer Festival, an annual event for participants, their families and our project partners – a festive opportunity to celebrate everyone’s involvement
  • Respect: we train the monitors and young adults in our partner centres in the Football3 methodology and by sharing this knowledge we can guarantee the lifespan of the programme and long-term development of football as a whole

Expected results

  • Provide girls-only activities, or activities led by women in a suitable environment, for 50 girls by the end of 2022.
  • Help community centres provide mixed football activities for 150 children or more by the end of 2022, with at least 25% of regular female participants.
  • Enable over 150 youngsters to experience group dynamics, such as working alone and as a team, respecting the diversity of individuals and their ideas, accepting and providing constructive criticism based on mutual respect, solving conflicts peacefully and following rules.
  • Training 25 new coaches in the Football3 methodology, which will have a positive effect on each of their groups.

Partner

Timbiquí´s Gamechangers

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Colombia
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 03/31/2023
Cost of the project €64,196
Foundation funding €64,196
Project identifier 20210690
Partners Tiempo de Juego
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Timbiquí is a small village located on the Colombian Pacific coast. Historically, this region has suffered from the Colombian armed conflict, as well as exclusion and state abandonment caused by corruption and geographical isolation. Partly because of this, illegal armed groups and structures have occupied this territory, establishing a parallel economy heavily based on illegal mining and coca plantations. All of this has caused Timbiquí to be left behind in social and economic development, reducing opportunities for the local population. Immersed in this reality, children and young people from Timbiquí struggle to find positive role models and hope, tending in many cases to get involved in illegal activities as they have no other choice.

Project content

We aim to use football as a tool to raise awareness of the importance of life projects for children and teenagers, to counteract the risks they face. To achieve this, we will create football schools for 500 children, and use a multiple psychosocial approach to enhance their decision-making processes. In addition, we will hold football festivals, to celebrate the community’s capacities and talents, involve relevant stakeholders and sports personalities, and inspire children and teenagers to pursue positive life projects.

Objectives

Promote the youngsters’ sense of belonging to their region, to counteract the negative alternatives and the risks they are constantly exposed to, foster life projects that benefit their region, and keep them safe from illegal activities and gang recruitment.

 

Project activities

  • Weekly football sessions: Over the period of a year, we will hold weekly football sessions for 500 children in Timbiquí, using football3 methodology.
  • Football festivals: Every six months, we will organise football festivals and invite the whole community to take part, to raise community awareness through games. Various sports personalities will be invited to attend, to inspire children and young people to create positive life projects.
  • Local leaders training: We will train local leaders in technical, psychosocial and teaching skills, so they can replicate this knowledge among children around Timbiquí.

Expected results

  • 500 children and young people attend football schools, which promote positive sport-related life projects.
  • By the end of the project, at least 80% of participants will identify with positive role models within their communities.
  • By the end of the project, at least 70% of participants perceive they have improved their decision-making process related to their life project.
  • At least eight football festivals are held in four different rural communities.
  • At least six local leaders are involved in weekly psychosocial training.

Partner

Future Leaders of Kalebuka

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Democratic Republic of Congo, Kalebuka
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €75,000
Foundation funding €35,000
Project identifier 20210250
Partners Fondation Georges Malaika
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Prior to Malaika, the people of Kalebuka had little access to education or community programmes. The literacy rate is one of the lowest in the country and many people living there have been displaced by conflict in other parts of the country. Gender inequality causes women and girls to be deprived of school and work, leaving them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. For the people of Kalebuka to thrive, they need continued access to school, community programmes and opportunities.

Project content

The community centre provides free access to literacy, numeracy, IT, English, and health education as well as vocational training and sports programmes for adults and out-of-school youth. Our sports for social development programme engages young people in play and discussions on topics such as conflict resolution, leadership development, HIV/AIDS, gender equality, and children’s rights. The combination of these programmes provides participants with the foundation to become future leaders.

Objectives

We aim to make specific changes in attitudes and behaviours of community members.

Leadership and life skills

  • Equip young people with tools to empower themselves and their communities
  • Increase gender equality
  • Help shape the future leaders of Kalebuka, DRC

Health

  • Improve participants’ physical and mental health
  • Disseminate public health and hygiene information

Improved life outcomes

  • Teach young people about children’s rights
  • Equip young people with tools to empower themselves and their communities

 

Project activities

  • Select and mentor peer coaches
  • Run sport for social development games and activities
  • Host workshops about children’s rights, gender equality, COVID-19 and conflict resolution
  • Community outreach activities about diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, COVID-19 and sexually transmitted infections
  • Hold regional tournaments to raise awareness across communities
  • Classes on literacy, health, IT, numeracy, reproductive health, English and French
  • Hold focus groups and discussion groups for young people

Expected results

By providing youth with access to sport, education and health programmes we give them the tools to bring about positive change throughout their community. We expect to see a decrease in child abuse and increases in education, gender equality and improved conflict resolution. This provides young people with opportunities to empower themselves, by introducing them to their vast potential and giving them the tools to make the best use of it. They will become the leaders of their community and help it thrive.

  • Boost young people’s leadership skills through training programmes, increasing the number of peer leaders and coaches (Baseline: 12 / Target: 20).
  • Create a safe space to discuss health topics and increase the number of young people attending health-based sports sessions (Baseline: 85 / Target: 120).
  • Improve life outcomes by positively changing young people’s mentality with regard to conflict resolution, drug and alcohol use, domestic violence, etc.
  • **Increase the number of youth attending training sessions based on life outcomes (Baseline: 120 / Target: 145)

Partner

Building More Than a Place to Play in the Brazilian Northeast

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Brazil
Start date 06/01/2022
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €165,286
Foundation funding €137,112
Project identifier 20211117
Partners love.fútbol
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to play and recreation. However, the conditions are not met everywhere for children to enjoy their rights. In Brazil, according to the Brazilian institute of geography and statistics, only 27% of public schools (2017) have sports facilities and 78% of children (2019) do less exercise than is recommended by the WHO.

The proposed project will be run in the Córrego da Fortuna community, a low-income settlement in Recife, where poor urban planning mirrors this lack of playgrounds and quality education. The aim is to mitigate this problem by creating opportunities for sport, education, arts, and psychological support. As many as 150 community volunteers between 16 and 60 years old will be recruited. The facility will serve as a community centre and a platform for activities by the university, presentations by local cultural groups, and a sport for education programme for 75 girls between 7 and 17 years old.

Project content

love.fútbol will promote a cross-sector partnership between the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife city hall, local programme partner Instituto Geração 4, and a broader range of community leaders and organisations to plan and build a football pitch that will serve as a sustainable platform for sports and educational sessions, a point of integration between the community and the local university, and a reference for municipal public policy.

The project methodology will follow what we call the ‘hardware x software’ model. At the grassroots level, love.fútbol will form partnerships with the broader target community. We will engage the key stakeholders (local government, parents, teachers, cultural groups and other youth advocates) to plan and develop safe and inclusive sports facilities (the hardware). At the organisational level, we will actively train and oversee a domestic organisation to deliver a sport for development programme (the software) that will focus on gender inclusion, English language classes and psychological support.

Objectives

  • Use love.fútbol's award-winning methodology and its 15 years' experience in developing community-driven sports spaces to establish a football facility in a vulnerable community in the Brazilian Northeast
  • Engage and empower the local community to build and take ownership of this space dedicated to sport and education
  • Once the space is inaugurated, deliver two-weekly sports for education sessions for 75 children
  • Partner with the city hall and the local university to keep the space safe and provide a daily schedule

 

Project activities

  • Joint creation of a community-driven sports facility: love.fútbol will partner with several actors and the broader community through engagement meetings, the creation of a neighbourhood network, and two collective building days to create a facility that will offer children a platform for sports and education. This network will also be trained in the use of management tools to activate and sustain the pitch long-term
  • Weekly sports sessions for 75 girls run by love.fútbol and local organisation Instituto Geração 4
  • Football and Zumba classes run by Recife city hall

Expected results

  • A 48x27m artificial turf sports court, including fences, LED lighting, sports equipment, community garden, and artworks
  • 150 community volunteers recruited and trained who will donate 3,500 hours to the planning, delivery, activation and sustainability of the facility
  • 75 girls taking part in a weekly sports programme, including English language classes, and psychological support, with the aim of doubling this number in the second year
  • 1,500 local children using the space and doing in sports activities

Partner

MINE/ COVID-19 Risk Education

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Cambodia
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €129,520
Foundation funding €129,520
Project identifier 20210613
Partners Spirit of Soccer
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

For over 30 years, Cambodia has suffered from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Children are the most vulnerable and account for over 50% of the casualties.

Survivors are left maimed and traumatised, often removed from school, depriving them of an education, then further stigmatised as a burden to both their family and the broader community.

Since the Spirit of Soccer programme started in Cambodia in 2006, the land mine casualty rate has dropped from 875 to 65 per year in 2020. In simple terms, without our intervention, these and similar tragedies would continue unchecked.

 

Project content

Our mission is to use soccer to educate children living in conflict and post-conflict regions about the dangers of landmines, ERW and COVID-19.

We educate, train and employ local coaches and teachers to use our curriculum. The easy-to-understand football-related lessons teach children how to identify and avoid specific risks and unexploded ordnance. The culturally sensitive, fun and inclusive, approach creates a safe environment that provides healthy physical activity, hope and happiness.

Objectives

  • 14,000 youngsters (60% Male/40% Female) involved in professionally delivered football activities
  • 40,000 indirect beneficiaries of education and coaching workshops, local tournaments, peer-to-peer and multimedia campaigns, kits and outreach materials (posters and notebooks)
  • 60 local coaches trained in COVID-19 and ERW risk education, youth coaching at D licence level
  • Candidates for the workshops will include 25 Khmer United Nations peacekeeping deminers at the request of the ministry of defence

Project activities

  • Running coaching clinics through local schools in mine-impacted communities for 14,000 at-risk children
  • Expansion of field educational materials for ERW accidents and COVID-19 prevention measures to indirectly reach 40,000 youngsters
  • Ongoing liaison with the national Mine Action working group
  • Organising three football tournaments involving 150 players each (60% boys, 40% girls), delivering football coaching, ERW accident and COVID-19 risk reduction education
  • Preparedness training and education materials for players
  • Door-to-door training in the event of school closures

Expected results

  • Distribute 400 footballs and 14,000 ERW notebooks through coaching clinics and tournaments
  • Reach a target of 14,000 direct and 40,000 indirect participants, within a wide demographic of coaches and leaders, local youngsters, adults, educators, ministry officials and ERW working groups

Partner

Football4Good

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Thailand, Chiang Mai
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €30,288
Foundation funding €30,288
Project identifier 20210567
Partners Baan Dek Foundation (BDF)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Tens of thousands of migrant children live in construction site camps throughout Thailand. The Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) supports over 1,650 of these children each year. The children live in slum-like conditions and face difficulties accessing healthcare and education systems. In addition, they have few opportunities to engage socially and connect with their peers, and the restrictions required in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic have left them even more isolated.

Project content

The Football4Good (F4G) project supports children and teenagers living in construction site camps, reaching 600+ children per year through sport sand youth empowerment activities to provide positive social opportunities and physical and mental benefits, promote gender equality, and facilitate integration by teaching youngsters life skills, respect and sporting values.

Objectives

  • Access to sport: F4G provides football sessions and matches, sports equipment and improvements to community.
  • Youth empowerment: Young people are trained as youth peer educators (YPEs), so that they can run football sessions and act as role.
  • Social and life skills: F4G presents an inclusive avenue for children to play an active role in community life and teaches them life.
  • Gender equality: F4G promotes gender equality in sport by eliminating barriers and preventing.

Project activities

  • Monthly after-school football sessions in priority construction site camp communities.
  • Weekly after-school football sessions in schools and a government institution.
  • Quarterly inter-community football matches.
  • 8 youth leadership training / refresher sessions for YPEs.
  • Monthly YPE follow-up meetings with BDF staff.
  • YPEs attend a professional football match with BDF staff.
  • Improvements to community sports spaces.
  • Sports equipment donated to communities.

Expected results

  • 120 F4G sessions delivered.
  • 500 children encouraged to play football.
  • 200 girls encouraged to play football.
  • 5 communities where sports facilities will be improved.
  • 300 people benefiting from improved facilities.
  • 40 YPEs receiving training/refresher courses.
  • 25 YPE follow-up meetings.
  • 4 inter-community matches.

Partner

Empowering children from La Matanza through sport, culture and education

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Argentine, Buenos Aires
Start date 02/28/2022
End date 02/28/2023
Cost of the project €47,645
Foundation funding €10,000
Project identifier 20210704
Partners United Through Sport Argentina
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

La Matanza, 25km south-west of Buenos Aires, is a severely disadvantaged area where poverty levels are higher than the 60% national average. There are also high rates of drug use and related violence, poor infrastructure (access to water, electricity and rubbish disposal), malnutrition and little access to healthcare services.

Project content

The mass participation programme consists of a combination of sports coaching and life-skill lessons. It is currently run daily in four public schools in the city of Buenos Aires. We aim to expand into schools in La Matanza to increase the reach and impact of our work. The programme consists of structured sports coaching, e.g. football, rugby and field hockey, in combination with life-skill sessions on cultural exchange, sustainability, individual and community well-being and gender issues. The sessions will be led by local staff and supported by international volunteers.

Objectives

  • Use our combined sports and life-skill coaching model to improve physical and mental well-being and to develop and sustain life skills (teamwork, leadership, decision-making and communication).
  • Use sport to improve educational engagement and provide pathways to success for talented and dedicated individuals.
  • Develop and establish our sport and life-skill model and methodology for further expansion.

Specific objectives:

  • Partner with at least three more schools to add another 2,000 children and teenagers to the programme
  • Provide workshops for 2,000 children and teenagers and achieve an average academic improvement of 15% per child, as in our programmes in Buenos Aires, and also achieve a 5% improvement in academic attendance per child
  • Use sport to address critical issues, such as crime and drug awareness, in a fun and interactive manner on the sports field

Project activities

January–February 2022 Contact new schools and local authorities to explain and develop the programme

February–March 2022 Purchase private mini-bus

March-April 2022 Hire new staff to work alongside PE teacher in local schools

March–April 2022 Design and coordinate sports and teaching curriculum after consultations with local staff

April 2022 Submit deliverables (curriculum)

May 2022 Programme starts

July 2022 Winter games event

August 2022 - September Interim report and assessments submitted

December 2022 Programme graduation ceremony

February 2023 Final report submitted

Expected results

  • Partnering with at least three and a target of four schools in La Matanza
  • Enrol at least 1,500 and a target of 2,500 youngsters
  • Achieve an average increase of at least 15%, target 25%, in participants’ academic grades
  • Achieve an average increase of at least 5%, target 10%, in participants’ academic attendance

Partner

SMS – Sportsmanship in a Multicultural Society

Location and general information

Closed
Location Israel
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €46,135
Foundation funding €26,529
Project identifier 20210362
Partners A New Way
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Most communities in Israel live in separate towns, experience friction in mixed cities, use separate school systems, and are informed by segregated media channels. This hampers opportunities for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. The absence of social interaction and shared activities leads to prejudice and stereotypes, instilling fear and anger towards the ‘other’ and their culture. A New Way – with its multicultural education programmes – focuses on Jewish-Arab relations as the largest rift within our society, starting from elementary school age.

Project content

The project aims to foster understanding among children so that Jews and Arabs can collaborate and work together.

A New Way (ANW) operates each year, on average, in 22 communities and 50 schools, bringing together 5,000 Jews and Arabs, mostly children and teenagers, but also teachers, school principals, parents, local leaders, and municipal staff.

In the schools where it operates, ANW holds educational programmes and multi-year processes that enable children and their teaching staff to meet and get to know their counterparts from the other community, learn about their neighbours' culture, develop a common dialogue, and work together towards shared goals.

Understanding that sport fosters collaboration between children from different communities, ANW uses tools from the world of sport to lay the foundation for multicultural collaboration.

The SMS project specifically addresses these needs. ANW will hold unique workshops that create teamwork and collaboration using tools and methods developed with our partners. These workshops will create a unique and empowering first experience for the participants, leading to the ability and willingness to work with the other community – developing from fear and antagonism into real, authentic partnership.

Objectives

  • Promote integration and multicultural collaboration;
  • Create a good first experience of multicultural interactions between Arab and Jewish school pupils;
  • Create the ability and desire for Jewish and Arab children to work together, promote shared goals, and benefit Israeli society together;
  • Strengthen Israeli society and promote a new generation that, through collaboration and joint activities, will improve Jewish-Arab relations in Israel.

Project activities

The collaboration phase is built on three different activities:

  • ODT (outdoor training) challenges in nature – in which children are required to work together in mixed groups to solve a variety of tasks that are built on sports and ODT tools;
  • Circus and acro-yoga workshops – a unique activity in which children learn to work together in circus and acro-yoga activities;
  • Football fair play games – a football activity in which mixed multicultural groups create additional fairness rules that they are required to apply during the game in order to win.

ANW will hold 20 workshop days and create teamwork and multicultural collaboration for 1,400 children, from 40 different schools, divided into 20 multicultural pairs. These workshops would be the high point of ANW’s annual educational programme with these schools.

Expected results

1,400 Jewish and Arab pupils from 40 different schools will take part in the project and gain a unique experience of succeeding in a multicultural environment. Their confidence and belief in their ability to collaborate with members of the other community will improve and this will encourage the desire to continue working together in the future.

By the end of the programme, we expect 80% of the participants to express satisfaction at having participated in multicultural collaboration activities.

75% of the participants would express greater trust in the other community, and at least 75% of them would be ready and willing to collaborate with members of the other community.

Partner

Play for Equality

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ukraine
Start date 01/17/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €120,000
Foundation funding €80,000
Project identifier 20210597
Partners Klitschko Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

A disappointing trend can be observed in Ukraine – girls do less sport than boys. According to a ministry of finance report, women make up only 25% of those who play sports. In Ukraine, an average of 20,000 boys attend sports schools, as opposed to only 6,000 girls (Lviv State University of Physical Culture, 2012). This discrepancy is caused by the many stereotypes that girls face when they want to play sports. It is necessary to convey the value of sport to the younger generation of girls and debunk stereotypes about women's sports.

Project content

Play for Equality is a project for physical education teachers designed to increase the involvement of girls in sport. Our main message is to communicate the accessibility of sport for girls and motivate them to get involved. During the project, we want to debunk stereotypes about women's sport and engage PE teachers and teenage girls in discussions about self-determination, the need to fight bullying and stereotypes and the importance of women's leadership, equal access to sport, sports physiology and motivation.

Objectives

The mission is to interest teenage girls in sports and physical activity in general, and to develop women's leadership.

Our objectives are:

  • Debunk stereotypes that suggest some types of sport are ‘not for women’;
  • Motivate girls to play sports and lead an active lifestyle;
  • Educate PE teachers on gender issues in schools;
  • Bring about positive changes in society by promoting sports activities;
  • Create permanent centres for the development of women's sports.

 

Project activities

  • Provide a 10-day online (or offline, if possible) training programme for 100 PE teachers;
  • Deliver sports equipment to 100 schools;
  • Create a five-minute educational video about gender inequality in sport for use throughout Ukraine;
  • Create 100 permanent football teams for girls in schools for a period of at least 6 months;
  • Organise a four-day camp for 10 representatives and trainers from football teams:

Expected results

  • 100 permanent football teams created for at least 1,000 teenage girls;
  • 100 schools provided with equipment for safe football lessons and help them organise football teams;
  • 240 girls involved in a football tournament and training about women's leadership, gender equality, healthy living, and other related topics;
  • 100 PE teachers involved in educational training;
  • 1 educational video on women's sports and debunking associated stereotypes.

Partner

Values on the pitch

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Argentina, Buenos Aires
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 03/01/2023
Cost of the project €97,027
Foundation funding €60,298
Project identifier 20210595
Partners Fundación River Plate
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The socioeconomic situation in Argentina is critical: 54.3% (INDEC) of children live in poverty, only 50% of young people finish high school on time (UNICEF) and literacy and numeracy skills are dropping steadily (UNESCO). The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased these inequalities. This has made it very complicated to continue the projects. Football's popularity in Argentine provides a great opportunity to bring these excluded children back into society. We support four running projects, two located in the less developed areas of Buenos Aires Province, one in Santiago del Estero, the poorest province in Argentina, and the fourth, in an indigenous community in Selva Misionera.

Project content

The Valores a la Cancha programme provides a multi-sports facility that promotes social and personal values with the aim of developing healthy and strong young people whose moral behaviour can help them integrate into society.

We develop our ‘education through sport’ projects in the most socially vulnerable areas of Argentina. We provide an opportunity to foster values such as perseverance, responsibility and respect and develop fundamental socio-emotional skills for their future. We help strengthen local communities, grassroots organisations and beneficiary families since they are all involved in our projects. We promote social cohesion, with a particular focus on the integration of women and indigenous communities. Our mission is to improve the quality of life of children and their families by providing them with tools and skills that prepare them for future challenges.

Objectives

  • Provide a space for social support and healthy relationships through sport.
  • Promote values to boost the comprehensive development of participants.
  • Strengthen and support participants’ families.
  • Improve participants’ sporting ability, specifically football, in a fun environment.
  • Strengthen territorial institutions.
  • Promote the integration of women into football through mixed-gender sport.
  • Promote the integration of indigenous peoples through sport.

Project activities

  • The football schools provide training sessions twice a week for each group of participants along with a monthly.
  • The workshops reinforce values through sport, with all families invited to adopt a holistic approach.
  • Other activities include workshops for parents to strengthen the participants’ educational process, healthy eating classes, planting vegetable gardens and recreational sports events.
  • Two inter-school football tournaments a year.
  • Assessment of the initial situation.
  • Interviews with beneficiary families.
  • Emotional-support workshops.

Expected results

  • 20% increase in the total number of participants.
  • Increasing female participation from 31% to 50%.
  • 140 workshops on social values (one monthly workshop per group).
  • 3,000 training sessions (two training sessions per group per week).
  • 30 workshops for parents.
  • Maintaining 2 community vegetable gardens.

Partner

We Welcome Young Refugees

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kraainem, Belgium
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €120,125
Foundation funding €60,000
Project identifier 20211034
Partners Royal Europa Kraainem FC
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Royal Europa Kraainem FC are an amateur club that aspires to defend diversity in Belgian football. In September 2015, during the migration crisis in Europe, the club launched a flagship project to promote the social integration of young refugees and asylum-seekers and adapted its structure to host unaccompanied minors with a migrant background.

Project content

Every afternoon during the football season, from September to May, the club welcomes groups of young refugees and asylum-seekers. They take part in round-table discussions and train with the youth teams. Since 2015, the project has become long-term with the aim of helping these youngsters to blend into society in accordance with the club’s conviction that football is a great integration tool.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to support asylum-seekers and refugees by getting them involved in the club. This keeps them active and gives them a sense of belonging in their host community. The club also wants to share its experience and approach with football stakeholders and other organisations and inspire them to set up their own projects.

Project activities

A typical afternoon for the beneficiaries comprises a round-table discussion, football training and a social moment around a group meal. The season ends with the Football and Freedom tournament involving 200 youngsters from football clubs and Fedasil asylum centres all over Belgium. Besides the project, occupational training and internships are organised in cooperation with the club’s partners.

Expected results

Next year, the club ought to be able to host about 500 young migrants, bringing the total number of beneficiaries since the start to 3,000. One objective is to focus more on young women, so the club intends to open its doors to over a hundred female refugees. In addition, the club wants to strengthen its partnership with HUMA, a non-profit that provides expertise in producing editorial projects and documentaries, with the aim of developing the club’s digital platform. Videos and interviews with those involved in the project will be published to reach the broadest possible audience.

Partner

Learning to change

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ghana
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 02/28/2023
Cost of the project €57,149
Foundation funding €18,387
Project identifier 20211184
Partners Play Soccer Ghana
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The education system in Ghana is mainly theory, with little attention paid to practice. Many pupils are therefore unable to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Project content

This programme harnesses the unique appeal of football for community development by creating learning opportunities for children between the ages of 5 and 15 to improve their life skills, health and playing ability. Besides applying the football3 philosophy, the programme collects used plastic bags that are knitted into goal nets. The project will be run in 11 satellite communities in six regions for 12 months, reaching a total of 880 beneficiaries.

Objectives

Children will gain additional learning opportunities through ‘play for fun’ and ‘learn for life’ (PFFLFL) sessions to learn more about good health, develop life skills and apply the knowledge they acquire to real-world problem-solving.

The children will sort plastic bags used in their homes and schools which will then be knitted into goal nets.

The football3 philosophy will be used to teach fair play, equality and participation of girls in soccer.

Project activities

  • Coaches will be trained to use the PFFLFL curriculum to educate the children in life skills, health and football;
  • Beneficiaries will take part in weekly PFFLFL sessions;
  • Youngsters will be trained how to re-use plastic bags to produce goal nets and promote clean cities;
  • football3 matches will teach children about fair play and avoiding discrimination.

Expected results

  • 33 coaches will learn how to use football activities to promote learning;
  • 880 children in six regions throughout Ghana will benefit from PFFLFL activity sessions to improve their life skills, health and football;
  • 200 households will sort their plastic waste and plastic bags will be knitted into goal nets;
  • football3 matches will teach children about the need for inclusion, fair play and gender equality.

Partner

Football United Myanmar

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Myanmar
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €75,000
Foundation funding €65,000
Project identifier 20210751
Partners Football United (University of New South Wales)
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims

Context

Football United (FU) brought the sport for development and peace (S4DP) concept and practice to Myanmar in 2013 and has since then worked with various in-country partners across the country, introducing S4DP in four thematic areas: football for youth leadership and life skills development; social cohesion; resilience building; and psychological support.

The violent crackdown following the coup in 2021 caused people to flee to areas controlled by armed ethnic organisations. Kayin is one of the few states where people have been able to seek refuge, with many living in refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border. Social, emotional, and basic needs are critical. Operating in the state since 2016, Football United provides staff and logistics to address many of these needs.

Project content

FU has developed special learning materials to help young people and communities to build up resilience, life skills and psychological support through specially designed football activities.

Objectives

  • Engage the conflict-affected communities in specially designed playing opportunities and football-based behaviour-change mechanisms to improve resilience and reduce vulnerability;
  • Build capacity and a flow-on effect in the broader conflict-affected communities, enabling them to recover from trauma and other stresses and faster develop more sustainable solutions to crises.

Project activities

  • Situation analysis: roles, contributions of key stakeholders; sites in addition to the FU Peace Centre; SWOT;
  • Develop tailor-made curriculums including virtual delivery mechanisms;
  • Staff/volunteer induction course delivered either face-to-face or online depending on circumstances;
  • Weekly football-based resilience activities;
  • Fair play tournaments delivered quarterly, conditions permitting;
  • Training of trainers: community members trained to develop future programmes.

Expected results

  • Kayin state has more safe spaces for community members to play and heal;
  • Participating youngsters and coaches experienced an increased sense of hope and healing, through positive changes in attitudes, beliefs, community solidarity actions. Quantitative result: at least 50% improvement compared to baseline figures;
  • Mechanisms introduced for mutual support and continuing engagement of partners: Red Cross branch leaders, IDP camp and conflict-affected non-IDP community leaders to further develop football-based psychological support and resilience-building in their communities.

Partner

Alakäläwa GOLEES

Location and general information

Closed
Location Costa Rica
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 03/01/2024
Cost of the project €72,304,79
Foundation funding €50,707,71
Project identifier 20211137
Partners Fundación GOLEES
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Many young girls in the Cabécar Tjai indigenous community in Costa Rica want to play football, but the community lacks coaches, training and organisation. Football is an expression of freedom for the girls who live in a context where there is a lack of information regarding the rights of young girls and high levels of teenage pregnancy and unhealthy relationships.

Project content

In alliance with community’s women leaders, this project promotes opportunities for indigenous girls to play football. The GOLEES methodology allows social and gender issues to be addressed, while respecting the community’s worldview. The community football field becomes a space that promotes equality, freedom and female empowerment, turning female players into agents of personal, family and community change defending their right to play football and their right to live a life free from violence.

Objectives

  • Create an educational sports space that promotes female empowerment and reinforces the autonomy, self-esteem and identity of the players;
  • Create a structure of female football teams from various indigenous communities and provide the tools for their gradual self-management;
  • Make girls aware of their human rights in order to reduce the levels of teenage pregnancy and unhealthy relationships.

Project activities

  • Educational sports camps: football fundamentals training, joint creation of monthly training plans, exercises linked to social and gender themes;
  • Intercommunity tournaments: mixed (boys and girls) tournaments based on the football3 methodology Intercultural; tournaments: tournaments  with other GOLEES players from urban areas to facilitate cultural exchange.

Expected results

  • 18 educational sports camps with 40 female players aged 12–19;
  • Two intercommunity tournaments with 120 male and female players;
  • Two intercultural tournaments with 120 female players.

Partner

Safer Play – Safeguarding in Sport for Development

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Worlwide
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 05/31/2023
Cost of the project €140,044
Foundation funding €140,044
Project identifier 20210464
Partners Streetfootballworld
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Throughout the world, more and more organisations are using sport as an effective development tool to meet targets related to education, social inclusion, child protection and empowerment. However, it must be accompanied by high-quality safeguarding training and robust safeguarding practices at all levels.

In 2021, the UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld took the lead in the sport-for-good sector by launching an online safeguarding course. A five-track training programme was developed in collaboration with experts to educate, support and raise the awareness of coaches, volunteers and everyone working in the sport-for-good sector.

Project content

In 2022, the online training programme will be refined and adjusted to the specific needs of those working with at-risk children and adults. All the content will be made available to all sport-for-good organisations worldwide with the aim of nurturing a global culture of mutual support in the safeguarding sector. The ‘do no harm’ principle will be at the core of each sports-based activity and regional, contextual and cultural specificities will be taken into account.

Objectives

The overall goal is to minimise intentional and unintentional harm to vulnerable groups, especially children, in sport-for-good contexts. This will be achieved by building on UEFA’s previous safeguarding initiatives to develop a certification course for all practitioners working with children and at-risk youth and with adults within the sport-for-good sector. The knowledge and training track will benefit from local expertise by engaging sport-for-good organisations working closely with children in their communities.

Project activities

  • Refining and scaling up the existing sport-for-good safeguarding certification course to reach new organisations with the aim of obtaining feedback and making further improvements and thematic additions;
  • Boosting organisational capacity by developing tools and providing workshops on organisational safeguarding structures.

Expected results

  • 150,000 at-risk youngsters will be reached indirectly by the ten organisations that complete the online certification programme and attend the organisational safeguarding workshops;
  • 150 new coaches and other sport-for-good practitioners, including youth leaders and counsellors, from ten new organisations will complete the online certification programme and take part in the workshops, gaining a qualification in safeguarding and building knowledge and skills relating to child protection;
  • The updated course will be disseminated to all of the 154 organisations in the streetfootballworld network, indirectly benefiting a total of 1.3 million at-risk youngsters.

Partner

Football for children with Down syndrome

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Russia
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 01/31/2023
Cost of the project €114,497
Foundation funding €28,046
Project identifier 20210323
Partners Syndrome of Love
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities

Context

In Russia, people with Down syndrome still face many barriers to their integration into society. It is widely recognised that sport assists social integration because it develops physical and mental abilities and improves emotional and psychological well-being. However, there are still not enough classes, clubs, coaches, methods or facilities to enable children with intellectual disabilities in Russia to participate in sports.

Project content

This project is a continuation of the 2021 project supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children. Regular football training sessions are planned for 200 children and teenagers with Down syndrome aged 7 to 18, as well as a training camp and the third interregional football competition. The Syndrome of Love foundation plans to help four regional non-profit organisations set up football training groups for children with Down syndrome. One of the long-term objectives is to set up a national football team for people with Down syndrome to compete internationally.

Objectives

  • Involve children and teenagers with Down syndrome in regular football training in five regions of Russia (including Moscow);
  • Help four regional non-profits set up football training for children with Down syndrome;
  • Improve the skills and qualifications of coaches and physical education teachers working with children with Down syndrome;
  • Demonstrate the ability of people with Down syndrome to participate in sports by creating a friendly and tolerant environment where equal rights and opportunities are supported;
  • Inform parents, coaches and university students about the importance of sports activities for children and teenagers with Down syndrome.

Project activities

  • Regular football training sessions for children and teenagers with Down syndrome;
  • Competitive selection of non-profits to receive funding to set up football training groups for children with Down syndrome;
  • Skills improvement course for coaches in adaptive physical education and organising mini-football training for children with Down syndrome;
  • Seminar for more experienced coaches;
  • Training camp for children with Down syndrome based at a sports camp in the Moscow region;
  • Third interregional football competition for children and teenagers with Down syndrome;
  • Information campaign on developing opportunities in sports for people with Down syndrome;
  • Information campaign for parents to involve as many girls as possible in sports.

Expected results

  • Six football groups for children with Down syndrome in Moscow and the other regions;
  • 200 children regularly playing football in groups;
  • 26–50% of participants involved in the project are girls;
  • 600 football training sessions for children with Down syndrome;
  • 10 coaches completed the skills improvement course;
  • 200 participants (including children, accompanying persons, coaches and organisers) in the third interregional football competition for children and teenagers with Down syndrome;
  • 200 participants in the training camp (including children, accompanying persons, coaches and organisers);
  • 1,000,000 people reached by the information campaign.

Partner