Empowering Zambian adolescents to conserve nature through sport

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Basanga community, Musungwa chiefdom, Itezhi-Tezhi district, Southern Province, Zambia
Start date 03/31/2027
End date 03/31/2027
Cost of the project €125,250
Foundation funding €54,750
Project identifier 2024000945
Partners Game Rangers International
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Over two-thirds of the estimated 12,000 people living in the remote Basanga community are under the age of 19. These children and adolescents face many challenges, including a lack of education, food insecurity and inadequate healthcare.

Basanga lies on the edge of Zambia’s largest and oldest protected area, Kafue National Park, a rich ecosystem home to 30% of the country’s total elephant population and countless large carnivore species. Desperate community members living in poverty are drawn to poaching as they face scare employment opportunities and may not see the value of natural resources. At the same time, the absence of law enforcement lowers their risk perception. Single unemployed women in Zambia are particularly vulnerable to being exploited by the illegal wildlife trade. Women are considerably less likely than men to report wildlife crime and are drawn to exchange information, sex and secure accommodation on the borders of the park for bushmeat or money. This dangerous cycle of transactional sex perpetuates the spread of HIV, gender-based violence and unwanted pregnancies.

Project goals

  • Reduce wildlife crime in and around Kafue National Park by raising awareness of conservation efforts and empowering young people through vocational training
  • Improve young people’s health, well-being, problem-solving, leadership and resilience
  • Prevent unplanned pregnancies, child marriage and sexual and spousal violence in Basanga by championing sexual health education and empowering girls

Project content

Game Rangers International (GRI) is building a multi-purpose community youth sports centre for the Basanga community. Over the next two years, with critical support from the UEFA Foundation for Children, GRI will engage, educate and empower children and adolescents at the centre, helping them to develop their skills and surrounding them with positive role models.

To this end, GRI will:

  • Recruit and train a groundsman responsible for security and maintenance
  • Recruit and train a community outreach ranger to schedule activities, develop content, coordinate partnerships and facilitate sessions
  • Furnish and equip the centre so it can serve as a classroom, exhibition space, sports centre and outreach office
  • Decorate the centre with conservation awareness posters and information
  • Encourage children and adolescents to visit through radio broadcasts, posters and school visits
  • Offer structured weekly football training and fitness sessions for children and adolescents
  • Establish a vocational skills station and invite local professionals to offer short vocational courses for young people
  • Offer children and adolescents training on environmental conservation, girls’ empowerment and life skills

Partners

Football for Economic Empowerment and Improved Mental Health

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Netherlands, Ter Apel
Start date 03/24/2025
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €100,172
Foundation funding €73,352
Project identifier 2024001105
Partners KNVB WorldCoaches
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Migration is a divisive issue, especially when it comes to asylum policies. The Dutch government’s announcement of new asylum and migration rules, including plans to repeal a law that ensures accommodation for people with refugee status is distributed fairly across the country, has led many municipalities to abandon plans for asylum shelters, worsening overcrowding at the central reception centre in Ter Apel.

There are two central reception centres in the Netherlands, run by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). All unaccompanied minors are sent to Ter Apel, which now houses more than five times the permitted number, resulting in poor living conditions and neglect. Without education, activities or mentorship, children are reportedly showing more signs of trauma on leaving the centre than when they arrived, and the COA is struggling from lack of resources.

Project goals

  • Empower young asylum seekers and refugees living in Ter Apel by training them to become community coaches who organise regular, structured sports activities for children
  • Teach young asylum seekers and refugees leadership skills, help them take on mentorship roles and foster a sense of responsibility within the community
  • Improve the mental health of both the community coaches, through a renewed sense of purpose and self-worth, and the children who benefit from the positive, structured activities they organise

Project content

  • Football and life skills train-the-trainer courses will be provided to minors housed at the reception centre and refugees living in Ter Apel.
  • Children will be involved in practical sessions so that the course participants can put theory into practice.
  • In groups, participants will be tasked with organising daily sport activities for children.
  • If moved to a different part of the country, WorldCoaches will put the participants in contact with their nearest football club or reception centre so that they can continue their coaching activities.
  • Awareness events will be organised, for example on International Migrants Day.

Partners

UniDeportes: Football for rural youth empowerment

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Honduras, Trinidad, Santa Bàrbara
Start date 03/31/2025
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €96,381
Foundation funding €56,381
Project identifier 2024001385
Partners educate.
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Honduras has the highest rate of economic inequality in Latin America and over 60% of the population lives in poverty. The NGO educate. is based in the rural department of Santa Bárbara, where barely half of young people continue their studies after primary school. For those who do stay in school, there are few opportunities that encourage personal development, a sense of belonging and meaningful community engagement. Sport plays both an educational and a social role and can help young people to develop values, skills and confidence they can use on and off the pitch.

Project goals

  • Help young people to develop a sense of unity and community belonging through sport
  • Support young people to develop core values and soft skills, such as leadership, teamwork and communication through sport, community events and monthly workshops
  • Train young people to lead local sports activities, helping them to gain leadership skills, confidence and practical experience
  • Encourage young people to get involved in their communities by organising and leading community sports events
  • Create spaces for children and teenagers in local rural communities to participate in sport and community events
  • Actively promote gender equality by ensuring at least 50% of programme participants are girls

Project content

Using educate.’s youth centre in the rural town of Trinidad, Santa Bárbara, which has access to a community football pitch, the following four elements combine to provide a holistic sports programme for rural youngsters that fosters positive values, soft skills and gender equity.

1) UniDeportes sports programme for youth leaders

Activities will be run every Saturday following the training of three youth leaders. These activities will focus on football but also explore other sports, encouraging participants to lead active, healthy lifestyles. In addition, these sessions will focus on building soft skills, particularly leadership skills, through sport, as well as giving young people a sense of community and helping them to work as a team. These young leaders will also receive monthly workshops on a range of personal development topics, ensuring they are supported in their own development.

2) Monthly rural community sports events

Project participants, led by youth leaders, will organise and lead monthly sports events, such as community and village sports days. The NGO educate. works in a number of remote, rural and marginalised communities, whose children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable to losing out on educational and extracurricular opportunities such as sport.

3) Football teams for children and teenagers

The project will set up six mixed gender football teams in Trinidad, each with weekly training sessions. The teams will cover a range of age categories from 6 to 18.

4) The first youth football league in Trinidad, Santa Bárbara

The project will organise and run the first youth football league in Trinidad. This will be a significant opportunity for children and teenagers from rural areas to participate in an organised football league, the first of its kind in this part of the country.

Partners

Football for All

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Vietnam: Cao Bang, Can Tho, Ha Giang and Quang Tri provinces, and an additional two provinces in the Mekong Delta (provinces tbc based on feasibility studies)
Start date 01/01/2025
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €159,951
Foundation funding €101,733
Project identifier 2024001059
Partners Football Association of Norway (Football for All in Vietnam project)
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In many ethnic minorities in Vietnam, boys enjoy more social and cultural opportunities than girls, who are expected to grow up to be wives and mothers. Girls therefore tend to be less educated, forced into early marriage and denied the chance to develop in other areas of life.

Project goals

  • Raise awareness of gender equality among ethnic minorities by fostering equal participation of women and girls in football and life skills education
  • Empower and equip girls and women in an additional two provinces by offering leadership training based on the Football for All in Vietnam model that has been funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children in Ha Giang province since 2022

Project content

The 138 football clubs in Ha Giang, Quang Tri, Cao Bang and Can Tho provinces that were funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children between 2022 and 2024 will be given additional football equipment and continued support, and new clubs created, with:

  • football coaching courses at 41 new football clubs in Quang Tri and Cao Bang provinces;
  • training courses for female life skills instructors at each new club;
  • climate change education at the clubs in Cao Bang and Ha Giang provinces in the far north of the country;
  • regular football and life skill activities at all 138 existing clubs; and
  • 118 ‘Fun Football Festivals’ at the existing clubs.

The project will also be extended to another two provinces, with:

  • a feasibility study in each province;
  • the creation of 30 new football clubs, with football coaching and life skills training courses at each club;
  • 30 ‘Fun Football Festivals’ (one per club);and
  • two provincial ‘Fun Football Festivals’ (one per province).

Partners

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Improvement of the protective environment and well-being of children at the Habbena recreation centre in N’Djamena

Location and general information

En cours
Location Chad, N'Djamena
Start date 03/01/2025
End date 02/28/2027
Cost of the project €159,592
Foundation funding €120,000
Project identifier 2024001047
Partners INTERSOS
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

There is a serious lack of sports infrastructure in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. There are few existing facilities and many government-planned projects from 2008 remain incomplete or unusable. Access to sport is therefore limited, particularly for young people in working-class neighbourhoods. Despite recent progress, including the construction of a new sports complex and ongoing stadium renovations, current initiatives fail to meet the growing needs.

Project goals

Improve the lives of thousands of children in N’Djamena by expanding access to safe, inclusive sports spaces that foster physical, personal and social development, while promoting inclusion, respect and solidarity.

Project content

Development of sports infrastructure

The project will improve the sports facilities at Habbena recreation centre by installing a natural grass football field and a running track. Children and community leaders will actively plant and maintain the grass, promoting both environmental awareness and skills development. Additionally, drainage systems will be constructed to prevent flooding, ensuring year-round accessibility and reducing the health risks associated with stagnant water and waterborne diseases.

Environmental awareness and personal hygiene

Children will take part in educational sessions on hygiene and cleanliness to teach them the importance of a clean and safe environment. Waste management initiatives will be introduced, including the installation of bins, handwashing stations and toilets and a maintenance schedule for the common areas will be drawn up. Community leaders and youth club members will be trained to lead environmental awareness activities, encouraging long-term engagement. Special environmental days will be organised, with children taking part in activities that foster responsibility and sustainability.

Child protection and psychosocial support

The project will establish child-friendly spaces within the centre, offering recreational and life skills activities to support children’s well-being and social cohesion. These spaces will be run by trained members of the community and will be inclusive for people of all genders and any disabilities. A listening centre will provide psychosocial support, with skilled social workers identifying and referring cases of psychological distress. Around 150 children will receive psychosocial support through individual and group sessions. Service mapping will be conducted to ensure cases are properly referred to existing health and social services in N’Djamena.

School reintegration and gender-based violence referrals

The project encourages out-of-school children to resume their education by bringing them together with children attending school. A cohort of 60 children (60% girls) will receive support reintegrating into school over two years, with the project covering school fees and essential supplies. For those past school age, referral pathways will be established for informal education opportunities or vocational training. Additionally, children and adolescents identified as survivors of gender-based violence will be referred to specialised service providers, including the one-stop centres managed by the government and supported by several United Nations agencies and offices.

Partners

Aktive Jen Yo (Activating young people)

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Haiti, Villages of Destra, Carrefour Croix and Bossan, near Léogâne
Start date 01/01/2025
End date 12/31/2025
Cost of the project €389,655
Foundation funding €55,200
Project identifier 2024000247
Partners GOALS Haiti (Global Outreach and Love of Soccer)
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Haiti faces extreme crises: unprecedented insecurity, gang violence, absence of government, severe fuel shortages, 40% inflation and a cholera epidemic, all amid ongoing natural disasters. Women and children are subjected to gang violence and assault, with obvious and very harmful effects on their physical and mental health, not to mention the collective anxiety and trauma of the country as a whole.

GOALS serves communities in rural Haiti where no other non-profits or government services exist, people suffer from isolation and extreme poverty, and children’s access to healthcare and education is extremely limited.

GOALS was created to use the power of sport to engage young people in underserved areas with education and leadership opportunities that support their physical, mental and social development. Aktive Jen Yo includes daily football, ‘purposeful play’, literacy and health education and community service. We focus on teaching social and life skills in a safe and empowering space, with equal access for girls and boys.

Project goals

Overall goal

Empower the young people of Haiti through structured football programmes combined with educational and health initiatives, leveraging the universal appeal of football to engage children and adolescents from underserved communities in support of their physical, mental and social development

Specific objectives

  • Physical health: Improve young people’s fitness and health awareness through regular football training and wellness activities
  • Education: Provide educational workshops and literacy classes to plug formal schooling gaps
  • Life skills: Cultivate leadership, teamwork and problem-solving through sport and targeted life skills training
  • Mental health: Offer mental health workshops and counselling sessions to support emotional well-being
  • Community engagement: Initiate community service projects to foster a sense of civic responsibility and investments in community

Project content

  • Football – daily training, friendly matches and tournaments plus ‘purposeful play’ (conflict resolution, gender equality)
  • Health education – disease prevention, sex education, gender-based violence, hygiene
  • Climate action – tree planting, recycling, community gardens, climate and gender education
  • Leadership training – projects addressing community issues led by youngsters
  • Schooling – literacy programme, tutoring
  • Community service – volunteering projects
  • Gender equity – activities to promote inclusion and equal opportunities for girls, plus education on children’s and women’s rights

Partners

Score! Kick away drugs and smoking among youth using the power of football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Indonesia, Jakarta
Start date 01/01/2025
End date 12/31/2025
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 2024000137
Partners ASA Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Drug use and smoking are becoming increasingly widespread among young people in Jakarta, Indonesia. The UEFA Foundation for Children supports the ASA Foundation's Score! programme, which leverages football to promote healthy lifestyles, healthy habits and values in a collaborative environment.

Project goals

  • Educate young people on the dangers of drugs and smoking
  • Promote healthy lifestyles through football
  • Train 60 teachers to deliver health and sports education
  • Engage over 6,000 students in weekly health-oriented football activities
  • Foster gender equality by ensuring equal participation
  • Enhance teamwork skills, leadership and self-esteem among participants
  • Strengthen the community’s involvement in promoting healthy behaviour

Project content

  • Teacher training workshops enabling 60 middle school teachers to deliver health and sports education effectively
  • Weekly training sessions consisting of football drills paired with health education for over 6,000 male and female students
  • Life skills development, with a focus on gender equality, teamwork, and leadership
  • Workshops and campaigns involving parents to amplify the programme's message

Partners

Fields of Future

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Iraq, Mosul, Sinjar, Sinuni, Bartilla (Nineveh governorate) and Ramadi (Al Anbar governorate)
Start date 01/01/2025
End date 12/31/2025
Cost of the project €141,865
Foundation funding €54,059
Project identifier 2024000456
Partners Al-Mesalla organisation for human resources development
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Although children living in the Nineveh and Al Anbar governorates have returned to school since their liberation from Daesh in 2017, their physical education has been neglected. Sports equipment is seriously lacking and engagement, especially among girls, is low. This is particularly apparent in Nineveh, known for its multicultural population, where social cohesion remains strained, while schools in Al Anbar have limited resources and inadequate facilities, with few opportunities for physical activity.

Project goals

Overall goal

Integrate sport into education programmes in Nineveh and Al Anbar

Specific objectives

  • Support children’s self-development and well-being
  • Enhance the quality of education
  • Promote children’s rights
  • Build a more cohesive and inclusive society by integrating minority communities
  • Foster unity and respect among students from different backgrounds
  • Create a sports-based model for lasting social change

Project content

  • Eight co-educational middle schools will be selected in collaboration with local authorities in Nineveh and Al Anbar to participate in the project
  • Teachers will receive training on the benefits of physical activity and how to facilitate and encourage student participation in sport
  • Each participating school will be provided with essential sportsequipment
  • Traditional gym classes will be replacedwith dedicated weekly sports sessions aimed at building core skills and fostering teamwork through fun activities and team games
  • Friendly matches and activities will be organised within each school, as well as competitions between the eight participating schools
  • The project will culminate in a final tournament involving all the participating schools, followed by a closing ceremony attended by community leaders, families and senior school staff

Partners

StationSoccer – HE Holmes

Location and general information

to be started
Location USA; Atlanta
Start date 04/15/2025
End date 12/15/2025
Cost of the project €95,496
Foundation funding €27,232
Project identifier 2024000858
Partners Soccer in the streets
Categories Access to Sport - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Atlanta has the highest income inequality of any city in the United States. This, combined with the ‘pay-to-play’ model that dominates football activities in the US, means children in underserved communities are locked out of participation. These children need affordable programmes in safe, accessible locations. Soccer in the Streets provides just that with StationSoccer.

StationSoccer – HE Holmes is located at the subway station of that name in the Collier Heights neighbourhood of Atlanta. With a per capita income of $33,759 (€33,068) and a poverty rate of 25%, it is one of the most underinvested communities in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. The project will provide Soccer in the Streets’ unique combination of football training and social and emotional capacity building to 150 six to twelve-year-olds. It is estimated that 80% of participants will be African American, 40% of the participants are girls and the vast majority will be playing football for the first time.

Project goals

  • Provide access
    • Eliminate transport obstacles and cost barriers
  • Improve well-being
    • Integrate social and emotional learning into the football curriculum
    • Train coaches to follow the curriculum and recognise adverse childhood experiences

Project content

Football and social and emotional learning sessions

  • Two 2-hour training sessions a week, with matches on Saturdays
  • Total of 26 weeks of training over the year (spring season from 15 February to 15 May, and autumn season from 15 August to 15 November)
  • Incorporation of social and emotional learning in training sessions, with a focus on resilience, self-management, social awareness, decision-making and relationships

Coach training

  • Coach training session in July to help coaches follow the curriculum and recognise adverse childhood experiences

Partners

Igombe sports and community centre

Location and general information

to be started
Location Tanzania, Igombe, Mwanza
Start date 05/01/2025
End date 10/31/2025
Cost of the project €87,232
Foundation funding €62,232
Project identifier 2024001169
Partners Sports Charity Mwanza
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

Access to sport in the Mwanza region of Tanzania is limited for economic, structural and social reasons. After leaving school, young people often find themselves on the streets with no recreational opportunities, vulnerable to the risk of delinquency and abuse. In particular, many children with complicated family situations have no adult role model to guide them in their choices. Meanwhile, it is generally recognised that physical and mental health problems are exacerbated by a lack of access to sport.

Project goals

  • Improve access to sport for children and young people in Mwanza
  • Reduce the risk of delinquency and abuse
  • Give young people adult role models
  • Reduce physical and mental health problems
  • Strengthen the local community

Project content

  • Construction of a sports and community centre offering one full-size and one half football pitch, one basketball court, two volleyball courts, one netball court, and storage and changing facilities
  • Training and qualifications for volunteer coaches
  • Working with local coaches to ensure that all age groups and genders have opportunities to use the pitch
  • Particular focus on school-leavers, since they often struggle with the transition to adult life

Partners

Breaking Barriers : Well-being, Sport, and Social Integration for Children in Conflict with the Law in Madagascar and Cameroon

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Madagascar and Cameroon
Start date 12/01/2024
End date 05/31/2025
Cost of the project €300,000
Foundation funding €120,000
Project identifier 2024001074
Partners Grandir Dignement
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Improve the living conditions, physical and mental well-being, and social and professional integration of children in conflict with the law in Madagascar and Cameroon, by supporting local actors and promoting children's rights

Project goals

  • Improve conditions for children in detention and ensure they meet the fundamental needs of children in conflict with the law
  • Promote personal development and foster social and professional integration for children in conflict with the law
  • Empower children to advocate for their rights and increase societal awareness of their rights and needs

Project content

 

To ensure children in detention experience improved living conditions and enhanced physical and mental well-being:

  • Daily nutritional support
  • Medical support and essential supplies (first-aid kits, medicines and hygiene products)
  • Ensuring access to urgent medical care, including hospitalisation, psychological support, nutritional care and detoxification services
  • Facilitating access to sport, recreation and cultural activities during detention and legal proceedings, including football, dance, circus, basketball and theatre
  • Football tournaments involving young people from other associations and/or schools
  • Rehabilitation of detention infrastructure, including sports, sanitation and kitchen facilities

To ensure children are supported in developing their skills and life plans to achieve social and professional integration:

  • Co-development of life plans with children, guided by educators
  • Financial support for school fees, vocational training and income-generating activities tailored to each child's own plans
  • Regular visits and meetings with families to support, educate and empower them in their parenting roles

To ensure children in conflict with the law become active advocates for their rights in society:

  • Awareness-raising workshops for minors in detention facilities
  • Workshops led by peer mentors, i.e. young people previously supported by Grandir Dignement
  • Artistic productions to encourage personal expression and creativity

Partners

Mutola Cup Football League for Girls ́ Rights

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location All provinces of Mozambique, except Cabo Delgado
Start date 01/20/2025
End date 12/31/2025
Cost of the project €217,879
Foundation funding €75,798
Project identifier 2024000927
Partners Futebol dá força foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries, where traditional norms, attitudes and social structures restrict girls' rights and opportunities and prevent them from having their most basic needs met, from going to school to growing up in a safe and healthy environment. Sexual abuse and domestic violence are widespread, as is the rate of HIV among young women. Access to sex education is sorely lacking.

Project goals

With coaches acting as role models, offering weekly training sessions accompanied by health and sex education, the aim is not only to share information but to encourage interactive discussion of topics such as life skills and sexual and reproductive health and rights, to create a sense of agency among girls and promote healthy sexual practices. Girls and other members of the community will gain knowledge and learn how to put this knowledge into practice.

Project content

The football league, Mutola Cup, is part of the national school curriculum. With regular football training sessions, team talks and matches alongside workshops led by Futebol dá força's certified voluntary football coaches, it serves as an educational platform and support structure to advance girls’ education, empowerment and rights, in particular their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The Mutola Cup helps prevent child marriage, teenage pregnancy, violence, abuse and discrimination by providing girls with a support structure within the education system that keeps them in school and raises awareness of their rights and opportunities. Anti-hate and anti-discrimination approaches are fully integrated into the evidence-based methodology and tools used.

Partners

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Play for Equality

Location and general information

En cours
Location Ukraine (countrywide except for the temporarily occupied territories)
Start date 02/03/2025
End date 12/31/2025
Cost of the project €141,300
Foundation funding €92,500
Project identifier 2024000853
Partners Klitschko Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The war in Ukraine has traumatised many children, with 75% experiencing symptoms such as emotional instability and trouble sleeping. As a result of the shift to online learning, over three quarters of schoolchildren now lead a sedentary lifestyle and only 5% are in good health by the time they leave school. Gender inequality is another problem facing Ukraine, which ranked 66th out of 146 countries in the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index. School is often the first place where children encounter inequality.

Project goals

  • Promote mental health through sport and encourage schoolchildren to get active
  • Champion equal opportunities in sport
  • Educate and empower PE teachers
  • Provide schools with sports equipment and help them to create sports programmes
  • Raise awareness of these topics

Project content

  • A five-day in-person training session for 80 PE teachers from across Ukraine
  • Local sports programmes for children aged 6 to 18 years old led by PE teachers, with a minimum of 75 participants per school
  • Sports equipment for participating schools
  • A week-long innovative sports and educational camp for 120 children aged 11 or 12 and 24 teachers
  • New lessons introduced into the school curriculum

Partners

Football for Life

Location and general information

to be started
Location Switzerland, Bern
Start date 08/01/2025
End date 07/31/2026
Cost of the project €292,037
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 2024000886
Partners Swiss Academy for Development
Categories Access to Sport - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Exercise, sport and play are key components of a child’s development that promote curiosity, empathy, social interaction, learning, joy and much more. At the same time, language skills are essential for education, work and social life. In Switzerland, there are great inequalities across both language development and physical activity, with children and young people from underprivileged backgrounds at a disadvantage. These inequalities often impact school performance, physical and mental well-being and personal development. Experiences at an early age set the tone for life. Getting involved in sport and developing language skills while young can support ongoing skills development and future educational success.

Project goals

Overall goal

Provide equal access to opportunities for education and development and foster the social integration of children, especially girls, from a migrant background through sport.

Specific objectives

  • Provide children with regular access to exercise and sport
  • Enhance children's language and learning skills through a movement-based learning approach, using football as a motivational tool
  • Encourage the development of personal and social skills through sports and play-based learning activities

Project content

The project Football for Life uses football to support 8 to 13-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project consists of weekly football training sessions that foster language development and regular cultural events, such as a children's press conference with professional football players.

The training sessions and cultural events are organised and delivered by multidisciplinary teams comprising students from Bern University of Teacher Education, coaches from local grassroots sports clubs and teachers from participating primary schools.

The weekly training sessions, which take place at the primary schools, address topics relating to football in a playful and interactive way and offer dynamic opportunities for language use. Activities designed to enhance the children’s language skills include discussing player roles and team dynamics and working collaboratively to develop game strategies. At the same time, the sessions develop motor skills and football-specific techniques and promote values such as fairness, teamwork and self-confidence.

All project activities are based on the Swiss Academy for Development’s well-established, award-winning approach, which fosters life skills through sport and play.

Partners

football3 at school

Location and general information

to be started
Location Poland
Start date 07/01/2025
End date 10/31/2026
Cost of the project €160,320
Foundation funding €48,700
Project identifier 2024001156
Partners Trenuj Bycie Dobrym
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

A significant challenge facing football in Poland is gender inequality, notably in terms of access and representation. In 2022, only 6.7% of the country’s 443,525 football players were women and only two of the 12 top-division women's football teams had a female manager. Children learn from an early age that football is only for boys, a stereotype which can be tackled at school.

Project goals

Breaking down stereotypes takes hard work and time. Our experience has shown that schools are a great place to tackle this problem, and teachers, children and parents can all play a part. Over the last three years, we have seen football3 change people’s outlooks. The project encourages girls to get involved in football and boys to support them, while at the same time showing teachers the potential benefits of incorporating football3 into their daily work.

  • Promote equal access to football for girls and boys
  • Raise awareness of football3 and its use in promoting inclusivity in sports for 7 to 9-year-olds
  • Strengthen cooperation with the Polish Football Association to encourage more girls and women to get involved in football3

Project content

  • Run 16 in-person certified football3 training sessions in all 16 regions of Poland
  • Deliver at least 500 football3 lessons to over 4,500 children over the 2025/26 school year
  • Organise 16 football3 changemakers tournaments across the country and a final gala to promote equal access to football for everyone
  • Research and assess the project’s impact

Partners

Sport in the Service of Peace

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Israel
Start date 12/01/2024
End date 11/30/2025
Cost of the project €218,686
Foundation funding €65,385
Project identifier 2024000740
Partners Peres Center for Peace and Innovation
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Even before the tragic events in Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza, relations between Israelis and Palestinians and between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel were marred by a longstanding conflict that has led to multi-generational fear, distrust and discrimination. Children and youth are particularly vulnerable to radicalising ‘us and them’ rhetoric, which has only got worse with the current war. It is therefore crucial to provide opportunities for positive dialogue that will enable Jewish and Arab children and young people to challenge their fears and break through the psychological, emotional and linguistic barriers that impede the building of foundations for mutual trust, respect and peace.

Project goals

  • Facilitate intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding among Jewish and Arab children, young people and adults in Israel and, if possible, in the Palestinian territories
  • Promote positive perceptions, challenge negative stereotypes and foster cooperation, trust and understanding among participants
  • Increase access to high-quality sport and peace education, especially on the geographic and socioeconomic peripheries

Project content

The Sport in the Service of Peace programme employs a ‘train the trainers’ model, working with community leaders and educators to provide anti-discrimination and leadership training for young people. Jewish and Arab educational partners work together to implement football-based peace education activities for children aged 8 to 12 in both mono- and bi-cultural contexts. Such activities include regular football training, Hebrew/Arabic language learning, cultural exchanges and peace education sessions, as well as football matches played in mixed Jewish-Arab teams using the FairPlay and Green Card methodologies.

Partners