Projects Archive - Page 29 of 31

Sport after reading and play

Location and General Information

Context

According to the United Nations, Benin, Cameroon and Togo are some of the world’s poorest countries, ranked 166th, 153rd and 162nd respectively out of 188 in terms of human development. None of them have an average life expectancy of more than 57 years; children spend an average of less than six years at school (less than four in Benin); less than a third of children go on to secondary or higher education; and both women and girls are marginalised when it comes to sport.

This project forms part of an educational programme outside of school which uses games, sport, books and modern IT in order to provide teaching, pursue preventive and educational goals, and achieve a comprehensive range of development objectives in deprived areas of developing countries, establishing libraries of books and games, sports academies promoting team sports, dedicated IT areas, etc.

Project content

This project uses the power of football – and sport in general – to foster the development of deprived children in all respects and improve their life chances. The funding that the UEFA Foundation for Children provides will allow the project to:

build and equip multi-sport pitches in the heart of deprived areas of the three countries;
purchase sports equipment for handball, basketball, football and volleyball;
train young local sports coaches;
organise a sports academy offering four hours of coaching a week for each sport (i.e. a total of 16 hours a week across the four sports);
organise a promotional tournament;
bring organisers from the three countries together to exchange ideas;
establish monitoring, oversight, support and assessment mechanisms.

Objectives

Foster personal development and self-confidence, preparing children for the future and helping them to escape poverty
Help teachers/instructors to organise high-quality educational initiatives through sport with a view to fostering all aspects of development
Help to improve the physical and mental well-being of young children and adolescents in deprived areas by giving them the opportunity to play four team sports (football, handball, volleyball and basketball) in a high-quality environment
Teach children sporting values such as respect, sharing, solidarity, humility, perseverance, discipline and team spirit
Promote universal access to team sports through regular sessions overseen by trained local coaches from the same social class as the children
Foster exchanges of ideas/experiences and networking among the young sports coaches with a view to effecting lasting change through sport

Expected results

In order to ensure that these sports are played in appropriate conditions, help participants to really develop their sports skills and learn the positive civic values embodied by sport, and encourage children to adopt behavioural patterns that reflect the project’s educational objectives, a maximum of 30 participants will be able to sign up for each of the four sports (handball, volleyball, football and basketball) in each semester – i.e. each country will have a limit of 240 children per year (resulting in a grand total of 720 beneficiaries per year). This should allow the following objectives to be achieved:

Develop new educational activities in these deprived areas
Facilitate team sports through the construction of pitches
Recruit young coaches (men and women) to work with local children
Offer sustainable and structured sporting activities throughout the year
Foster positive values such as respect, sharing, solidarity, discipline and team spirit
Increase participation among girls and stimulate the local community
Tackle inactivity

Partners

Football for Life Champions Academy

Location and General Information

Context

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The islands of Leyte and Samar were hit particularly hard, including Leyte’s provincial capital, Tacloban, which suffered widespread devastation and numerous fatalities. After this natural disaster, there was no play, no joy and no opportunity for children just to be children.

Football has since restored childhood to children in Tacloban. The Football for Life (F4L) Champions Academy project uses football to engage with children and adolescents from severely marginalised communities, who are trapped in a cycle of intergenerational poverty. Most often these children and young people do not have access to education – or if they do, they are not particularly successful in their studies, as they lack the necessary life skills and the confidence to succeed. This is exactly the void that the project fills.

Project content

The UEFA Foundation for Children is supporting the Football for Life Champions Academy, which helps severely disadvantaged children to complete their education by helping them into higher education, training or skilled employment. The youngsters are connected with local champions (youth football coaches), who act as mentors, motivating the children to stay in school and thrive there. They encourage and provide positive reinforcement for children who often lack encouragement to continue and succeed in education.

Objectives

To restore childhood where it has ceased to exist by providing football-based play therapy
To help children to pursue their dreams, regardless of their social status and gender
To promote football as a possible career path for the coaches
To promote football among children and young people and identify and nurture football talent
To bring dignity to the local communities and restore their sense of identity

Concrete actions:

Delivering the Champions Academy curriculum through football sessions
Organising the annual Sama Sama Games (the first-ever football tournament to promote equality
Participating in local, regional, national and international football tournaments and events
Developing football coaches further
Developing non-football life skills and giving support with homework

Expected results

Improved academic performance and a bigger commitment from children to their studies: we expect 95% of children to become more focused on their studies and improve their academic performance as a result of being involved in the project.
Meaningful relationships and deep trust between coaches and children: we expect up to 97% of children to confirm that the football coaches are their life role models, which will place further importance on developing the coaches and making them champions for the children.
Improved culture of medium/long-term commitment: we expect 100% of the children’s families to encourage their children to continue the programme, thus further cultivating long-term commitment.
Access to employment: by working with local business partners, the programme will connect the beneficiaries with real-life opportunities. An example of this already exists through an understanding with AirAsia that children and young people who complete the programme can be selected to enter the pilot cadet training centre and ultimately have the opportunity to become an airline pilot.

Figures: forcast for the next 36 months

3,600 football sessions delivered to 2,000 children and adolescents in Tacloban
10,000 children and young people reached indirectly through project activities
2,400 hours of homework support given to the project participants in disciplines such as English, maths and environment
Training of 20 coaches from Tacloban in technical expertise and the delivery of football life skills sessions
At least 100 children exposed to national and international travel for football tournaments, who will later share their stories with peers back in their home communities
Football for Life Champions Academy curriculum completed, ready to be used to replicate the project elsewhere, and potentially be adopted by the national department of education
50 young people enrolled on leadership workshops and matched with real-life job opportunities.

Partners

GOAL PLUS

Location and general information

Context

PluSport is the umbrella organisation for disabled sport in Switzerland. For almost 60 years, it has been promoting the integration of disabled people through sport. The UEFA Foundation for Children is supporting PluSport’s Goal Plus – Play Football project, the main aim of which is to use football and the passion it creates to enable all disabled children, including those who use wheelchairs, to play football. Enabling disabled children to play football gets them active, helps them to have fun and develops team spirit – all of which are essential to their integration.

PluSport uses football to promote disability sport among its 12,000 amateur members through 90 regional clubs, offering a variety of sports disciplines and organising about 100 camps.

Project content

Focus on subproject Play Football
PluSport attaches great importance to the promotion of football and ball sports in general as integration tools. Virtually all children and teenagers would like to be able to play football; it gets them active, helps them to have fun and develops team spirit – all essential qualities that help disabled children to progress in their daily lives. With the 2018 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, we expect more disabled children and teenagers to show an interest in playing football.

Through the Play Football subproject, PluSport is aiming to develop and broaden the use of football as a tool for integrating and promoting the next generation. All children need to be able to enjoy playing football, make friends and socialise. Our football-related activities are constantly growing. Thanks to initiatives and requests from partners and institutions, we have been able to offer disabled children and teenagers new opportunities to play football, in addition to the tournaments that we already organise.

Our objectives could be achieved and the corresponding activities carried out this year. At present, it is a matter of continuing with the project in a sustainable way while developing it at the same time.

Action plan:

Integration of individual children and teenagers, or a whole group, into PluSport clubs or regional associations of the Swiss Football Association.
Continued creation and support of PluSport football groups throughout Switzerland.
These teams train regularly (weekly), with supervision and coaching by PluSport.
A series of regular tournaments has been successfully established, with five or six tournaments organised each year. The aim now is to offer more opportunities by adding two or three tournaments per year. These events should be held in different parts of Switzerland.
Special final tournament for the winning teams of the individual tournaments held during the season.
Football-themed afternoon gatherings for able-bodied and disabled children (schools, vocational schools, churches, associations, institutions).
Use of infrastructure for training/matches (halls, pitches, changing rooms, etc.).
Coach education and remuneration.
Organisation of football camps for children and teenagers.
Rewarding of volunteers (coaches, referees, athletes).
Sourcing of equipment for training sessions and tournaments (footballs, bibs, etc.).
Retention of the Goal Plus project manager.

Objectives

To use football as a tool for integrating and promoting the next generation. All children need to be able to enjoy playing football, make friends and socialise.
The project comprises the following elements:

facilitated access to ball games for disabled children and teenagers
Goal Plus is an integral part of the Swiss sports landscape
involvement of the various target groups in disabled football
creation of new ball sports groups for children and teenagers
full, systematic promotion and development of disability sport
involvement in the project thanks to partnerships
targeted image transfer thanks to social responsibility
social integration through sport

Expected impact and results

Creation of new football teams
Organisation of weekly training sessions with supervision and coaching by PluSport
Maintenance and development of regular tournaments (for disabled children and teenagers)
A special final tournament for individual tournament winners
Football-themed afternoon gatherings
Long-term promotion of football by developing it and extending it to everyone

Partners

Inter Campus in Israel and Palestine

Location and general information

Our aim

Inter Campus, FC Internazionale Milano’s social programme, seeks to foster social, religious and racial equality worldwide, with a specific focus on children’s rights. It uses football as an educational tool, training local coaches and giving thousands of deprived children opportunities to play the game.

In Israel and Palestine, the main issue concerns violence and the lack of integration between the various ethnic and religious groups. The main aim in this region is to foster integration and promote peace through dialogue and cultural exchange. This project harnesses the power of sport, giving nearly 200 Israeli, Arab-Israeli and Palestinian children the opportunity to come together and play.

Project content

Inter Campus works with Ghetton, an organisation which has been supporting Israeli children from Tel-Aviv, Arab-Israeli children from Jerusalem, Palestinian children from the West Bank and refugees from other ethnic backgrounds since 2013. This locally based partner runs training sessions four times a week, using the Inter Campus methodology to achieve important objectives that go far beyond physical exercise – seeking, for example, to maximise children’s spare time, promote integration between the various communities, and teach sporting values such as respect, loyalty and solidarity. Training sessions always target cognitive, social and emotional development, with children learning valuable life skills while playing and having fun.

Children also take part in a number of off-pitch activities, such as recreational visits to cultural sites that they would otherwise not have access to. The sharing of such experiences with children from different backgrounds is key to the promotion of mutual understanding and integration.

Inter Campus provides technical equipment, as well as official Internazionale shirts, which are given to all participants as an important symbol of inclusion. In addition, Inter Campus coaches share their sporting and educational knowledge with local coaches, visiting the region at least once a semester. Theoretical and practical sessions are organised during such visits in order to ensure that activities are conducted in the correct manner the rest of the time.

In June 2016, the six local coaches implementing the project were invited to Italy, where they spent an intensive week working with Italian children, together with other Inter Campus coaches from Mexico and Colombia. This was a great opportunity for cultural exchange.

Objectives

Promote integration and peace
Ensure that deprived children have opportunities to play football
Use football for educational purposes
- Teach respect (for rules, team-mates and coaches)
- Communicate sporting values (loyalty, sacrifice, punctuality and solidarity)
Provide continuity by organising a consistent activity in an unstable context
- Help children to acquire new trust in people
- Help children to recognise the role of coaches
Allow participants to develop their own opinions based on real-life experiences

Expected impact and results

Increase the amount of time that children spend playing
Develop children’s personalities and capture/retain their interest
Foster integration between the various ethnic groups and give children a fresh perspective on life
Open children’s minds by allowing them to form their own opinions based on real-life experiences
Overcome the prejudices that children are forced to live with on account of the views of society and their own families
Foster spontaneous dialogue between the various communities and promote respectful coexistence

Partners

Improving communication and education for autistic children in Europe

Location and general information

Context

The UEFA Foundation for Children has decided to allocate its annual support grant for 2015 to a project designed to improve communication and education for autistic children in Europe. This project, submitted by the International Foundation of Applied Disability Research (FIRAH), has been approved by the Board of trustees of the foundation. Inspired by the innovative approach of the project, the UEFA Foundation for Children has adopted the words of Mahatma Gandhi to use as the slogan for the project:

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Thus the project to improve the lives of autistic children and their families, and to give them hope for the future.

What we are doing

The FIRAH is working with a number of partners to run this project: representatives of international and national associations for autistic children and their families; educational, social and medical services that come into contact with autistic children every day; and universities and research centres.

The project has three pillars:

Facilitating access to the latest educational material and equipment such as robots and tablets, adapted to the specific needs of autistic children and their families.
Training families and professionals working with autistic children so that they can help autistic children make use of new technology, with online guides and training available to families and professionals.
Developing applied research projects to assess the impact new technology (robots, tablets, etc.) has on the every lives of autistic children in order to improve the equipment and apps available. All such research projects will involve the children, their parents and professionals to deliver concrete results based on the needs and expectations of autistic children and their families.

The project will be implemented chiefly in six European countries in order to keep it relatively local and focused on the real needs of families.

The children, their parents and professionals will be involved in evaluating the results.

Our partners

Royal Europa 90 Kraainem FC

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Kraainem football club is located just outside Brussels. Last year, the club decided to take action in the refugee crisis, believing in the power of football for social cohesion. The club’s officials contacted the Belgian federal agency for the reception of refugees and developed a programme to welcome unaccompanied minors to their training, offering French classes and a meal as well. The initiative was very well received and the club welcomed 350 young boys over the course of the year.

AID PLANS

The club is requesting funding to support the continuation of its pilot initiative to use football to support 700 unaccompanied minors aged 13 to 18. The youngsters will be offered the opportunity to participate in the club’s training sessions and take French language classes taught by local volunteers. In addition, they will receive training equipment and a meal.

To develop this project, the club wishes to lobby for their approach to be used by other clubs as well, and for its recognition as a leading example of the integration of refugees through football.

BENEFICIARIES

700 accompanied minors.

LINK

www.kraainemfootball.be

OUR PARTNERS

Organisation Earth

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Organisation Earth is a Greek non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 2010. Its mission is the development of the concept of environmental and social intelligence, by providing experiential, non-formal education for sustainable development for all ages, introducing key sustainability issues into everyday life, primarily through learning activities.

Education for sustainable development promotes knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a better future for society as a whole, using methods that motivate and empower the learners to change their behaviour and take action for a new economic model that takes into account the social and environmental impact.

AID PLANS

Organisation Earth is using the funding from the UEFA Foundation for Children as an incentive to introduce football activities into their work.

The organisation has a large amount of experience in working in refugee camps in Greece, providing services and opportunities to refugees that go beyond providing accommodation and food, but foster critical thinking and the ability to take informed decisions.

The organisation plans to provide a football field and activities to 100 young people aged between 10 and 18 who live in the Sounio refugee camp in Athens. The football field will be a safe place in the camp that will help the young people to improve their health and well-being.

BENEFICIARIES

100 children.

LINK

www.organizationearth.org

OUR PARTNERS

Movement on the Ground

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Movement on the Ground is a foundation responding to a humanitarian crisis affecting the innocent men, women and children forced from their homes by climate change, poverty and war.

The organisation wants to provide structural support to major transit camps on Lesvos and the Greek mainland in the form of heat, shelter and hot food.

AID PLANS

Movement on the Ground plans to build a football pitch in the refugee camp in Lesvos to introduce football3 activities to help camp residents deal with their traumatic situation.

Movement on the Ground is already working in the camp and therefore has access to the local infrastructure and is in contact with camp officials.

The proposal is part of a bigger vision – a plan to restructure the refugee camp into an open campus with numerous opportunities for long and short-term residents.

BENEFICIARIES

2,500 to 5,000 child refugee.

LINK

www.movementontheground.com

OUR PARTNERS

Football Friends

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

The tumult and violence of the nineties crippled all aspects of society in the republics of the former Yugoslavia, and the region’s young people continue to be affected by their countries’ recent past. In 2005, Football Friends was created to help this younger generation transform their lives and to help heal the fragmented societies in which they are growing up.

In cooperation with organisations such as the British Council and various town councils, Football Friends facilitates educational initiatives in conjunction with non-formal educational institutions to enhance youth development. The organisation currently runs football programmes across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia which have served more than 4,500 participants since 2005.

AID PLANS

Programmes named ‘With a little help of Football Friends’

To use football as a vehicle to foster social inclusion and cohesion.
To target communities with a high proportion of refugees and migrants.
Core activity: the Football Friends City League, with mixed-gender teams competing on selected weekends and playing in leagues within their cities.
The highest-ranked teams will be invited for a two-day grand finals tournament.
Besides football, participants will have a chance to participate in educational activities.

BENEFICIARIES

336 children aged between 14 and 18.

LINK

www.streetfootballworld.org

OUR PARTNERS

Cross Cultures Project Association

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Cross Cultures Project Association is a politically independent non-profit organisation that exists for the purpose of promoting peaceful coexistence and social cohesion between people of different cultures and backgrounds. Since 1998 its activities have involved more than 950,000 children, 52,000 parents and 79,000 local volunteers.

AID PLANS

Seven-day summer camp for 60 young people aged between 16 and 20.
From those attending, 50% are young internally displaced persons from South Ossetia and Abkhazia and 50% of each group will be young women.
To foster personal exchange between the internally displaced persons and young people from the host communities.
To improve the participants’ life skills and give both groups the chance to be trained as youth coaches to volunteer in the Cross Cultures Project Association Open Fun Football Schools during the 2016/17 season.
1,200 additional indirect participants (aged 8 to 12) through activities led by project graduates.

BENEFICIARIES

60 young adults aged 16 and over.

LINK

www.ccpa.eu/

OUR PARTNERS

Sport dans la Ville

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Sport dans la Ville is France’s leading non-profit association serving disadvantaged young people aged 7 to 25, through sports and job-readiness training. Founded in 1998, Sport dans la Ville operates in 26 urban neighbourhoods and has touched the lives of more than 12,000 young people across France.

Through free football and basketball programmes, Sport dans la Ville imparts the values of teamwork, self-confidence and determination, leading young people towards brighter futures. Its programmes are supported by partnerships with local and national governments, corporations, individuals and international exchange partners in the US, the UK, Brazil and India. Its professional skills training and job placement programme is moving young people from unemployment to opportunity.

AID PLANS

Sport dans la Ville plans to integrate 50 refugees into its regular programmes:

Young refugees will be offered weekly football-based education activities.
Participants aged 14 and over will have the chance to take part in employability and job training workshops.

BENEFICIARIES

50 children.

LINK

www.sportdanslaville.com

OUR PARTNERS

AMANDLA EduFootball

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

AMANDLA EduFootball is an international non-profit organisation based in South Africa and Germany. The organisation’s mission is to create safe spaces that bring together the power of football and learning to empower young people and change lives in South Africa’s most impoverished townships. AMANDLA uses football as a medium to attract and engage thousands of vulnerable young people in holistic education programmes.

AID PLANS

The Safe-Hub initiative is a replication in Berlin of an award-winning football-based education programme from South Africa.

4,500 young people, primarily refugees and young people with migrant backgrounds, to be involved.
Activities to teach important life skills to empower young people to deal with their everyday challenges.
Goal: for young people to become active citizens in their society.

The UEFA Foundation for Children is supporting AMANDLA EduFootball in the planning phase of the Hub they are building in Berlin. – the funding will cover the cost of the development and adaptation of curriculum material and the training of trainers. The programme with the kids will start in 2018.

BENEFICIARIES

90 coaches and 4,500 minors.

LINK

www.edufootball.org/

OUR PARTNERS

RheinFlanke and FC Internationale Berlin 1980 EV

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

RheinFlanke actively supports young people in their personal development to become responsible citizens in society. Their focus is on linking street football activities to educational opportunities. Football activities provide an easy entry point for participants to get involved in the education programmes. The organisation is a social service provider with a mission to create long-term and sustainable social projects for disadvantaged young people, particularly those with migrant backgrounds.

AID PLANS

Football sessions at schools with special welcome classes for refugees in Berlin.

All sessions will include 50% pupils with refugee backgrounds and 50% local pupils.
The pupils will be accompanied by a social worker.
Both groups will be helped to overcome barriers to social interaction.
There will be a platform for the participants to access further social services.
A further 700 young people will be reached through six tournaments, which will also include teams from other organisations working with young refugees.

BENEFICIARIES

920 (all minors).

LINK

www.rheinflanke.de/

OUR PARTNERS

Diogenes NGO

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Diogenes is the Homeless World Cup national partner in Greece, and has worked with refugees since it was set up in 2010.

In addition to welcoming refugees onto its football programme, Diogenes works with a large network of support from other NGOs and state and local governments to provide them with shelter, assistance with their legal status and access to education, Greek language lessons and medical and legal services.

Most of the refugees it works with come from Afghanistan and Iraq.

AID PLANS

Diogenes manages the Greek homeless team. Half the players are refugees or asylum seekers.

Five tournaments will be held on a portable pitch in areas across Greece that have large numbers of refugees.
Funding will also be used to expand the programme to offer regular football training in Thessaloniki.

BENEFICIARIES

720 children and young adults aged 14 and over.

LINK

www.shedia.gr and www.homelessworldcup.org

OUR PARTNERS

The Scort Foundation and FC Basel 1893

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

The Football Club Social Alliance, established and managed by the Scort Foundation, is a network of European professional football clubs united for social responsibility. Together with local partners, the Alliance clubs train young men and women to become football coaches and social role models. These young coaches are encouraged to apply their newly developed social and sporting skills by getting actively involved in their communities and regularly organising football activities for disadvantaged children. The Football Club Social Alliance’s goal is for these young men and women to act as multipliers, using football as a sustainable tool to promote health and inclusion, convey core values and foster children’s development.

The vision of the Scort Foundation is a world in which all children living in difficult circumstances are able to play sport and are inspired to subsequently develop positive social skills and aspirations. The Football Club Social Alliance inspires and empowers young leaders to act as role models for people in their local communities.

AID PLANS

Young Coach Education Programme for coaches of young internally displaced persons in deprived areas.

Well-designed and holistic methodology.
Intensive engagement through a year-long programme, fostering a positive relationship between young internally displaced persons and young people from host communities.
Reducing tensions in affected communities.
Strengthening local structures to create a peaceful society.
Additional indirect young beneficiaries through activities led by graduates of the programme.

BENEFICIARIES

40 young adults.

LINK

www.scort.ch/scort/ and www.scort.ch/

OUR PARTNERS

Champions ohne Grenzen

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

OUR AIM

Champions ohne Grenzen has been carrying out sport and cultural work for several years, leading to the establishment of a culture in Berlin and Brandenburg of welcoming refugees. Champions ohne Grenzen is using football to support refugees in Berlin.

AID PLANS

Playing football will give refugees the opportunity to get to know their new country and strengthen their self-esteem at the same time.
Participants will be empowered to navigate their new surroundings, with support regarding the legal aspects of asylum.
Champions ohne Grenzen advocates the reduction of barriers to refugees entering the club system and educates stakeholders in sport and politics about the challenges that refugees face.

BENEFICIARIES

750 children and young adults.

LINK

www.championsohnegrenzen.com