Football4Good

Location and general information

Context

Due to its central geographic location and as a strong economic partner in Southeast Asia, Thailand is a regional hub for migrants as a place of origin, transit and destination. Tens of thousands of migrant children currently live in construction site camps in Thailand (Baan Dek and UNICEF, 2018). As their parents have come to Thailand to work, these children live in precarious temporary shelters with limited access to education, health or security. They are exposed to various forms of abuse, violence and neglect. None of them have the opportunity to escape from the slums and socialise with others, so they are forced to stay and play in unsafe surroundings with little stimulation or interaction with others. Their vulnerable situation means that they are at risk of being deprived of their basic rights. Moreover, the limited opportunities for socialisation and play mean that these children have no opportunity to just be children.

Project content

Baan Dek Foundation believes that football is a necessary component of childhood development, a fertile ground for learning essential skills such as teamwork, self-esteem, confidence, good sportsmanship and discipline. The Football4Good programme encourages positive peer relationships among children from different ethnic backgrounds through coaching, physical activity, the provision of quality sports equipment and by training the foundation’s staff in sports development. The programme also aims to promote gender equality by empowering marginalised girls and young women.

This year Baan Dek Foundation wants to go a step further by emphasising the development of community leadership through its new programme, Football4Good and youth empowerment. The idea is to train and empower youth peer educators to deliver regular football training sessions in the communities where they live. With an increased understanding of social issues and how to better promote values such as equality and tolerance, the youth peer educators will be able to act as role models for marginalised children and young people living in urban slums and construction site camps.

The youth peer educators will also have direct involvement in improvements to their living environment. They will work with Baan Dek Foundation staff to design and implement new football pitches, more child-safe spaces and other improvements to their communities’ physical infrastructure. This will give children living in their community the opportunities to benefit from safe areas in which to play football outside of training sessions.

In addition to providing football sessions for the community and during children’s school holidays, the foundation aims to inspire children to pursue sports and to create awareness of the benefits of sports for development by inviting local professional footballers to come and present their career at a local school.

Objectives

Football is a crucial multipurpose tool for social workers and can positively influence children in need of support at a very fundamental level. The Football4Good and youth empowerment programme aims to help connect marginalised communities through regular football sessions, as well as providing sports equipment for targeted vulnerable communities. Children and teenagers will develop motor skills, improve their levels of physical activity, have the chance to socialise with their peers and build new social relationships within communities where violence between various ethnic groups may sometimes be a daily occurrence. Furthermore, football teaches these children to become team players, to integrate into and socialise in a diverse group and to practice good sportsmanship. All of these benefits, in addition to simply providing a fun activity for the children, make football and sports education in general a primary focus for the foundation’s community programmes.

Project Activities

Football is a crucial multipurpose tool for social workers and can positively influence children in need of support at a very fundamental level. The Football4Good and youth empowerment programme aims to help connect marginalised communities through regular football sessions, as well as providing sports equipment for targeted vulnerable communities. Children and teenagers will develop motor skills, improve their levels of physical activity, have the chance to socialise with their peers and build new social relationships within communities where violence between various ethnic groups may sometimes be a daily occurrence. Furthermore, football teaches these children to become team players, to integrate into and socialise in a diverse group and to practice good sportsmanship. All of these benefits, in addition to simply providing a fun activity for the children, make football and sports education in general a primary focus for the foundation’s community programmes.

Expected results

  • More than 100 football sessions a year held as part of Smile Holiday programmes and in marginalised communities.
  • More than 400 children a year attending Smile Holidays and community Football4Good sessions.
  • More than 3,500 attendees of Smile Holidays and community football sessions cumulatively.
  • 150 girls and young women attending Smile Holidays and community football sessions.
  • Seven communities where football, sports facilities and child-safe environments are improved and made accessible to children.
  • 50 balls provided to communities and youth peer educators.
  • 40 youth peer educators a year trained on the value of football.

Partners

Street children back to school

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Afghanistan
Start date 01/02/2018
End date Ongoing
Cost of the project €201,000
Foundation funding €98,735
Project identifier ASI-2018475
Partners Action for Development (AfD)
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

According to UNICEF 3.5 million Afghan children aged between 5 and 17 are missing out on school. Approximately 2.1 million 6 to 14-year-olds are involved in some form of child labour, often in jobs that are hazardous to their health and safety. They face a high risk of injury or death from road accidents, suicide bombings and explosions; they are often victims of verbal, physical and sexual abuse; they are exposed to concentrated air and noise pollution, and generally endure difficult living conditions. Many of these children are their families’ only breadwinners and their parents, most of whom are illiterate, feel they have no other choice but to put their children to work. As a result, these children have no opportunity to attend formal schools.

Street children back to school

Afghanistan is a country characterised by many ethnic divisions, which are often the root causes of violence. In this difficult context, sporting events such as football and cricket have proven to be successful ways in which to bring the population together and break down ethnic barriers. Sport, and football in particular, is an important channel for motivating children to create social change.

Project content

The UEFA Foundation for Children is supporting Action for Development (AfD) in Afghanistan for the second year in a row. The Street children back to school project was established in 2016 and invests in the social and educational development of these children, as well as ways to improve their overall level of health, to ensure they will become productive members of society. Thanks to its unique structure, the school allows these children to combine studies with their work.

 

The project also invests resources in empowering girls, who, until 2007, were banned from playing football in Afghanistan. Today, Kabul alone has 17 women's teams, although there is no training centre and female players still face resistance.

 

Project set-up

In October 2016 AfD founded its first school in one of the most populous districts in Kabul. In September 2018 new schools were opened in two other locations, one in the city centre and one in Khwaja Bughra district to the north, in the same building as the AfD health centre. A dry, secure football pitch has been rented, where children are taken twice a week to play football safely. The schools have seven women taking care of the teaching, cooking and coordinating and one male football coach.

 

Back-to-school activities

The Schools for Street Working Children project aims to reintegrate children into the formal school system. These children have lower-than-expected levels of skills and confidence for children of their age, which makes attending a formal school very difficult.

 

Awareness campaigns

One hundred families with children at the school will be involved in awareness-raising activities. Mothers will be taught about the importance of education, children’s hygiene, disease prevention and the dangers of drugs and prostitution. A special emphasis is placed on issues affecting young girls as they are often the most vulnerable of street children. Awareness campaigns will also reach out to the community elders and leaders of mosques.

 

Local development

Over 200 children have already been enrolled in the project but there is scope to increase this number. The children need to commit to attending the training sessions. Priority is given to orphans and children who have a disabled parent and 50% of the participants must be girls.

Regular health check-ups are to be carried out with the support of the AfD health centre personnel and regular support is provided by a local psychologist.

The Schools for Street Working Children project offers street children the opportunity to play football and sport in general. Currently over 40 children play football. We are working with families who, for cultural reasons, believe their daughters should not play football as it is typically a male sport, to educate them on the importance of sport, and football in particular, in building self-esteem, team building capability and strength overall. Groups are formed according to age and where necessary by gender, and each group has two sessions each week. The school’s tutoring activities are held before or after the sports activities.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to improve the prospects of Kabul’s street working children, assisting them in their social, educational and physical development, and investing in them to ensure they will become productive members of the society.

The non-formal education approach allows the children to learn through games and activities and enables them to continue with their current activities. By playing football they take back their right to be children.

The objectives of the project are to:

    • continue to increase the number of children attending the schools for street children;
    • provide educational support for street children using innovative tools;
    • provide basic nutritional support and health services, physical and psychological, for children in need;
    • promote children’s physical development and offer opportunities to learn physical skills through football training and sport in general;
    • train educators to use a creative teaching method and train the football coach to engage children, their families and the community by building enthusiasm for football;
    • in the longer term, reduce the number of illiterate street children through a sustainable approach to education and training;
    • create awareness of the value of education among families and the local community;
    • build synergies with national schools to make it easier for some of these boys and girls to be reintegrated into the formal system.

Project activities

Expected results

  • Street children are able to read, write and do calculations; they also learn to draw.
  • They are aware of their rights and duties and of the concepts of peace and human rights.
  • Street children are in better health and do not have nutritional deficiencies.
  • More children are enrolled in football training.
  • Trainers are trained to be able to teach street children.
  • More children are enrolled in the formal school system, and barriers, such as children’s lack of confidence and readiness, are broken down.
  • Academically stronger children are given financial support to continue their studies.

Partner

Paths to Equity

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Spain
Start date 09/01/2018
End date 12/31/2019
Cost of the project €38,488
Foundation funding €25,988
Project identifier EUR-2018553
Partners Ayuda en Acción
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

In the Sant Ildefons neighbourhood, a significant number of children and teenagers are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Their personal development and educational success is conditioned by their families’ socio-economic vulnerability, the lack of educational opportunities, and their national, cultural or ethnic origin. These youngsters’ situation determines and limits equal access to educational innovation projects as well as to leisure activities.

Ayuda en Acción is trying to resolve these difficulties in partnership with the neighbourhood’s primary and secondary schools. Since 2013, it has been running a social involvement programme for children and families at risk of social exclusion. Building a community founded upon solidarity, dignity, equality and mutual respect, Ayuda en Acción improves the lives of around 11,000 children in Spain.

Project content

Ayuda en Acción provides a full range of activities – from school meals and educational innovation projects to employability options for the families, and has developed a project called Paths to Equity, that focuses on sport and leisure activities for children at risk of social exclusion. This project seeks ways to ensure children rights to development and well-being and will be supported by the UEFA Foundation for the 2018/19 academic year and the first quarter of the 2019/20 academic year.

Objectives

  • The project comprises initiatives in six schools with two objectives:
  • Promoting equal opportunities for children at risk of poverty by means of informal education during leisure time
  • Teaching and encouraging the practice of an accessible and necessary sport such as swimming

Project activities

School outings

Six schools will schedule activities during the academic year, such as day trips to various destinations, with a special focus on natural sites. School camps will also be held, offering students the experience of leaving their neighbourhood and spending a few days in nature and practising leisure activities, many of them linked to sport. The school's curriculum includes environmental and sustainability activities.

 

Extracurricular sports activities

It may seem paradoxical, but many children in Sant Ildefons cannot swim, despite the proximity of the beach. Swimming classes are therefore essential for these children. Three schools will receive funding to cover the costs of these extracurricular activities and transport.

Although the schools have a small budget for outings and extracurricular activities, it is clearly insufficient to cover the total cost, so a contribution from families is required. However, the parents cannot afford to pay. The funding therefore ensures the activities can be held.

Expected results

  • Improvement of children’s well-being in Sant Ildefons through social activities and sports
  • 6 schools plan activities during this school year:
  • CEIP Verdaguer, CEIP Montserrat, CEIP Sant Ildefons and CEIP Torre de la Miranda (primary schools)
  • IES Cornellà and IES Maria Aurèlia Capmany (secondary schools)
  • 827 pupils taking part in the project
  • Paths to Equity will support these schools and monitor how the funds are used

Partner

Safe-Hub – EduFootball

Location and general information

Closed
Location Germany/Austria
Start date 01/12/2018
End date 03/01/2021
Cost of the project €221,796
Foundation funding €74,486
Project identifier EUR - 2018748
Partners AMANDLA, Oliver Kahn Foundation, DFL Foundation, Beisheim Foundation, Coca-Cola Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Even in wealthy countries such as Germany and Austria, social inequality has grown over the last few decades. These growing wealth and resource gaps affect young people and their futures: once a young person has been born into a cycle of poverty, unemployment and inequality, their social mobility is limited. This not only affects access to high-quality education and employment; it also leaves young people vulnerable to violence, discrimination and crime.

AMANDLA is working to break this destructive cycle by offering a constructive alternative: the Safe‑Hub. A Safe-Hub is a place where young people have equal access to opportunities, strive to realise their full potential and dare to dream.

Project content

AMANDLA seeks to create safe spaces that combine the power of football and learning to empower young people and change lives. At the heart of the organisation’s work lies its award-winning approach to youth development: the Safe-Hub social franchise model. Safe-Hubs are designed to disrupt cycles of poverty, unemployment and inequality, especially for young people growing up in disadvantaged communities. At a Safe-Hub, young people can access services, opportunities and support from strong role models through a football-based after-school programme with a focus on health, education and employability. Each Safe-Hub provides a safe place for all young people, including those from minority groups.

Having successfully established three Safe-Hubs in South Africa, reducing crime rates and increasing employability in surrounding communities, AMANDLA is now in the process of setting up its first Safe-Hub in Europe, with its new centre in Berlin due to be completed by 2022. Offering a unique perspective on the question of how football training can be used to develop social competencies and strengthen values for young people, AMANDLA is already organising ‘train the trainer’ workshops for NGOs and football clubs (both amateur and professional). As part of this project, AMANDLA is introducing its EduFootball training curriculum to coaches as a way of fostering social change both on and off the pitch. With more than ten years of experience in youth and community development in South Africa, AMANDLA is currently testing and evaluating its proven concept in order to tailor it to a German/European context. This will allow AMANDLA to ensure the best possible training programme for participants in Berlin once its first centre outside South Africa is operational.

Objectives

  1. Equip German and Austrian coaches to support the development of social competencies through football coaching
  2. Encourage amateur and professional football structures to see value in life skills and integrate them into their football training
  3. Improve the pro-social behaviour of young people participating in EduFootball sessions
  4. Enhance internal knowledge of the project’s methods in order to effectively monitor and evaluate activities

Project activities

  1. ‘Train the trainer’ workshop series
    1. Diversification of current workshop curriculum
    2. 10 one-day workshops with 10 participants each (open to the public)
    3. 10 one-day workshops with 10 participants each (open to partner organisations across Germany and Austria)
    4. Internal workshop aimed at tailoring existing monitoring and evaluation system to planned activities
    5. 10 follow-up site visits at partner organisations
  1. EduFootball training with football clubs
    1. 20 EduFootball ‘train the trainer’ sessions (four workshops – each with five engagement sessions) with up to eight coaches across four/five football clubs
    2. 200 EduFootball training sessions with up to 600 girls and boys
    3. 20 ‘on the job’ supervisory visits to football clubs

Expected results

  1. AMANDLA develops a modular training curriculum that suits various groups of beneficiaries (e.g. both experienced and less experienced coaches)
  2. Coaches across Germany and Austria are better equipped to support the development of social competencies through football coaching
  3. Coaches improve their professional competencies and qualifications in the ‘football for good’ sector
  4. Coaches are better leaders and football coaches and can integrate life skills into training sessions
  5. Coaches significantly improve their ability to support players’ personal development and are more able to resolve conflicts between players
  6. Children have more positive interactions with each other
  7. Children can cope better with conflicts and setbacks
  8. Children have agency and take responsibility for their own actions and lives
  9. Professional football structures see the value of integrating life skills into accredited coaching programmes
  10. The youth development sector has greater awareness of the importance of football as a tool fostering personal development and systemic social change
  11. AMANDLA develops a monitoring and evaluation system to track the implementation of ‘Kick It But Fair’ workshop activities and post-workshop site visits
  12. Staff on the ground have a better understanding of how to monitor workshop activities and post-workshop site visits

Partner

RISE – Beyond goals

Location and general information

Closed
Location Greece
Start date 01/15/2019
End date 01/14/2020
Cost of the project €246,225
Foundation funding €198,020
Project identifier EUR‐2018738
Partners ActionAid Hellas
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

The beneficiaries are young people between 12 and 18 years old that live in and around the disadvantaged Kolonos district of Athens. Their families face financial issues and are at risk of social exclusion, with limited opportunities for engaging in athletic activities (lack of motivation or financial resources, gender stereotypes). Some of these young people face high stress, domestic violence, social exclusion and a lack of creative and life-skills education, which leads to fewer opportunities. The challenges they face can lead to depression, aggressive behaviour, misbehaviour, academic failure, inability to interact with other youngsters, a lack of self‐esteem and a lack of guidance. Family ties are often broken and the link to the community can be problematic.

Project content

The RISE project is a youth empowerment through football programme, led by international football player Dimitris Papadopoulos. It provides children with life values and skills, and enables them to have a better life, dignity and opportunities to develop themselves and their communities. Football players are role models for young people and can empower them to fight for a better life. Their role will be crucial in implementing and disseminating the project.

ActionAid is working closely with football clubs, national football associations and the Super League at national level to raise awareness of the methodology and potential of football as a driver for change and development in the communities.

Objectives

  • Empower disadvantaged youth in vulnerable areas by helping them to gain skills, providing access to opportunities and building resilience that will help them improve their quality of life while fighting poverty and social exclusion through football.
  • Support young people, so that they own a community-led programme in all stages, from design to implementation.
  • Help footballers to become agents of change for a society of diversity, mutual respect and solidarity.
  • Empower young members of the football team to become agents of change for a society with diversity, mutual respect and solidarity.
  • Support the multiplication of programme methodology and principles and influence other institutions’ agendas.
  • Empower members of the youth club to develop sustainable valuable life skills.

Project activities

FOOTBALL

Football3 match with famous national football players to ‘lead by example’

Dimitris Papadopoulos and other famous football players (men and women) will demonstrate that, by changing the rules of the game, we can change ourselves and our society for the better.

Football matches with mixed teams

Bring together civil society associations, football clubs and athletics associations to share, play together, discuss and interact by taking part in friendly matches based on Football3, with mixed teams of girls and boys, locally and regionally. The aim is to give children from diverse vulnerabilities – migrants, children living in poverty, girls – the chance to interact.

 

Other football clubs’ matches

Initiate and train football clubs in the region on Football3 methodology to multiply the impact of this programme and raise awareness of the values that children can acquire from football.

 

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

The youth club will be based in the ActionAid Epikentro community centre in the deprived neighbourhood of Kolonos. Children will have the chance to attend the following courses:

Computer classes/digital literacy: A lack of computer skills one aspect of illiteracy. By teaching children how to navigate the internet and use basic computer programs, we help them break down barriers and open doors to new opportunities.

English lessons: English is essential in the global communities. It helps children improve school performance and integrate better into society.

Job orientation: The goal is to help children discover their skills and abilities, set a life plan and goals for themselves.

Psychological support: Children learn to deal with stress and regain self‐respect and self‐ confidence. This is a crucial part of the empowerment process that enables children to engage and commit to all other courses and to football training.

Empowerment/recreational activities: Children are given the opportunity to interact and have fun. Taking part in small festivals, celebrations and entertaining activities is important to engage young people in the community centre.

Video of the project.

Expected results

Direct beneficiaries

Football team: 20 young people between 12–18 years old (mixed gender) who are members of the football team

Youth club: 60 young people (mixed gender, social status, national/ethnic origin) actively engaged in youth club activities and in the long term.

Indirect beneficiaries:

80 beneficiaries of other organisations directly engaged in matches (diverse gender, ages, social status, ethnic origin)

40 beneficiaries of national level organisations directly engaged in matches.

Partner

Everton in your Community

Location and general information

Closed
Location The Netherlands
Start date 05/01/2019
End date 04/30/2020
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier EUR - 2018167
Partners Everton in the Community, Edge Hill University
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities

Context

Suicide is a global public health problem, with approximately 800,000 deaths from suicide each year. In 2017, there were 5,821 registered suicides in the UK, three-quarters of which were men (Office of National Statistics, 2017). Suicide is also the biggest killer of young people under the age of 20. Today, we know that 50% of all adult mental illnesses can be recognised before the age of 14 and 75% by age 18. This highlights the importance of prevention and early intervention.

The project focuses on helping children and young adults who have been identified as having a mental illness – or at risk of developing a mental illness – by means of physical activity, education and sport. Operating in England, the UEFA foundation funding will be used to expend the project in the Netherlands.

Project content

Everton in the Community (EitC) has successfully delivered community-based projects for three decades. Over the previous six years, working in partnership with Edge Hill University (EHU), a range of jointly designed, delivered and robustly evaluated projects have been developed. To share this success in other communities, EitC and EHU will provide a support service for a developing organisation that has similar objectives.

EitC and EHU will guide the organisation through a period of growth, including infrastructure development, so that it becomes sustainable and can deliver impactful community projects focusing on mental health and illness among children and young people. Physical activity and sport will be key components alongside the project evaluation.

This project will help with tackling the stigma associated with mental illness and help raise awareness of suicide.

Objectives

  • Use the power of sport to motivate, educate and inspire young people
  • Help the ones facing the toughest challenges, including those that are hard to reach and hard to help
  • Provide life-changing opportunities, give a new start and opportunity to grow, develop and engage with the community

Project activities

Everton in the Community will visit the organisation to deliver this service and invite staff from the organisation to visit Everton in the Community located in England.

Over a 12-month period, the organisation will be supported in various capacity building and professional development activities and learn about project planning.

This will be delivered by Everton in the Community in partnership with Edge Hill University, which has six years’ experience delivering this model. Director Michael Salla and professor Andy Smith will lead the project from their respective organisations.

Expected results

  • This project will benefit more than 300 youngsters
  • Two capacity-building and knowledge-exchange conferences will be held, attracting over 50 delegates
  • A delivery model will be produced that disseminates best practice in using sport, physical activity and education to address mental health and illness in children and young people

Partner

Play for Change sports centre

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Naples, Italy
Start date 01/01/2019
End date 07/31/2020
Cost of the project €123,050
Foundation funding €123,050
Project identifier EUR-2018735
Partners Play for Change
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

In partnership with Play for Change, the UEFA Foundation for Children supported the renovation of a sports centre located in the Sanità district of Naples, which provides an opportunity for disadvantaged children to access sport and educational activities, promoting inclusion and social engagement.

Rates of organised crime, unemployment and social exclusion are very high in this ethnically diverse district. More than 50% of youngsters drop out of school before the age of 16, ending up joining criminal gangs or groups of bored adolescents roaming the city and getting into trouble.

Project content

Sport is a catalyst for a cultural change and is used to impart the values of discipline, teamwork, fair play and commitment on children and teenagers in the hope that they are motivated to contribute to sustainable community development. The goal is to reduce the school drop-out and failure rates, inspire young people to pursue a career and prevent them from becoming involved with criminal gangs. Families and community members will encourage the positive change.

 

Objectives

• Reduce the school drop-out rate
• Prevent any form of criminal behaviour
• Promote healthy lifestyles
• Provide children with cultural development and physical training
• Integrate children from different backgrounds and those with any form of disability
• Create a community network for positive change

Project activities

The first few months of the project, from March 2019 to July 2019, were spent renovating the sports centre, assessing the risks and beneficiaries and meeting with local stakeholders.

Since the outset of the project, efforts have been made to establish a network of local stakeholders. As a result, the project is supported by local communities, institutions and sports partners, which will ensure its economic and social sustainability.

The sports centre was inaugurated on 10 July 2019. An open day was held with , athletes, coaches and educators, during which the project was presented to the neighbourhood and sports activities were showcased to the 150 children in attendance.

The activities began in October 2019 and to date 91 children between the ages of have taken part, including:

  • Thirty-nine girls and 52 boys.
  • Five children from immigrant families, three Sinhalese, one Romanian and one Nigerian, although all the participants have Italian nationality.
  • Seven children aged 3 to 5 years, 57 children aged 6 to 10 years and 27 aged 11 to 14 years.
  • Thirty-six practising gymnastics, 37 karate, seven fencing, seven baby gym and four .

More than 40 children were referred by the local network of social organisations, seven of whom have taken part in the project.

The rest of the participants live in the area and found out about the sports centre by word of mouth or through the public library.

GYMNASTICS: Two mixed-gender sessions are run for children aged 6 to 12. From January 2020, the sessions were divided into two groups. The first group comprises children aged 6 to 8 years, and the second those aged 9 to 12 years. The two groups train at the same time using different spaces in the gym. From January onwards, there was a marked improvement in terms of the behaviour and commitment of the participants.

KARATE: The activities have 37 participants, divided into two mixed groups. When necessary, training and activities are done as there are two instructors per group. At the beginning of 2020, two events for youngsters practising karate were held at the Champion Center sports hall in Scampia, another deprived area of Naples. The participants had the opportunity to train with other instructors and athletes.

FENCING: The course involved only seven children until the break for the Christmas holidays. In January, several children took part in a taster session, but decided not to register.

BABY GYM: The children who applied for the baby gym course have not yet taken part in the activities. Their parents have been contacted several times but, apart from the initial training session, it has not yet been possible to involve them continuously. Four of the children have dropped out entirely.

Expected results

Direct beneficiaries:

Between 100 and 300 children 3 to 14 years old: 10% migrants or refugees, 50% with challenging social backgrounds, 30% with disabilities, and 10% others.

  • Beneficiaries from extremely difficult backgrounds and families with a variety of issues, such as drug/alcohol abuse or incarceration; youth crime; sexual abuse; teenage pregnancy and teenage parenting; unhealthy nutrition; with limited access to life skills information; no coordinated access to sport.
  • Beneficiaries with vision and hearing disabilities (blind and deaf) and forms of autism

Indirect beneficiaries:

Four schools, two churches, six third-sector associations, 300 families, four sport centres, three institutional entities, and 500 community members.

Recent developments and future plans (May 2020):

The last regular training session before the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown was held on 13 March. Project activities cannot currently be held.

During the lockdown, training videos are being used to keep in touch with the parents and children The instructors prepared videos, personally or through a targeted internet search, to be shared on the parents' WhatsApp groups and the project's Facebook page so that participants can continue to train safely. Parents were asked to share short videos on the WhatsApp group so that the instructors could correct form. From an educational point of view, it was considered important to maintain contact with the children, albeit indirectly, for two reasons: to preserve the relationships established so far and to reiterate the importance of adhering to the government's safety directives.

A summer sports camp is being planned for July 2020. Subject to government directives, it will be possible to evaluate the activities that have been planned in collaboration with the other organisations present in the territory. An with children with disabilities or autism will be taking place with the participants’ carers or parents.

If the camp cannot go ahead, new courses will be held from September 2020 with new participants and in collaboration with third-party sports organisations.

Partner

Goal Plus

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Switzerland
Start date 12/01/2016
End date 01/31/2020
Cost of the project €200,000
Foundation funding €160,000
Project identifier EUR–2018103
Partners PluSport, Axpo
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

PluSport is the umbrella organisation for disability sport in Switzerland. The UEFA Foundation for Children has been supporting the Goal Plus project, linked to PluSport’s football section, since 2016. The project aims to use football and the passion it creates to enable all disabled children and teenagers, including those who use wheelchairs, to play football. For these young people, playing football creates new opportunities for social connections, leisure activities, friendships, educational and professional integration, and acceptance in society.

In 2017, the foundation helped to fund the expansion of the Play Football project, which aims to increase the number of disabled children’s teams, as well as the From Football to Rafroball project. Rafroball is a sport for both wheelchair-users and able-bodied players.

In 2018, PluSport set itself the goal of developing and broadening disabled football in order to foster integration and bring through the next generation of young players. This work is constantly evolving. In addition to organised tournaments, new opportunities have been created for disabled children and teenagers to participate in football activities.

PluSport operates in accordance with Swiss Olympic’s Charter of Sports Ethics and recognises the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Project content

For the third consecutive year, the foundation’s support will help to strengthen PluSport’s football-related activities, focusing on two new areas in particular.

  1. Football for the blind and visually impaired: PluSport has decided to support and promote football for the blind and visually impaired, a sport that has been very popular at the Summer Paralympic Games for many years. Unfortunately, Switzerland does not enter a team. Our objective is, therefore, to see a Swiss team participate in the Paralympic Games. This programme will enable many blind and visually impaired youngsters to play football in spite of their visual impairments
  2. Girls’ football: until now, disabled football has mainly involved boys. However, thanks to its success and popularity, this sport is attracting greater interest among girls. PluSport is monitoring this trend, and we would like to help promote girls’ football. To achieve this, we need to work more and more with female experts, instructors and supervisors.

Target groups:

  • disabled and able-bodied children and teenagers throughout the country;
  • girls, in the context of women’s football; and
  • blind and visually impaired children and teenagers, in the context of football for the blind and visually impaired.

Objectives

  • The objectives laid down could be achieved during the course of this year.
    • Continue to facilitate access to ball games for disabled children and teenagers.
    • Create new ball sports teams for children and teenagers.
    • Promote and develop disability sport.
    • Establish new partnerships as part of the project.
    • In collaboration with all football-related associations, ensure that football clubs are open to disabled football and promote inclusion.
    • See a Swiss football team for the blind and visually impaired participate in the Paralympic Games.

Project activities

  • Integration of children and teenagers, individually or in groups, into PluSport clubs.
  • Creation and support of new PluSport football clubs throughout Switzerland.
  • Regular (weekly) training sessions, with supervision and coaching by PluSport.
  • Organised tournaments (five or six per year). The aim is to add two or three tournaments per year in different parts of Switzerland.
  • Football-themed afternoon gatherings for disabled and able-bodied children (schools, vocational schools, institutions).
  • Training sessions for girls are organised in the various regions.
  • Experts are trained and charged with promoting football for the blind and visually impaired throughout Switzerland and coaching the players.
  • Organisation of football camps for children and teenagers.
  • Sourcing of equipment for training sessions and tournaments.

Expected results

  • More PluSport football teams, especially girls’ teams and teams of blind and visually impaired children.
  • Disabled football is promoted through organised gatherings and tournaments for disabled and able-bodied children.
  • Addition of two or three new tournaments.
  • More girls participating in disabled football.
  • New football camps organised for disabled children and teenagers.
  • Expert coaches trained to organise football training sessions for the blind and visually impaired.
  • Creation of a Swiss football team for the blind and visually impaired.

Partner

Come On, Let’s Play

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Ukraine
Start date 04/15/2019
End date 04/30/2020
Cost of the project €84,036
Foundation funding €58,400
Project identifier EUR-2018297
Partners Shakhtar Social
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

FC Shakhtar Donetsk was based in the town of Donetsk until 2014. Due to the military conflict in the Eastern Ukraine, the club has relocated to Kyiv. Some of Donetsk’s inhabitants have also been forced to move away. According to government data, more than 1.6 million people escaped the conflict region and eight cities near Donetsk, namely: Krasnohorivka, Marinka, Kurakhove, Avdiivka, Shchastya, Popasna, Toretsk and Volnovakha. Some of the children from this region have sustained injuries as a direct result of the military conflict.

Project content

“Come On, Let’s Play!” is a grassroots project which aims to help migrant children from the war zone in Eastern Ukraine, and disadvantaged and disabled children living close to the frontline. Football is a way to instil values, such as respect, integration, responsibility, fun, physical exercise, psychological support and personal development, in these children. The programme includes regular football training sessions for juniors and disabled children, competitions and a final tournament. The possibility of meeting and playing with players from FC Shakhtar’s first team is an additional motivation for these children.

Objectives

In close co-operation with local partners and an international partner – EFDN, the grassroots football project “Come On, Let’s Play!” aims to improve access to football for children living close to the frontline, refugees and socially disadvantaged children.

It seeks to promote social inclusion, improve children’s quality of life, boost extracurricular learning and activities and provide relief from the pressures of living in a crisis area. The main beneficiaries are children aged between 7 and 12, including disabled children. The project aims to attract 620 participants.

Project activities

The first activity is a “Come On, Let’s Play!” grassroots football project for children aged between 7 and 12, with the aim of improving the social inclusion of children living close to the frontline.

It will be a 12-month programme comprising the following elements.

  • Free football sessions held three times a week by the main coach and two volunteers.
  • The main coach and volunteers train 60 children per playground (with the exception of Toretsk – 80 participants) in two different age groups (U10 and U12), with at least 10% of participants being girls.
  • Four groups of disabled children will be trained in four project locations, involving 40 children.
  • The disabled children will have an adapted programme and will be provided with the necessary equipment.
  • During the implementation of the project, FC Shakhtar first team players will visit each project location and play a football game with the children.
  • The Saturday football session will include football matches between different age groups.
  • The children will be provided with all the necessary equipment: training kits, balls, flat disks, bibs, a whistle, football nets, first aid kits, pumps, freeze sprays and coordination ladders.

 

The second activity is the “Come On, Let’s Play!” competition (one day). Twice a year, a local “Come On, Let’s Play!” competition will be held at each playground, in autumn 2019 and spring 2020. These competitions aim to enhance the children’s enjoyment, promoting a healthy lifestyle and allowing them to meet other children in locations close to the frontline. The participants of the “Come On, Let’s Play!” competition are organised into U10 and U12 teams. The expected number of participants is 480, with a minimum of 10% being girls.

 

The third activity is the “Come On, Let’s play!” final tournament in Volnovakha (two days). The “Come On, Let’s Play!” final tournament aims to unite all participants from the locations close to the frontline and promote social inclusion. It will take place in Volnovakha in April 2020. The final tournament will feature four U10 teams and four U12 teams from the eight different towns located close to the frontline. The total number of participants is 80 children aged between 7 and 12, with at least one girl per team. There will be 30 support staff (coaches and parents). Each town is allowed to put forward just one team of ten participants in one of the two age categories (U10 or U12). The tournament participants will be provided with accommodation, food and refreshments.

Expected results

  • 620 children aged between 7 and 12 are expected to benefit from the “Come On, Let’s Play” programme.
  • Regular football training sessions will take place three times a week in two age categories (U10 and U12).
  • Two local tournaments will be held in autumn 2019 and spring 2020 involving 480 participants.
  • One final tournament will be held in Volnovakha in April 2020 involving one team from each of the eight cities.

Partner

Scoring for Health

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Belgium/Israel/Netherlands/Poland/UK/Ukraine
Start date 12/01/2018
End date 06/01/2021
Cost of the project €221,796
Foundation funding €210,000
Project identifier EUR-2018706
Partners European Football for Development Network (EFDN)
Categories Children with disabilities

Context

Despite a host of different activities delivered at European level in order to combat rising levels of obesity, the proportion of the population who are overweight or obese remains worryingly high. The World Health Organization says that there is a critical need for change in this area, particularly for children between the ages of 5 and 17. The main reason for this is the unhealthy dietary habits of the general European population. Children in Europe lack balance in their diets and consume excessive amounts of saturated fats, trans fats, sugar and salt (caused by rising consumption of highly processed, energy-dense manufactured foods and sugar-sweetened beverages), as well as inadequate – and declining – amounts of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

Obesity in children and adolescents is a particularly serious issue. Not only are there immediate consequences for a child’s health, well-being and/or social life, but there are also further-reaching implications. There is strong scientific research showing that obese children and adolescents are much more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles and eating disorders in adulthood and later life, which will have significant costs – not only for those people themselves, but also for society as a whole.

Project content

Scoring for Health is a collaborative initiative bringing together professional football clubs and foundations from six countries (Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK and Ukraine) that encourages children between the ages of 7 and 13 (along with their parents) to adopt a healthy lifestyle and educates them on the value of eating healthily and being active. One of the key drivers of this project is the recent work done by the World Health Organization (as noted above), which found that obesity in children remained a major public health problem in Europe. Childhood obesity is a multifactorial disease associated with a wide range of serious health problems and social issues, including an increased risk of premature death and disability in adulthood.

There are four overarching factors which contribute to this problem:

  • Poor eating habits
  • Declining levels of physical activity in children
  • Increasingly sedentary lifestyles
  • A lack of adequate physical facilities or secure places to play

We can see, therefore, that supporting the development of healthy dietary preferences and promoting physical exercise from an early age is essential in order to prevent childhood obesity. Scoring for Health seeks to tackle these issues with a two-and-a-half-year project. Participating children take part in 20-week school-based programmes involving various activities, with a particular focus on eating habits and physical exercise, in order to provide information and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Activities in those 20-week programmes include weekly specialist interactive classes, educational sessions and workshops on topics such as nutrition, cooking and physical activity, and football sessions.

The launch events for the programmes are held at the stadiums or academies of the participating clubs, where – with first-team players in attendance – children enjoy a day of sports and games, as well as taking part in several educational workshops. Key physical indicators and determinants of health (weight, height, BMI, speed, balance, etc.) are also measured, collected and calculated for each participant, giving an instant assessment of each child’s fitness and providing a scientific basis for the future measurement of participants’ progress.

The Scoring for Health website and social media channels provide participants with online resources and tools to support their efforts, as well as allowing them to keep track of their progress and interact with their peers.

At the end of the programme, before receiving their diplomas, all children participate in the Scoring for Health closing ceremony, which again takes place at the stadium or academy of a participating club. The same physical measurements are taken, in order to allow a final comparison and show the children what they have achieved, with players from the clubs on hand to thank them for their hard work and provide advice and encouragement.

The project seeks not only to have a long-lasting impact on participating children – one that extends far beyond the duration of this initiative – but also to have an indirect impact on those children’s families, their teachers and the wider community.

Finally, the Scoring for Health project also aims to encourage other grassroots and professional football organisations to address the issue of childhood obesity.

Objectives

  • General objectives of the project:
    • To provide accessible, informal educational activities for all participants, regardless of their socio-demographic characteristics and the current state of their health
    • To educate children on healthy lifestyle choices by discussing their eating behaviours and habits, deconstructing their social beliefs regarding food, shaping their consumption, and analysing their leisure activities and their modes of transport
    • To educate children about the nutritional and health issues that they could encounter with an unhealthy lifestyle through workshops and interactive educational sessions, with the aim of reducing the probability of developing unhealthy behaviours
    • To help strengthen children’s motor skills and social/psychological competencies by offering high-quality play-based training sessions
    • To equip football coaches (and teachers in general) with the competencies and tools that are required to educate children – and, indeed, society as a whole – on the critical need to adopt active and healthy behaviours throughout life, and to increase their understanding of this global healthcare challenge
    • To help coaches/teachers to recognise and address the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised members of the community

    Specific objectives for primary school teachers and local staff:

    • To help professional staff and volunteers working for sports organisations (including primary school teachers) to improve the quality of nutritional awareness activities/projects aimed at children and young people

     

Project activities

Expected results

  • Scoring for Health programmes will be delivered at 160 schools in eight cities across the six countries. In the course of two school years (2019/20 and 2020/21), all partners will test and deliver the Scoring for Health methodology in their own local area.
  • Approximately 3,200 boys and girls will participate.
  • The following resources will be developed:
    • Scoring for Health trainee manual and practitioner’s guide
    • Scoring for Health parent and child book
    • Scoring for Health website (open/online/digital education – open education resource (OER))
    • Scoring for Health social media channels
    • Scoring for Health lifestyle contract

Scoring for Health diploma

Partner

Girls’ football league: Mutola Cup

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Mozambique
Start date 02/01/2019
End date 11/30/2019
Cost of the project €200,000
Foundation funding €80,000
Project identifier AFR-2018573
Partners Futebol dá Força
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

In Mozambique 60% of the population lives below the international poverty line. Traditional social practices deteriorate the situation further; the educational system remains poor and 50% of Mozambican girls marry before the age of 18. Early marriages lead to less power in decision-making and early unwanted pregnancies, increasing the risk of maternal and child mortality. In this context, girls unfortunately have very few ways of obtaining information and support when they need it.

To improve the situation, alternative educational platforms that can reach girls need to be set up, empowering these young women by giving them knowledge and practical information on how to exercise their rights daily. The independent foundation, Futebol dá força, which uses football to empower girls is actively engaged in creating this educational platform for both girls and their community. By providing safe places and football teams with well-equipped leaders, the goal is to influence girls’ ability to improve their own future prospects.

Project content

Futebol dá força has a plan to develop a girls’ football league in Mozambique called the Mutola Cup. The football league is a structure which already exists, and it is run jointly by local stakeholders, such as the Mozambican Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Health, as well as the Mozambican Football Association. Concretely, training sessions and football matches will be organised, as well as workshops and interactive discussions on topics including life skills, children's rights and sexual and reproductive health. This will create an established safe space where people, especially girls, can engage in dialogue.

 

Objectives

  • Reaching 15,000 girls (aged 11 to 15), increasing their awareness of children's rights and health issues
  • Empowering these girls to build agency and increase their self-esteem
  • Engaging community members to highlight the role they play in girls’ strategic life choices
  • Training 800 voluntary football coaches, of which 100 should be female
  • Organising football training, matches and workshops
  • Maintaining low costs, in order to integrate the project as part of everyday activities
  • Having a long-term impact, which means working closely with the national structures

Project activities

The girls’ football teams will have several weekly training sessions between February and November. The training sessions, reaching 15,000 girls (15 to 25 per team), will take place in eleven provinces in Mozambique. In parallel, together with local stakeholders, the Mutola Cup football league will take place between April and October, as part of which girls’ football teams will play games every Saturday at district level.

Before each football game, the 800 volunteer coaches trained will facilitate a workshop with the girls on key topics linked to their rights and health with the purpose of increasing their ability to make informed decisions regarding their future. The workshop themes will be streamlined throughout the football league so that all teams get access to the same evidence-based information.

In addition to the girls' workshops and between games, the coaches will engage spectators at the football grounds. In this way, the message will also be shared with the girls’ parents, friends, siblings and other community members, meaning approximately 45,000 individuals. Here, the focus will be on how community members can apply children's rights, in particular sexual and reproductive health rights, to support girls in their decision-making processes.

Expected results

In practice, Futebol dá força will look at a number of indicators measuring the current situation and future opportunities for girls, to assess whether the expected changes in attitudes and behaviour actually take place. These indicators include:

  • girls' views of their own value (self-esteem)
  • attitudes in relation to gender equality
  • assessment of girls’ treatment by the surrounding community
  • access to educational opportunities
  • number of early marriages, pregnancies, school drop-outs and cases of abuse

The objective is to track the achievable outcomes by doing a baseline survey and monitoring the activities and their quality. Regular visits will be conducted and, at the end of the project year, a follow-up end-line survey will be conducted.

 

Partner

CREATE – Children’s recreational and extracurricular activities through education

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location East Jerusalem
Start date 12/01/2018
End date 06/30/2020
Cost of the project €160,000
Foundation funding €144,000
Project identifier EUR 2018599
Partners Terre des Hommes Italy
Categories Personal development

Context

Terre des Hommes Italy is taking part in the CREATE project (Children’s Recreational and Extracurricular Activities Through Education). The proposed activities are aimed at tackling the existing challenges in children’s education and psychosocial development in East Jerusalem by promoting physical and psychosocial well-being, inclusion and high quality education for vulnerable children. The project predominantly aims to reach children and adolescents affected by the difficult circumstances in which they live, as well as their educators and caregivers. Since schools face huge problems acquiring textbooks and ensuring their financial independence and since they often lack proper playgrounds or sports equipment they do not have the capacity to offer children opportunities outside of the taught classes. This issue is exacerbated by the overall lack of safe and child-friendly outdoor spaces in East Jerusalem.

Project content

The main project activities are grouped into five areas:

  • Training, on-the-job guidance and follow-up activities for educators, teachers and head teachers from ten schools in East Jerusalem aimed at helping trainees gain an understanding of and encourage the practice of inclusion.
  • Production of inclusive educational materials (such as factsheets, articles, training tools, educational handouts for educators) which will then be uploaded to the Arabic/English discussion forum on inclusive education (inclusionpalestine.org).
  • Extracurricular and sports activities (sporting, recreational, educational and creative/expressive activities – to include sports and healthy living, art, gardening, environmental awareness, music and movement).
  • Networking, coordination and sharing of experiences and best practices between schools and institutional stakeholders (mainly the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) and the Jerusalem Directorate of Education (JDoE))
  • Management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting

Objectives

  • Contribute to enabling Palestinian children in East Jerusalem to fully enjoy their right to education by improving the quality, opportunities and inclusiveness of the educational offer provided by schools in East Jerusalem.

Project activities

  • Participatory workshops with educators and teachers to work on the design of inclusive educational activities
  • Producing educational tools
  • Updating the online Arabic/English discussion forum on inclusive education
  • Organising regular inclusive extracurricular activities
  • Networking activities for schools / sharing best practices
  • Coordination of regular meetings with the JDoE and the MoEHE

Expected results

  • Direct beneficiaries: 160 teachers in ten schools in East Jerusalem
  • 1,500 children aged 5 to 15 (53% F, 47% M) enrolled in targeted educational institutions

Two workshops/visits to each school

Partner

Introducing Sports for Peace Inclusion and Reconciliation (INSPIRE)

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Batticaloa and Ampara districts, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
Start date 09/15/2018
End date 09/15/2020
Cost of the project €144,795
Foundation funding €117,450
Project identifier ASI – 2018002
Partners Handicap International, Women’s Development Centre (WDC) and Centre for Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability (CAMID
Categories Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

After 26 years of fighting, Sri Lanka’s civil war between government forces and Tamil separatists ended in 2009. However, no real peace was achieved and the root causes of the conflict remain unresolved. Deep mistrust between and within groups arising from ethnic, regional, religious and linguistic differences and political identity continues to erode the fabric of Sri Lankan society. As a result of extreme poverty, social injustice and a lack of knowledge in the community, people with disabilities face daily stigmatisation and are denied their basic needs and rights. Children and women with disabilities are among the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. Excluded from education and economic opportunities, they have little chance of employment and are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty.

Sri Lanka is currently embarking on a post-conflict reconciliation process. Sport can be a powerful tool for promoting peace, inclusion, tolerance and understanding by bringing people together across boundaries, cultures and religions. Its intrinsic values, such as teamwork, fairness, discipline, respect for opponents and the rules of the game, are understood all over the world and can be harnessed to promote solidarity, social cohesion, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.

Moreover, sports and leisure activities promote the holistic development of all children, not just those with disabilities, helping to improve concentration, respect for others, environmental awareness and well-being. In Sri Lanka, however, sport is not yet properly developed for children and young people with and without disabilities, very few sports events are organised at local and district levels, and there is a lack of coordination of disabled sports activities

Project content

Humanity and inclusion are the key words of Handicap International (HI) and its partners, the Centre for Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability (CAMID) and the Women’s Development Centre (WDC).

CAMID, based in Batticaloa, will focus on improving the quality of life of disabled people and their families, promoting their active participation and social inclusion.

The WDC will mobilise young girls and families to implement activities in their respective districts, using a rights-based approach to challenge violations of children’s and women’s rights.

The project will take place in the highly ethnically mixed districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, in the Eastern Province, where inequalities and tensions prevail.

Activities and training will focus on teaching inclusive sports and leisure activities. Special care will be given to ensuring an understanding of how to adapt rules, environments and material to facilitate the active participation of all children in the same activities, at the same time, in the same environment.

Additionally, training for coaches and sports clubs will address individual sports and leisure activities such as cricket, football and volleyball, and the use of adaptive equipment, rules and environments, as well as focusing on games for younger children, with various educational messages. Relationship-building will be initiated through sports events involving young people and children from different ethnic, religious, linguistic, caste, social and economic backgrounds.

Objectives

  • Help local NGOs develop inclusive sports services;
  • Equip sports and community stakeholders with tools to implement inclusive sports and leisure activities for children and young people with and without disabilities, and demonstrate social inclusion to local authorities;
  • Train teachers and coaches to run inclusive sports initiatives;
  • Strengthen collaboration and trust between divided groups through inclusive sports and leisure initiatives promoting social cohesion and reconciliation so that all Sri Lankans can live together in peace.

Expected results

  • 700 boys and girls, including 200 disabled children, participating in this programme
  • 2,000 young people, including 500 disabled youngsters, participating in this programme
  • 40 teachers and coaches trained to provide inclusive sport and promote social cohesion and inclusion through sport

Partner

Give Everyone a Chance

Location and general information

Closed
Location Central and northern Hungary
Start date 01/01/2018
End date 12/31/2019
Cost of the project €76,180
Foundation funding €60,680
Project identifier EUR_2018493
Partners Oltalom Sport Association, John Wesley Primary and Secondary School, Girls’ correctional institution, Home for Unaccompanied Minors, Oltalom Charity Society, Prevention Centre
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Oltalom Sport Association (OSA) was founded by a group of individuals and NGOs in Hungary in 2005. Its goal is to use sport as a tool to increase self-esteem and promote a healthy lifestyle among people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Playing football with teams from other social groups enhances the social integration of the target group. OSA provides free, regular football training sessions and equipment for homeless people, refugees, disadvantaged young people and children.

The young participants come from dysfunctional families that lack one or both parents and face constant problems with unemployment, substance use, housing and finance. Many are also abused and neglected. Other problems they face include criminal behaviour brought on by the lack of secure employment, a shortage of employment opportunities and insufficient education. OSA also works with refugees and homeless people, with many participants coming from a refugee or migrant background. Attitudes towards migrants and refugees that have emerged in Hungary in the past few years make their situation in the country difficult. They also have to cope with problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, which requires urgent treatment, a lack of family and friends, loneliness and isolation from mainstream society.

 

Project content

OSA has developed a programme of regular training sessions at local schools in Budapest to help Roma minorities, migrants and refugees to develop their skills. The weekly sessions are held at six locations (three pitches in Budapest, a girls’ correctional institution, John Wesley Primary School and Fót Home for Unaccompanied Minors). As OSA does not have its own permanent pitch, training sessions are held on public pitches or at residential homes.

As in previous years, OSA will organise Fair Play Football Roadshows at six different locations – three in Hungary and three in neighbouring countries – using a portable pitch that was purchased with the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children.

OSA also runs a scholarship programme for participants in an employment scheme that helps beneficiaries find suitable jobs or start or complete their education.

OSA also provides continuous social support through a network of social workers who help resolve housing, employment, education, health care and administrative issues. Focusing on individual needs, social workers create individual development plans in order to offer a more comprehensive, customised service.

Objectives

  • to enhance participants’ physical and mental health
  • to increase participants’ employability
  • to develop participants’ English language skills
  • to enhance refugee inclusion
  • to increase social connections by organising Fair Play Football Roadshows and international tournaments

Project activities

  • Regular football training sessions in six different locations
  • Fair Play Football Roadshows
  • Scholarships for young leaders and street soccer coaches
  • Workshops:
    • Health education
    • Prevention and handling of bullying
    • Appreciative inquiry

-     Girls’ club: a group activity for female participants focusing on sex education, partner violence, various issues linked to gender and relationships, and opportunities to increase social connections.

  • Continuous social support
  • Data collection for monitoring activity

Expected results

Fair Play Football Roadshows will be held at three locations in Hungary and three in other countries. In 2019, two coaches from developing countries (India, South America, etc.) will be invited to help train and educate OSA and other Hungarian coaches. Since the target group includes children with health problems such as obesity and diseases caused by lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition, OSA will organise monthly workshops on themes such as personal hygiene, physical changes, basic anatomical knowledge, nutrition, etc.

In summer 2019, OSA will organise a five-day football camp in north-eastern Hungary for 40 children, five staff members and between five and eight volunteers.

OSA will participate in four international events across Europe: the Wroclaw Trophy, the EU Fair Play Street Soccer Championship, the European Street Football Festival and the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff, Wales (although the latter was not mentioned in the proposal).

Through its activities, OSA tries to improve participants’ life skills and problem-solving abilities in order to increase their chances of a successful future.

Partner

Football Without Borders

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Austria
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 131,476
Foundation funding € 27,000
Project identifier 2019253
Partners Kicken ohne Grenzen
Categories Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Around 11% of Austria’s 15 to 24-year-olds are neither in training nor employed, otherwise known as NEET (not in employment, education or training). Most of these young people have a migration or refugee background.

In the years 2016 and 2017, around 60,000 refugees requested asylum in Austria. Around 40% of them were female. Those wishing to enter the Austrian education system may have to wait months or even years before they can do so.

Young people caught up in this kind of situation very often lack self-confidence, motivation, self-discipline, family support, and indeed the soft skills required to manage their re-entry into the education system and start working towards a career.

Project content

Kicken ohne Grenzen’s mission is to use the unifying power of football to help young people from disadvantaged communities integrate sustainably and equitably into society. Football here is seen as a tool and a common language that can be used to discover and develop skills and potential that can be transferred into everyday life and applied in practice.

Kicken ohne Grenzen is member of the streetfootballworld and Fare (Football against Racism in Europe) networks, as well as being part of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative set up by Transparency International in Germany.

The UEFA Foundation is supporting Kicken ohne Grenzen's project "Football Without Borders" for the second year in a row.

Objectives

Fussball+ will help young people from disadvantaged communities to develop social and professional skills and improve their chances of entering the education system or getting a job. In doing so, the project promotes equal opportunities and sustainable social integration.

The training sessions are aimed at young people who are hard to reach through conventional training programmes, especially asylum seekers and refugees.

Project activities

Fussball+ is a programme of weekly football training sessions that has no performance-related admission criteria and uses specific exercises to train soft skills such as self-confidence, teamwork and decision-making.

Through Fussball+ and its Job Goals programme, Kicken ohne Grenzen organises:

  • workshops on topics such as gender equality, team-building, conflict resolution, communication and practical football skills;
  • weekly football training sessions in four different teams, using specific exercises to teach skills young people need to successfully embark on training or employment;
  • CV sessions, a ‘learning buddy’ scheme and vocational training days;
  • a football tournament involving 24 mixed teams and a football3 workshop for children.

Kicken ohne Grenzen also works on joint projects with partner organisations:

  • to implement the ‘Kick it but fair’ fair play training manual in AMANDLA EduFootball coaching sessions;
  • to develop a toolkit to increase youth employability through sport, as part of Scoring for the Future, a project funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme and eight partner institutions in Europe.

Expected results

  • 200 people taking part in the programme between January and December 2020
  • All participants from migrant or refugee backgrounds, and 50% of them female
  • 25 certified skills coaches trained through Kicken ohne Grenzen’s own #BeASkillCoach Academy by December 2020
  • 300 participants in the annual Kicken ohne Grenzen tournament, promoting gender equality and social inclusion

Partner

Solidarité aveugle ; Blind Solidarity

Location and general information

Context

The project began with keen photographer Catherine Cabrol taking pictures of blind and partially sighted children at the Institut des Jeunes Aveugles (IJA), a school for blind children in Bamako. Catherine, who is also founder of the Libre Vue (Free View) association, wanted to connect with these girls and boys in a meaningful way and help them by selling her photos to fund a project to introduce them to blind football.

Thanks to her photography and the support of benefactors, Libre Vue was able to build a pitch designed especially for blind football, which opened in October 2012.

Solidarité Aveugle (Blind Solidarity) is a sustainable project designed to promote and develop blind football activities at the IJA. Focusing on the considerable needs of the school, the project aims to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted children by using football as a force for integration and development. By visiting mainstream schools, the project also aims to raise awareness among other children and change attitudes towards disability and difference. Sport plays an educational role, promotes important values, combats exclusion, improves well-being and increases self-esteem. At the IJA, the children receive special education, but in difficult conditions and with poor infrastructure. Sports facilities are limited and the football pitch, which floods during the monsoon season, requires regular maintenance.

Project content

In 2017, Libre Vue received initial support from the foundation following the annual call for projects. This funding was used to achieve the following objectives:

  • management of the sports centre and its activities;
  • first-rate training of coaches and young players in blind football, in accordance with international standards;
  • organisation of Mali’s first blind football cup; the first official tournament in Bamako was finally held as described in the interim report
  • raising awareness of visual impairment among the young people of Bamako;
  • building of new facilities, including separate showers and changing rooms for girls and boys. This ‘house for blind football’ project was finally launched at the end of 2018 and will finish in April 2019. The part of the grant earmarked for this project was therefore used at the end of last year.
  • participation of young people from Libre Vue in the Africa Cup of Nations thanks to additional funding alongside the association’s crowdfunding campaign

Results obtained:

  • 120 young people, including 35 girls, aged between 7 and 25 benefited from the project.
  • Four weekly training sessions were organised.
  • Eleven coaches were trained by a coach and a player from the French blind football team.
  • The ten best youngsters participated in the CAN2017 in Cape Verde, winning a silver medal that enabled them to qualify for the Blind Football World Championships in Spain in 2018

At the IBSA Blind Football World Championships held in Madrid in June 2018, the Mali team finished tenth out of 16 participating nations, a remarkable performance for a first appearance.

[Photo of the Mali team at the World Championships]

On 21 April 2018, UEFA and the United Nations Office in Geneva joined forces to organise the Match for Solidarity. All the gate receipts, along with funds generated by an auction, were donated to humanitarian and development projects selected by the UEFA Foundation for Children.

Some of this income was used to provide a second payment to the Blind Football in Bamako project. Further activities are being planned for 2019 and 2020.

Objectives

  • Make blind football more accessible: annual pitch maintenance and gradual renovation of existing facilities; replacement of sports equipment (bell balls, including Youthorama mini-balls (also recently provided by your organisation), blindfolds, shirts, shin guards, bags, boots); and purchase of specific equipment for girls (sports bras).
  • Promote elite performance: support from an expert coach for competition preparation, assistance from therapists; purchase of specific equipment (treadmill, exercise bike and street workout equipment); training for referees and guides; and coach education.
  • Adapt the ‘house for blind football’ partially funded by the foundation (opening in spring 2019): furniture for the changing rooms and teaching staff offices; and energy-producing technologies (solar panels to heat water for the showers and generate electricity for the building).
  • Encourage girls: launch of an art project combining photography and a poetry competition to help partially sighted girls excel; organisation of an event at the French Institute in Bamako; and publication of an explanatory booklet.
  • Promote economic and social integration: help with clothing and mobility (white sticks, transport subsidies); awareness-raising in schools; academic support (braille paper, portable braille computers for older children); and creation of a professional integration centre involving companies in Bamako.

Project activities

  • 120 blind and partially sighted children participate in blind football activities, with access to a new building with changing rooms and showers
  • 20 youngsters are given extra support to play at elite level
  • 12 youngsters receive support with professional integration from a dedicated project manager
  • 120 young people receive general support
  • 16 girls involved in an art project

Partners