Bijzondere Eredivisie

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Netherlands
Start date 06/01/2021
End date 05/31/2022
Cost of the project €150,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20200607
Partners Het Gehandicapte Kind foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There are more than 100,000 disabled children in the Netherlands. Exercise is very important to improve their health, independence and self-confidence. Disabled children are more likely to experience loneliness, and sport gives them the opportunity to make friends. The Het Gehandicapte Kind foundation believes that all children should be able to share the same dreams and playing for their favourite football club is one those.

Project content

In 2019, the Het Gehandicapte Kind foundation kicked off the world’s first official football competition for disabled children: Bijzondere Eredivisie. Thanks to the funding of the UEFA Foundation, the third season can begin!

Children with a disability are given the opportunity to join a professional football club and play the sport they love. Playing sport helps them become socially included, build friendships and boost their self-confidence. Ten football clubs competed in the first season: Ajax, ADO Den Haag, De Graafschap, Excelsior, FC Emmen, FC Groningen, FC Utrecht, Heracles Almelo, SC Heerenveen and VVV Venlo.

Objectives

  • Increase the visibility of children with disabilities.
  • Inspire disabled children to believe that anything is possible.
  • Increase disabled children’s participation in sports.
  • Increase awareness of disabled football in the Netherlands.
  • Establish a sustainable competition.

Project activities

  • Clubs 'scout' their own team during the open selection days for approximately 200 disabled children.
  • Ten clubs and 120 children participate in the competition (more clubs and more children next season).
  • The teams train once a week at the grounds of their professional club.
  • A competition takes place twice a month, and every professional football club hosts once a season.
  • The competitions are a fully organised event with a welcome by the club manager, lunch and transport.
  • Communication via social media platforms (Bijzondere Eredivisie and football clubs’ channels).

Expected results

  • Children socialise and make new friends through their football clubs.
  • Children act as a catalyst for a more positive, inclusive perception of disabled children.
  • More disabled children start to play football.
  • Notable improvement in the confidence and health of the disabled children.
  • Minimum of 18 professional clubs involved in the competition.

Partner

New challenges, new opportunities

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Hungary
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €62,920
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20200820
Partners Oltalom Sport Association
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Personal development

Context

In 2020, the world changed in many ways due to COVID-19. Although the virus affects everyone, the most vulnerable groups have suffered the most. Social distancing and isolation have exacerbated existing problems and the social gap between different groups in society has widened. In areas where children have not been able to thrive through digital education, their opportunities have dwindled.

Oltalom Sport Association (OSA) helps vulnerable children in Hungary at risk of exclusion. Some children have had to act as parents to their siblings, meaning that they have lacked the time and energy to focus on their studies. Their physiological, mental and academic development is severely affected, restricting their opportunities in further education and the job market. The children from refugee and migrant backgrounds lack social contact with the host society and feel isolated, and sometimes lack primary carers. In extreme cases, children have been exposed to distressing events at an early age, resulting in acute and posttraumatic stress disorders.

Project content

As a reaction to the deepening social and educational gap, the OSA aims to help children who have lacked parenting and education develop the skills they are missing to lead successful lives. The OSA does not intend to take over the schools’ role in formal education, rather to contribute to the invisible curriculum that is oftentimes missing from the children’s lives.

Objectives

  • Enhance physical and mental well-being.
  • Reduce school dropout.
  • Foster social skills development.
  • Encourage entry and re-entry to primary education.
  • Encourage continuation to secondary education, vocational training or higher education.
  • Promote social inclusion of at-risk groups (e.g. Roma minority, unaccompanied migrants and refugees).

Project activities

  • Regular football training.
  • Active social work.
  • Fair Play Football Roadshows.
  • Youth leader and football3 mediator training.
  • Participation in international tournaments.
  • English and Hungarian language clubs.
  • Female workshops.
  • Employability services.
  • Appreciative inquiry workshop.
  • Scholarship programmes for young leaders and street soccer coaches.
  • Study visit to Slum Soccer India.

Expected results

  • 450 regular football training sessions.
  • Ten female workshops and ten employability workshops.
  • Three football3 mediator training sessions and four young leader training sessions.
  • 150 English classes and 50 Hungarian classes.
  • Scholarship programme for three young leaders.
  • Summer camp.
  • Study visit for three OSA coaches.
  • Scholarship for two coaches from the Slum Soccer India organisation.
  • 500 direct beneficiaries and 660 indirect beneficiaries.

Partner

Football3 Empower Girls

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Poland
Start date 12/01/2020
End date 08/31/2022
Cost of the project €100,131
Foundation funding €50,501
Project identifier 20200985
Partners Stowarzyszenie "Trenuj Bycie Dobrym"
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

Two of the biggest problems facing sports in Poland, especially youth football, are inequality and the exclusion of girls and women. Poland has 1,125,159 registered football players and only 40,695 of them are female. In fact, only 3% of players and coaches are female. Another problem is that sustainable development is not an important topic in Polish society and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are virtually unknown. Remedying these problems begins in schools where:

  • there are no separate PE lessons at primary school level (age 6–9);
  • there is a lack of global education connected to the SDGs;
  • team sports are promoted mainly among boys.

Project content

The aim of the project is to empower girls and women in football in Poland, especially at grassroots level, through football3 and cooperation with schools. The project will stress that football is a game for everyone by encouraging boys and girls to play together. Playing football3 teaches the fundamental values of equality, respect and cooperation.

Objectives

  • Promote equal access to football and equal treatment of women and girls in football in Poland through football3.
  • Increase the number of female football3 coaches and mediators in Poland through training.
  • Promote equality, respect and cooperation between boys and girls through football3 in Polish schools.
  • Promote the SDGs, in particular SDG 5: Gender Equality.

Project activities

  • Organising football3 lessons in 33 schools in rural areas for over 7,000 children, including a minimum of 3,600 girls.
  • Providing football3 training to 33 female coaches and 33 female mediators.
  • Organising 33 local community football3 tournaments (in villages and small towns) promoting the SDGs for over 2,000 participants.
  • Organising a final football3 festival in Warsaw for 240 children (aged 6–9), at least 50% of whom are girls from rural areas.
  • Creating 11 local teams (leaders, teachers and volunteers) with an equal gender balance.
  • Creating three online preparatory training courses for leaders, teachers and volunteers.
  • Creating an online certification course for female football3 coaches and mediators.
  • Translating the online certification course into Polish.

Expected results

  • 528 football3 lessons for boys and girls.
  • 33 local community football3 tournaments.
  • Over 50 agreements with volunteers.
  • A documentary clip about the football3 festival in Warsaw.
  • An online football3 certification course available in Polish.
  • 33 certified female football3 coaches.
  • 33 certified female football3 mediators.
  • An impact report.

Partner

Football without Borders

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Austria, Vienna
Start date 12/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €203,050
Foundation funding €40,550
Project identifier 20200145
Partners Kicken ohne Grenzen
Categories Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality

Context

Around 11% of Austria’s 15 to 24-year-olds are not in training or employment. Most have a migrant or refugee background. According to the OECD, almost half of all unemployed young people are ‘inactive’, which means they are not seeking work or being reached via conventional integration measures. Alternative forms of learning, like Kicken ohne Grenzen’s football-based education project, therefore, have a key role to play.

Project content

Kicken ohne Grenzen aims to achieve the long-term and equitable integration of young refugees into society. Over a two-year period, 240 young people (>50% female) improve their social, mental and emotional skills through weekly open football training sessions. Intensive supervision both on and off the pitch allows the project team to evaluate the participants’ skills and interest. This insight helps the project team to organise career taster days and training opportunities as part of the award-winning Job Goals programme.

Objectives

  • Improved social and interpersonal skills, such as concentration, decision-making, self-motivation, and frustration tolerance.
  • Greater self-confidence and stability.
  • Better self-awareness and ability to identity strengths and areas for development.
  • Ability to improve performance.
  • Seamless transition to realistic training or work goals.

Project activities

  • Open football training sessions.
  • Football-based soft-skill training sessions to help the young people apply the skills they have acquired on the football pitch – like motivation, self-reliance, decision-making and teamwork – to their everyday lives.
  • CV writing workshops with external partners.
  • Individual counselling off the pitch (Job Goals programme).
  • Yearly tournament promoting gender equality and fair play.

Expected results

  • 250 open football training sessions across Vienna.
  • 240 participants between 15 and 24 years old.
  • Female participation of at least 40%.
  • Yearly tournament, with at least 300 participants, in which young referees, tournament directors, players and coaches act as role models for active integration.
  • 60 beneficiaries of the Job Goals programme (with a target achievement rate of 96%).

Partner

Good Health and Climate Action through Football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Lesotho
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €245,000
Foundation funding €122,600
Project identifier 20201058
Partners Kick4Life
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle

Context

Young people in Lesotho face many severe and overlapping health challenges that negatively impact their well-being and prospects, including:

  • The world’s second highest prevalence of HIV and a lack of access to HIV testing and counselling.
  • High levels of gender-based violence.
  • A lack of access to sanitation facilities and poor standards of hygiene, contributing to the spread of preventable diseases such as TB.
  • An accelerating COVID-19 infection rate.
  • Drug and alcohol abuse.
  • Extremely high levels of poverty and food insecurity.
  • An urgent need for mental health support, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A reduction in vital resources due to climate change.

The young people engaged in the programme come from a range of underprivileged and vulnerable backgrounds, including:

  • Children living on the street.
  • HIV-positive youth.
  • Orphans.
  • Teenage mothers.
  • Children living in poverty.
  • At-risk children and vulnerable girls.
  • Children engaged in child labour.

Project content

The project focuses on improving the health and long-term prospects of Lesotho’s youth, with an enhanced emphasis on gender equality and reducing gender-based violence. It tackles issues such as HIV prevention, hygiene, nutrition and urgent COVID-19 health education, as well as facilitating referrals to specialist healthcare providers. The project also develops key life skills, empowering participants to protect the health of people and the planet. Participants are also encouraged to take part in other Kick4Life activities such as employability programmes and training and employment opportunities within its hospitality social enterprises.

The expanded project also aims to reduce the health impact of climate change, with new sessions on water conservation, biodiversity and preventing land degradation. A Youth Climate Action Group will be set up to drive climate action by young people across Lesotho.

Objectives

The project aims to increase the health-related knowledge of 5,000 young people through a football-based curriculum in order to improve their physical and mental health, well-being and nutrition and reduce their vulnerability to HIV and COVID‑19. The project’s outcomes are aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being), 5 (gender equality), and 13 (climate action).

Project activities

  • Delivery of an 18-session football-based curriculum to 5,000 young people, in 200 intakes of 25 participants, with an even gender balance
  • Creation of four new climate education sessions and a Youth Climate Action Group
  • Development of a COVID-19 adaptation plan for alternative delivery if regular programming is interrupted
  • Two training courses for 20 coaches, including updated COVID-19 safeguarding
  • 500 referrals to health and protection services
  • Monitoring and evaluation including 125 pre- and post-tests and eight focus groups

Expected results

5,000 young people will have:

  • Increased health-related knowledge, including on HIV prevention and sexual health, hygiene and sanitation and nutrition
  • Improved attitudes to gender equality
  • Improved access to healthcare, including HIV testing and mental health services
  • Better understanding of climate change and motivation to take climate action
  • Greater confidence in maintaining their health and achieving their potential

Partner

Promoting Sports to Build Resilience in Rural Nicaragua

Location and general information

Closed
Location Nicaragua
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €96,115
Foundation funding €57,000
Project identifier 20200543
Partners Fabretto Children's Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Economic activity in Nicaragua has decreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Reduced disposable income and higher unemployment, together with rising food costs and limited access to hygiene supplies, have led to a rise in health problems and community stress. The uncertainty being experienced by already vulnerable communities is endangering children’s fundamental rights to education, play and development, as well as their access to learning materials.

Project content

The project has two components: (1) health and personal well-being; and (2) education, extracurricular activities and sport. It seeks to mitigate the risk of COVID-19, by promoting personal hygiene, a balanced diet and other healthy habits. It also seeks to reduce exclusion by ensuring access to quality education for 780 children from vulnerable communities in Nicaragua and foster an inclusive and healthy environment through extracurricular activities, sport, and community engagement.

Objectives

  • Educate students and their families about the importance of personal hygiene, a balanced diet and good mental health.
  • Provide children in poor communities with meaningful afterschool activities.
  • Enhance the reading and writing skills of primary school children.
  • Promote physical activities, such as football training and at-home workouts.

Project activities

Promotion of health and personal well-being:

  • Provision of hygiene kits, sports kits and learning materials.
  • Health campaigns.
  • Workshops (in-person and/or online) with parents and educators.
  • Lunches and snacks.

Education and extracurricular activities:

  • Teacher and coach training.
  • Education enrichment and literacy activities.
  • Development of a physical education plan for Fabretto.
  • Formation of sports teams and organised training sessions.

Expected results

  • 780 children enrolled in the education enrichment programme.
  • 550 children playing in football teams.
  • 780 hygiene kits distributed.
  • 650 families accessed information on personal hygiene, balanced diets and good mental health.
  • Sports and educational material kits distributed to all 40 teams.
  • 25 teachers trained.
  • 12 coaches trained.

Partner

Creating a Sport dans la Ville holiday and training centre for 8,000 young people

Location and general information

Terminé
Location France, Le Poët-Laval
Start date 05/01/2021
End date 06/30/2022
Cost of the project €5,000,000
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 20200168
Partners Sport dans la Ville
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Over the past 20 years, Sport dans la Ville has enabled more than 3,000 children and teenagers to go on holiday. Their holiday experiences help them to mature and have a huge impact on their life trajectories.

To make it possible for even more children and teens to enjoy a holiday, Sport dans la Ville is creating its own holiday and vocational training centre in Poët-Laval, Drôme. Every year, the centre will accommodate 800 nine- to eighteen-year-olds from disadvantaged areas.

During their stay, the children will have opportunities for personal growth, creativity, discovery and sports. The centre’s group activities will promote mutual respect, solidarity, daily commitment and team work. The children will leave with happy memories and motivation to strive to achieve new goals.

Project content

Sport dans la Ville plans to create a holiday and training centre set within 22 hectares of stunning natural scenery where young people registered with the association can stay during their summer holidays. The centre will provide sports and leisure activities that will encourage their personal growth. The oldest children will also receive vocational training in activity leading, hospitality and catering.

Objectives

  • Provide holiday camps where young people can learn about individual and group responsibility, initiative taking, mutual respect and support, solidarity and interculturality.
  • Work with training bodies to give young people access to vocational training in activity leading, tourism, landscaping, hospitality and catering.

Project activities

Providing sports, arts and outdoor activities at the holiday camp:

  • Team sports such as football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, field hockey, archery and baseball.
  • Swimming lessons.
  • Nature activities such as orienteering, mountain biking, camping, climbing, hiking, tree climbing, escape games and astronomy.
  • Creative activities such as painting, music, dance, drama, pottery, public speaking and reading.
  • Building projects such as constructing cabins, maintaining hiking trails and planting trees.

Providing training and work placements for young people participating in the Job dans la Ville employability programme:

  • Vocational training in sports and youth activity leading, hospitality and catering, and landscape and grounds maintenance.
  • Camp catering work placements.
  • Theoretical and practical training leading to the BAFA and BAFD youth activity leader and manager qualifications.
  • Camp career discovery days.

Expected results

  • 800 young people staying in holiday camps every year.
  • 100 young foreigners staying in holiday camps every year.
  • 350 young people receiving job training and guidance every year.

Partner

Mbo Mpenza Challenge

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Belgium
Start date 10/01/2020
End date 06/30/2022
Cost of the project €163,770
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20200480
Partners Impala Performance ASBL
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Belgium does not currently have a satisfactory strategy to integrate vulnerable young people, particularly refugees, disabled children and institutionalised children. The Mbo Mpenza Challenge project has been working to rectify this for the past three years by using football to promote the sporting values of respect, solidarity and pushing yourself.

Project content

The Association of Francophone Football Clubs will hold selection trials in early 2021 for over 2,000 girls and boys aged 10 and 11 from all backgrounds at the football fields of Decathlon stores. The Mbo Mpenza Challenge project will educate the children about combating racism and provide high-quality coaching focused on integrating every child. All children will be able to take part in these trials thanks to support from children’s institutions, vulnerable children’s coaches and carers of disabled or refugee children.

The 120 children selected will take part in a big one-day tournament involving small individual challenges and a final.

 

 

 

 

Objectives

The Mbo Mpenza Challenge seeks to educate children at an early age about discrimination and use football to instil the fundamental values of respect, team spirit, fair play and pushing yourself. The challenges are designed to foster team spirit by removing difference-related barriers.

Project activities

  • Training sessions for over 2,000 girls and boys aged 10 and 11 from all backgrounds
  • Small challenges at Decathlon football fields
  • Trials for a one-day tournament
  • Tournament activities: orientation for the children, training by qualified coaches, formation of twelve teams of ten children who have never met before, football challenges, a final in which the winning team will be selected based on criteria including fair play and pushing beyond limits

Expected results

  • Positive experiences will boost the confidence and self-esteem of the children
  • Excellent support will encourage the children to practise sport
  • Difference-related barriers will be removed allowing children from all backgrounds to mix
  • 2,000 children will directly benefit from the project and over 5,000 will benefit indirectly through 500 amateur clubs
  • At least 10% of the beneficiaries will be girls
  • A large number of disadvantaged children will benefit from the project and the club registration fees of the most disadvantaged will be paid for

Partner

Let’s Play Outside!

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Chadyr-Lunga, Moldova
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/01/2021
Cost of the project €58,352
Foundation funding €47,000
Project identifier 20201372
Partners Football Association of Moldova
Categories Infrastructure and equipment

Context

The target area in Chadyr-Lunga has a population of 4,000 (a quarter of the town’s population), but no modern sports facilities. The existing facilities are run down and the only large open space is the sports ground in the school yard that was created in 1985. The secondary school (Lyceum N2) has pupils with special educational needs and some of the pupils are orphans.

Project content

This project will create a football field at the Lyceum N2. In a survey, the local community, represented by parents, pupils and local residents, determined that the development of football facilities was a priority need to create a healthy next generation.

Objectives

The main objective is to provide young people with an alternative to computer games, television, alcohol and tobacco abuse and unhealthy relationships. The project hopes to help the young generation to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Project activities

  • Constructing a mini-football field for children to allow them to play sports and improve their quality of life
  • Organising extracurricular activities for children

Expected results

  • Access to sports for 700 children from the Lyceum N2 and two nearby kindergartens
  • Extracurricular activities for the children
  • Football tournaments for the children
  • Football training sessions for the children

Partner

Education and sport for street-working children in Afghanistan

Location and general information

Closed
Location Afghanistan
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €296,936
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20200614
Partners Action for Development
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Violence, extreme poverty and food insecurity are everyday problems for many Afghans. The country’s critical situation, exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, hits the most vulnerable groups, such as children, the hardest. The children who work on the streets have the starkest future prospects, due to their lack of access to education among other factors.

Project content

This project aims to improve the health, quality of life and access to education of children working on the streets in Afghanistan. Action for Development (AfD) has developed teacher training modules on literacy, numeracy, social behaviour, and advocating for children’s rights in Afghanistan. The focus is on empowering children with education, making the government aware of their special needs, providing meals and football lessons for their social development, and helping them to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

 

Objectives

  • Provide children working on the streets with access to a quality, tailor-made education programme, with the aim of improving their overall wellbeing in the short term, and reducing poverty and child labour in the long term.
  • Give 200 street-working children aged 5–13 access to education and food by the end of 2021.
  • Strengthen gender equality.
  • Further develop special training methodologies.
  • Adapt to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
  • Establish a vocational training programme for 20 students aged 14–15.

Project activities

  • Continuing to organise awareness sessions and promote education and sport for girls.
  • Continuing to provide one healthy meal per day to the children.
  • Increasing the number of football lessons to accommodate more children.
  • Improving the current teaching methodology and bringing the curriculum in line with the formal school curriculum.
  • Continuing to train the teachers to deliver student-centred lessons and learning through fun.
  • Training the teachers in special education provision and providing them with material for tailor-made classes for street-working children.
  • Providing English language training to teachers and children.
  • Prevent the spread of COVID-19 by reducing the number of students per classroom; providing hand sanitisers, face masks and thermometers; and designing a distance learning strategy in case of a new lockdown.
  • Recruiting new teachers.
  • Designing a vocational training programme for older students and working with local partners to design modules on in-demand skills (mechanics, carpentry, gem cutting, etc.).
  • Increasing synergies with local government schools to learn from their expertise, support AfD’s teachers and help integrate the children into the formal education system.
  • Identifying and setting up new centres close to the areas where children work.
  • Introducing regular health checks and proper growth monitoring and vaccinations in collaboration with AfD's Comprehensive Health Centre.
  • Equipping classrooms with technology (iPads/PCs and projectors).

Expected results

  • 200 children receive quality education, daily meals, health checks and play football.
  • 20 older students get access to vocational training.
  • Gender parity increases in classes and football training, most staff members are women and awareness of female education increases.
  • Teacher training is enhanced.
  • The curriculum is further aligned with the governmental one.
  • The project is resilient to COVID-19 challenges.

Partner

Girls on Track

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Tanzania
Start date 07/01/2020
End date 04/30/2021
Cost of the project €447,646
Foundation funding €48,739
Project identifier 20200526
Partners Right to Play
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

In Tanzania, nearly one third of the population live below the poverty line and the country has one of the highest birth rates in the world.

Tanzanian girls do not have the same educational and life opportunities as boys. Despite girls enrolling in primary education at the same rate as boys, only 73% complete it and less than 26% progress to secondary education. Literacy and numeracy skills in Tanzania are poor, with 19% of children finishing primary school classified as illiterate, and the situation is worse for girls with national primary pass rates of 49% compared to 56% for boys. For women and girls, improvements in the quality of education will have direct and long-lasting benefits to health, such as a huge reduction in under-five mortality.

 

Mara and Morogoro are two of the most marginalised regions of Tanzania, with household income below the national average. Mara has the lowest Kiswahili literacy pass rates in the country, the fourth lowest primary school leavers pass rates, and the third worst ratio of school toilets to girls, at only one per 192 girls. Morogoro has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children, the majority of whom are girls. High number of girls in these regions drop out of school due to socio-cultural practices, negative attitudes toward girls’ education, early marriage, high levels of gender-based violence, and the stigma attached to teenage pregnancy. This is exacerbated by poor gender responsive education and a lack of conducive learning environments for girls.

Project content

The project will improve the quality of education for children, especially girls, in Tanzania. Better education and life skills will empower girls to transition to womanhood, become better parents in the future and break the cycle of poverty endemic in the target regions. Investing in quality education will also pay dividends in health and gender equality.

Objectives

  • Improve children’s life skills to support their educational attainment.
  • Promote gender-sensitive and safe learning environments in primary schools to improve the engagement and performance of girls.
  • Enhance local community support for girls’ education to reduce barriers and tackle negative gender norms.

Project activities

  • Supporting teachers to develop gender-sensitive, play-based learning through training, mentoring and support, and the provision of learning aids and sports equipment.
  • Facilitating peer exchange among teachers and government education staff to help integrate gender-sensitive, play-based learning into teaching practices.
  • Organising community play days and sports tournaments to raise awareness of gender equality.
  • Rehabilitating sanitation facilities in schools to reduce barriers to girls attending school.
  • Engaging community groups in dialogue on gender equality and the value of education for girls and boys.

Expected results

  • 60% of girls in target locations demonstrating an increase in leadership, confidence, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.
  • 60% increase in the number of girls with improved knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
  • 80% of teachers applying a gender-sensitive, play-based approach to curriculum subjects and life skills development.
  • 6% increase in school attendance rates.
  • 2% increase in girls’ transition rates to secondary school.
  • 50% of parents/caregivers regularly participating in community awareness campaigns on the value of education for girls.

Partner

EFDN STEM Football and Education Programme

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location The Netherlands, United-Kingdom, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Poland
Start date 12/01/2021
End date 11/30/2022
Cost of the project €279,495
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20200793
Partners European Football for Development Network
Categories Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The importance of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education is becoming more apparent every day. Demand for STEM jobs tripled between 2000 and 2010, and it has continued to grow exponentially over the past decade due to developments in technology and artificial intelligence.

The EFDN STEM Football and Education Programme aims to provide STEM learning opportunities for children from disadvantaged areas through football-based activities. It seeks to enhance their self-confidence and teach them skills that will improve their future employability.

Some of the project partners have experience delivering similar projects in their local communities and will be able to use this to good effect.

Project content

This ten-week, football-based educational enrichment programme for children aged 9 to 12 will be delivered by football club foundations in collaboration with local schools and supported by local and international companies. It aims to use football as a tool to inspire and educate the participants about STEM. The project partners will achieve this by pairing strategic STEM-based activities with essential gameplay and current topics. The target group will learn how to program, code and understand technological devices. External partners will provide educational robots to assist the delivery of the programme and to add an element of fun to the learning experience.

Objectives

  • Improve the digital skills of digitally excluded groups (including migrants and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds) through partnerships between schools, business and non-formal sectors, including public libraries
  • Reach a minimum of 4,800 participants aged 9 to 12 from disadvantaged backgrounds
  • Disseminate the project to over 100 clubs, leagues and FAs across the European continent
  • Produce an effective and user-friendly practitioner’s guide and methodology
  • Positively impact education policies across the partner countries

Project activities

  • Five international project meetings for project managers and coaches to share best practices and establish a practitioner’s guide
  • Three 10-week programmes delivered to schools in disadvantaged areas: these will include inclusive educational and practical workshops alongside football-based activities to educate participants about the importance of STEM
  • One mid-term dissemination event and one final international dissemination event

Expected results

  • Awareness raised of the importance of inclusive education
  • Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds will have been given opportunities to access high quality, innovative education
  • STEM learning opportunities provided to those who do not usually participate in them
  • Engagement of other organisations in the development of their own football-based STEM education programmes
  • Higher educational standards to benefit the future European labour market
  • Better equal opportunities in employment

Partner

RISE – Beyond Goals 2

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Greece, Athens, Thessaloníki
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 08/31/2022
Cost of the project €121,050
Foundation funding €99,260
Project identifier 20200333
Partners ActionAid Hellas
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Two out of five children in Greece live in low-income households at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The situation is exacerbated by the migration crisis, with 50,000 refugee and migrant children in Greece. These children face numerous challenges, including domestic violence, high levels of school dropout and high levels of stress and depression. They also lack basic resources, educational support, and creative and life-skills education, resulting in fewer opportunities and social exclusion.   

Project content

Beyond Goals 2 is the second phase of ActionAid Hellas’ RISE programme aimed at deepening and scaling up its impact. The programme is led by international football player Dimitris Papadopoulos, who was inspired to create a football-based programme that would provide marginalised children with life values and skills affording them a better life with dignity and greater opportunities to develop themselves and their communities.  

Objectives

RISE's mission is to empower disadvantaged children by providing them with skills and access to opportunities in order to build their resilience and thus the resilience of their communities. This second phase aims to deepen and mainstream RISE’s impact by:  

  • developing football and youth club activities in Athens to address youth disengagement, social exclusion and community-building issues; 
  • providing targeted dissemination/capacity building to sports, education and CSO professionals across Greece. 

Project activities

  • Foodball3 training and matches: Access to sports and motivation through positive role models (professional athletes and peers) for marginalised youth
  • National football3 tournament
  • Psychosocial and educational support services
  • Youth civic engagement activities (local youth action groups, capacity building and youth-led civic initiatives)
  • Community-building activities bringing onboard families
  • RISE model transfer workshops (physical and digital)

Expected results

  • 50 disadvantaged children aged 12–17 will participate in football activities, receive support and be actively engaged in youth club activities in the long term 
  • 15 children aged 14–17 will build leadership skills and act as youth mediators for their peers 
  • Five youth-led local initiatives 
  • Ten schools and 200 representatives from sports clubs, CSOs and schools across Greece will receive information, training and support in implementing the RISE model 
  • At least 1,250 children will benefit indirectly from transfer of the RISE model 

Partner

Team GOALS

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Haiti
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €221,326
Foundation funding €15,935
Project identifier 20210108
Partners Global Outreach and Love of Soccer
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The GOALS organisation uses football to engage young Haitians in programmes focused on education, health and the environment to improve their quality of life. Through leadership development and social change initiatives, GOALS is creating stronger, healthier communities in areas where no other non-profit or government services exist. People in these severely deprived areas have no electricity or running water and 80% of the players’ parents are unemployed.

Project content

Team GOALS is a sport-for-development programme focused on football, education and community service. It is designed to develop leadership skills, spark change, and promote equality. The emphasis is on teaching life skills such as literacy, health literacy, conflict resolution and gender equality. It takes a holistic approach and actively engages each of the participants. Through their love of playing the game, they learn how to be engaged members of their community.

Objectives

Team GOALS aims to improve physical and mental health as well as the environment. Each objective relates to GOALS’ overall mission to create healthier and more stable communities in the long term, so that every child in rural Haiti can realise their potential and follow their dreams. By using football as a platform for development, GOALS reaches children who are left behind by conventional educational systems.

Project activities

  • Football: daily practice using specialised curricula (CAC and SFW games) to teach inclusion, conflict resolution and gender equality; friendly matches; and rural outreach.
  • Health education: disease prevention; sex education; and proper hygiene.
  • Climate action: tree planting; recycling; and community gardens.
  • Leadership training: youth leaders identifying community issues and solutions.
  • Education: literacy programme and high school scholarships.
  • Community service: volunteerism.

Expected results

  • Improved physical and mental health of GOALS participants.
  • 92% of participants will have played sports for the first time.
  • 77% of underweight children reached the normal weight range.
  • Annual pregnancy rate in GOALS areas under 1% compared to a 7% country average.
  • 35 literacy class graduates, 25 scholarship recipients and average test scores up from 13% to 71%.
  • 300 trees and three community gardens planted.
  • 400 youth aged 8 to 18 will have increased their self-confidence, health literacy and awareness of social issues through purposeful play.
  • Six youth-led community improvement projects.

Partner

Open Fun Football Schools in Syria

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Syria
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 06/30/2021
Cost of the project €200,000
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20200868
Partners Cross Culture (CCPA)
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Syria is still one of the worst humanitarian crises in human history, with 6.1 million internally displaced people, including 2.5 million children.

Many families have started to return to their homes and are trying to get back to a ‘normal’ life. However, organised sports activities are still rarely accessible to children.

Project content

The Open Fun Football School initiative has proved to be an excellent tool to mobilise local communities and volunteer coaches in some of the most politically uncertain and conflict-sensitive areas across the world.

CCPA will use the Open Fun Football School (OFFS) initiative as a tool to enhance peace education, safeguarding and resilience among children and teenagers throughout Syria.

Objectives

The overall objective of Open Fun Football Schools in Syria is to enhance resilience and encourage a culture of peace and non-violence, gender equality, child protection, an appreciation of cultural and social diversity and of culture’s overall contribution to sustainable development.

    1. Mobilise a network of young Syrian leaders and coaches and build their capacity to independently organise Open Fun Football Schools and other community-based fun football activities
    2. Organising Open Fun Football Schools and other fun football activities for children aged 6-12
    3. Anchoring the network in sustainable and community-based clubs that organise day-to-day Open Fun Football School activities throughout Syria

Project activities

Open Fun Football Schools will focus on following areas : Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hamah, Latakia, Tartus

  1. Introduction to the CCPA child-centred and community-based approach for eight Open Fun Football School leaders/trainers-of-trainers who will receive training in theory and practice.
  2. 60 hours of Open Fun Football School coaching seminars for 96 coaches to teach them the approach. The seminars will be led by the eight leaders/trainers-of-trainers under the supervision of the CCPA and its associated partners from CCPA Lebanon, CCPA Jordan and CCPA Iraq.
  3. 30 hours of seminars run by the eight leaders for 96 young coaching assistants aged 14–18 to teach them the approach.
  4. Eight six-day Open Fun Football Schools organised by the leaders in cooperation with the trained coaches and coaching assistants for 1,600 children aged 6–12.
  5. One-day fun football festivals organised by the leaders in cooperation with the trained coaches and coaching assistants for a total of 1,600 children (show-ups) aged 6–12.
  6. Three-day seminar for 60 Open Fun Football School leaders and coaches so they can set up football clubs.
  7. Regular fun football training sessions organised by the Open Fun Football School leaders in cooperation with the trained coaches and coaching assistants for a total of 1,000 children.

Expected results

8 Open Fun Football School leaders /trainers-of-trainers

96 Open Fun Football School coaches

96 coaching assistants aged 14–18

  • gender balance: minimum 30% females
  • social balance: minimum 50% refugees/internally displaced persons/socially disadvantaged individuals

3 capacity-building seminars

3,200 children aged 6-12 years in 8 Open Fun Football Schools and Festivals

1 club-formation seminar

60 clubs set up

Partner

Kick the Ball, Save Our Wildlife

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Kenya
Start date 12/01/2020
End date 05/01/2021
Cost of the project €15,054
Foundation funding €13,054
Project identifier 20200447
Partners Water4Wildlife
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The Maasai Mara ecosystem is one of the largest wildlife conservation areas in East Africa and is home to several conservancies that make a significant contribution to Kenya's tourism revenue. The Lemek conservancy is home to many marginalised children with a passion for sports. Most local public schools are attended by underprivileged children and lack basic social amenities. There are no football pitches but there is plenty of land on which to build one. Water4Wildlife Maasai Mara identified a public primary school as the ideal location to build a modern sports ground to serve children from the various conservancies. By playing football, 300 children aged 4–16 will be able to build new friendships, nurture their talents and learn teamwork skills. Through learning about wildlife conservation, it is hoped they will grow up to be future conservationists.

Project content

Water4Wildlife teaches the children about the various dangers facing wildlife and the threat of extinction. They are also taught about the dangers of poaching and eating game meat, and reassured that they can report it to the rangers in safety. During football tournaments, the game rangers will have a chance to kick a ball with the schoolchildren and talk about the importance of wildlife conservation.

Football games are also organised at local hotels and lodges between the visitors and the children. This gives the children the opportunity to meet the visitors, share their dreams and gain an understanding of why the visitors come to the Maasai Mara to see wildlife.

The project will build the local community's first football pitch at a public primary school. Better recreational and community sports opportunities for the children will not only improve their health and help them to acquire a variety of skills, but also help to break the cycle of idleness, vice and child labour.

Objectives

  • Construct a football pitch that will connect all the children from various conservancies in the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
  • Promote sports and community development in the young population.
  • Use sports as an avenue for wildlife conservation from an early age.

Project activities

  • Creating public awareness about wildlife and children’s sports.
  • Conducting site clearance and an environmental survey.
  • Constructing the pitch and procuring sports equipment.
  • Launching the project at the annual inter-conservancy sports competition.
  • Continuous monitoring of the project for the first three years before handing over to the local conservancy communities.

Expected results

  • 300 girls and boys will have access to the sports field.
  • A safe environment for children.
  • Improved relationships between communities and with tourists.
  • Improved wildlife conservation due to greater awareness.
  • Children will be more integrated thanks to better social skills, greater self-confidence, teamworking skills and stronger friendships.
  • Children will be taught discipline through sports.
  • Children will apply the dedication and hard work acquired through sports to their studies to achieve greater academic success.

Partner