Urban Soccer for Dream and Hope

Location and general information

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

Context

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

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

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

Project content

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

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

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

The project focuses on the following five values:

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

Expected results

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

Partner

Timbiquí´s Gamechangers

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project content

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

Objectives

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

 

Project activities

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

Expected results

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

Partner

Building More Than a Place to Play in the Brazilian Northeast

Location and general information

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

Context

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

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

Project content

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

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

Objectives

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

 

Project activities

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

Expected results

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

Partner

Empowering children from La Matanza through sport, culture and education

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project content

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

Objectives

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

Specific objectives:

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

Project activities

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

February–March 2022 Purchase private mini-bus

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

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

April 2022 Submit deliverables (curriculum)

May 2022 Programme starts

July 2022 Winter games event

August 2022 - September Interim report and assessments submitted

December 2022 Programme graduation ceremony

February 2023 Final report submitted

Expected results

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

Partner

Alakäläwa GOLEES

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project content

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

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

Expected results

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

Partner

My time, my future

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ecuador, Yacuambi
Start date 01/10/2022
End date 01/10/2023
Cost of the project €33,804
Foundation funding €33,804
Project identifier 20210800
Partners Fundación Humana Pueblo a Pueblo
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

FHPP-E helps children and young people play an active role in society through cultural, sporting and educational activities. Children and young people in the Yacuambi municipality in the Ecuadorian Amazon do not have adequate recreational spaces to have fun and develop their motor skills, often leaving them exposed to drugs and child labour. Child labour has a negative impact on children’s cognitive, emotional and social development, affecting their quality of life and mental health, and leaving them vulnerable without the tools they need for the future.

Project content

Regularly playing a group sport has been shown to promote social development and good health, as well as build character, discipline, decision-making skills and rule compliance, benefiting all areas of daily life. To counteract the lack of emphasis placed on extracurricular activities at school, the project seeks to get local actors involved in developing sports and football training activities for children aged 8–18 in Yacuambi municipality. The aim of the project is to provide an environment that allows the children to develop both physically and psychologically, as well as improve their social skills.

Objectives

  • To develop the motor, sports and life skills of 100 children and teenagers through the promotion of education and physical activity as a universal right.
  • To promote the practice of football as an inclusive and effective tool in improving physical and mental health.

Project activities

  • Technical and tactical football training and practical and audiovisual workshops.
  • Training in leadership, self-esteem, values, conflict resolution, a culture of peace and teamwork.
  • Creation of murals on caring for the environment and the rights of children and teenagers.
  • Improvement of sports spaces through community action.
  • Selection of the best participants through micro-cycles.
  • Technical and tactical macrocycles and physical preparation.
  • Organising and participating in local (intercommunity), national (indigenous league) and international (binational Ecuador-Peru tournament) tournaments.

Expected results

  • At least 80% of the children are technically, physically and tactically trained in football.
  • At least 80% of the children are trained in leadership, self-esteem, values, conflict resolution, a culture of peace and teamwork.
  • At least 60% of the children participate in creating murals about the environment and children’s rights.
  • At least 80% of the children participate in physical activities and education.
  • At least 40% of the children are selected for teams.
  • At least 60% of the children participate in technical and tactical macrocycles, physical preparation and goalkeeping.
  • At least 40% of the children participate in local, national and international tournaments.
  • 100% of the children participate in the opening and closing events of the project.

 

Partner

Football for peace

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Colombia
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 01/31/2023
Cost of the project €88,000
Foundation funding €78,000
Project identifier 20211084
Partners Ankla Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Colombia has suffered internal war for more than 50 years. As many as 260,000 people have lost their lives and 7 million citizens have been displaced as internal refugees. After the peace agreement with the FARC guerrilla in 2016, people have returned to their homes. Ex-guerrilla combatants are now in reincorporation spaces, but relations with the local population are difficult. This project uses football as a tool to achieve reconciliation and peace between both groups, focusing on the children.

Project content

The project supports the peace process in Colombia by promoting human rights, coexistence and inclusion among ex-FARC combatants and the local community, while also preventing new violence, through football training and psychosocial interventions with the children. It will run for one year in four territorial spaces for training and reincorporation (TSTR: land given by the government to ex-combatants to help them reintegrate into society), benefiting 615 children of ex-combatants.

Objectives

  • Promote healthy coexistence among ex-combatants and the community using football as a tool for social integration and to prevent the resurgence of violence.
  • Promote the search for talent among the children of ex-combatants to encourage development through self-realization.
  • Provide psychosocial support for the children of ex-combatants, their families and the community, in order to restore their rights, emotional integrity, and productive reintegration into civil and family life.

Project activities

  • Collecting baseline socio-economic information
  • Training and participation in local leagues (10 football training sessions per week in each TSTR)
  • Psychosocial interventions with children and their families (eight psychosocial workshops per week in each TSTR)
  • Meetings between the community and TSTR leaders
  • Competitions and participation in various leagues

 

Expected results

  • The majority of children from the TSTRs attend the training sessions and psychosocial workshops (75%).
  • Civil society that lives around these TSTRs will accept the presence of ex-combatants in their community and are in favour of their reintegration into society (70%).
  • Improved gender equality inside football groups (30% girls at least).
  • Improvements among the children and teenagers diagnosed with various psychosocial issues over the course of 12 months (50% children with psychosocial problems due mostly to the civil war experience an improvement).
  • Through football, the children develop as persons, learn about rules and are kept away from criminal activities; coaches act as mentors. Training is a way to reach the children and their families for psychosocial interventions.

Partner

Lay’s RePlay

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location UK, South Africa, Brazil, Italy, USA, Mexico, Turkey and Egypt
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €tbc
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20200100
Partners Lay’s, Common Goal
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Sponsors

Context

Lay's RePlay – an innovative global initiative in partnership with the UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld – aims to bring joy to communities around the world by transforming empty crisp packets into sustainable football pitches, leading to positive outcomes for people and the planet.

Eleven community mini pitches composed partially of reused empty crisp packets have been constructed in:

  • Tembisa, South Africa
  • Leicester, UK
  • São Paulo, Brazil
  • Turin, Italy
  • Iztapalapa, Mexico
  • Santa Ana, USA
  • Gaziantep, Turkey
  • Cairo, Egypt
  • Naples, Italy
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Bilbao, Spain

 

Tapping into the global passion for football, these pitches will become sustainable hubs for

positive community transformation.

Project content

Lay’s RePlay provides artificial five-a-side pitches that are ideal for communities with limited access to spaces where they can enjoy the game and develop their skills.

It works with local partners to build spaces and programmes that bring people together and drive positive change for generations to come – it’s much more than just a pitch.

The project’s long-term educational sporting programmes harness the positive power of play and football to address social issues impacting local communities through their four key aims: creating a sense of belonging, increasing engagement, fostering safety, and granting access to sport.

 

Objectives

Lay's RePlay places a strong emphasis on including community members and local organisations throughout the planning, construction and maintenance of each pitch, with a view to developing programmes that can address the specific social issues affecting each community while also fostering safe access to sport. Each pitch is constructed using partially recycled material and the aim is to deliver them with a net-zero carbon footprint.

Project activities

Multiple stakeholders are involved in creating the mini pitches, each of which takes an average of 8 to 12 months to complete. The local partner in each location will lead the process, in close collaboration with streetfootballworld.

Community engagement will be integral; the community is seen not as a recipient, but as part of the decision-making process. It is a participatory project, with an emphasis on talking to community stakeholders, understanding their needs, appreciating their contexts, and collaborating to find optimal solutions. The community is involved in the project before, during and after construction, and preference is given to local sources to ensure capacity development and build trust.

Expected results

  • Eight community football pitches will have been created by the end of 2022.
  • Recycled crisp packets constitute 32% of the material used to construct the pitches, and each community will become more aware of sustainable practices.
  • The artificial turf and the substrate on which it rests (Ecocept™) are 100% recyclable, thanks to the compression of recycled plastic.
  • Local communities in all locations are closely involved in the process.
  • Girls and boys have equal access to a space to play football.
  • Educational sporting programmes provide tailor-made support to the local community and drive positive change for generations to come.

 

First results in the UK, South Africa, Brazil and Italy

  • Local organisations have organised football and other sports sessions as well as educational initiatives to combat the social challenges faced by their communities. Themes tackled include female participation, physical and mental health, education and drugs.
  • Members of the community benefit from a new football pitch that remains open outside of the organised sessions.

Partners

UP Unity & Peace

Location and general information

Closed
Location Jamaica, Kingston
Start date 01/15/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €77,126
Foundation funding €77,126
Project identifier 20200964
Partners Fight for Peace
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

In 2019, UEFA funded Fight for Peace (FFP) in Jamaica, providing access to sport in six volatile urban communities. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime included this work in a consultation on global best practices in using sport to reduce violence. Locally, FFP was recognised by the National Commission on Violence Prevention. FFP now has the unique opportunity to contribute evidence on the use of sport to reduce violence to the Commission’s ten-year plan on violence prevention. With the UEFA Foundation’s support, FFP will fund sports, training federations and sports NGOs and codify best practices.

There will be three types of beneficiaries, categorised by risk level:

  • Primary risk level: young people aged 7–24, drawn from the six communities, who will be referred to the programme by community members, the police and other concerned parties and will access the programme at their schools and community centres
  • Secondary risk level: young people aged 15–24 involved in state-led interventions, e.g. probation, child drug treatment court
  • Tertiary risk level: where possible, COVID-19 and other restrictions permitting, young people aged 15–24 in juvenile correctional facilities and young people aged 15–24 identified by the Peace Management Initiative as gang-affiliated

Project content

The project will enable stakeholders in sport, community development and violence prevention to improve their understanding of the use of sport for violence prevention through increased access to sport in volatile communities. It will also strengthen the capacity of organisations delivering sports and promote the codification and sharing of best practices.

Objectives

  • Provide access to sport in volatile communities for cohorts of youth at different risk levels so that their progress can be tracked and reported on.
  • Train sports federations and NGOs in using sport to reduce violence.
  • Codify best practices for sharing with sports and violence prevention communities and promotion by social media.
  • Present best practices for integration into the ten-year plan for violence prevention.

Project activities

  • Sport sessions.
  • Sport tournaments.
  • Sports federation training.
  • Development of print and multimedia resources.

Expected results

  • 1,000 young people served by sports programmes (50% female and 60% under the age of 18).
  • 60,000 indirect beneficiaries (total Fight for Peace community footprint).

Partner

Fun, Friends, Football camps

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Peru, Ayacucho, Quinua
Start date 01/04/2021
End date 05/30/2021
Cost of the project €81,322
Foundation funding €39,444
Project identifier 20201609
Partners Mama Alice
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Mama Alice works with refugee children from Venezuela and Peruvian children growing up in extreme poverty.

There is little support or understanding among the Peruvian population for Venezuelan refugee children. Most Venezuelan children in Peru live in extreme poverty, which causes them a great deal of stress, which is then exacerbated by the discrimination they experience.

At Mama Alice, a professional and highly experienced multidisciplinary team guides both Venezuelan and Peruvian children towards a positive self-image and better social skills. All children participating in Mama Alice activities come from homes experiencing poverty, often accompanied by domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse, poor hygiene and malnutrition. These problems have a major impact on educational performance and general well-being. When a child is never told that they are wanted and loved, the effect is devastating. Not only do they have poor self-esteem, but they also lack confidence in a better future. For some this leads to serious emotional or behavioural problems.

Mama Alice trainers and teachers are trained to recognise problems and refer children to social workers, nurses or psychologists. They see that their approach has a positive impact: children become happier, more confident and have better social skills. They also achieve better school results, make friends more easily and increase their problem-solving skills.

Project content

Mama Alice organises football camps for children living in extreme poverty and who are often from families with high levels of domestic violence, whether physical, psychological or sexual. Each camp is for 30 participants, divided into 3 groups of 10 (due to COVID-19 restrictions).

During the football camp, the children will not only improve their football skills, but they will also learn many new personal skills that should lead to significant personal growth.

A participation certificate and a photo book are given to the children at the end of the camp to ensure that they have lasting and proud memories. They may also share them via social media and with their friends and family.

Objectives

Overall objectives:

  • Peruvian and Venezuelan children develop more understanding and friendship.
  • They learn about nature and sustainability.
  • They learn about Peru’s history and culture.
  • They learn more about healthy food.
  • They have fun.
  • They have an unforgettable experience.

Specific objectives:

  • 90% of all participants show improved football skills.
  • 80% have improved self-esteem.
  • 90% show improved social skills.

Project activities

  • Football training : All trainers are trained in the Total Soccer Method by Igor Hameleers, the founder of several football schools in the Netherlands. Children take part in daily training, games and relaxation, which are adjusted depending on their level and motivation.
  • Creative activities: The Mama Alice teachers all have over ten years of experience in offering creative activities, especially for target groups with a negative self-image and no strong social skills. Through creativity and art, children also learn to express their feelings.
  • Wari cultural visit: Wari is an archaeological site in Ayacucho. The excavations show how the Waris (a people before the Incas) lived. Yasser, an archaeologist, guide and history teacher, tells interesting stories at the children’s level.
  • Quinua cultural visit: The last struggle for independence in all of Latin America was fought on the pampas of Quinua. The children visit an independence monument and a small museum at the site.
  • Psychosocial workshop: Mama Alice has been working with Peruvian children since 2005 and has developed a method that works well specifically for this target group. Interactive and playful workshops using this method create a safe environment in which children can express their feelings, gain a more positive self-image, understand themselves and others better, work together better and become stronger.
  • Health workshop: Activities are aimed at better personal hygiene, in order to prevent a number of diseases that are common in Ayacucho. Since 2020, prevention of COVID-19 has been added.
  • Musical games: Music therapist Frederique organises games to connect and relax the children and help those who cannot express their feelings easily.
  • Football match: At the end of each day a small 5 v 5 football match is played within the subgroups of 10 on small football pitches. On the last day, Saturday, there are three big matches between the different subgroups.
  • Presentation of the participation certificate: Every child receives a participation certificate and a printed photo book containing 20 photos of the camp, giving them wonderful memories of perhaps the best week of their lives so far.

Expected results

90% of all participants show improved football skills:

  • 90% know most rules.
  • 90% have a understandings of the game during a match.
  • 80% are able to receive a ball, pass it on and shoot at the goal.

80% have improved self-esteem:

  • 90% have more confidence in themselves, others and the future.
  • 90% are able to ask for help when they need it.
  • 90% are able to participate in all the different activities.
  • 80% are able to form their own opinions.

90% of participants show improved social skills:

  • 80% are more able to express their feelings.
  • 90% have learned to push their own boundaries.
  • 90% have learned to work and play together and to make friends.
  • 90% have increased their understanding of other cultures and backgrounds.
  • 90% have better personal hygiene.

Partner

Urban Football for Hopes and Dreams

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Canada, Montreal
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €86,000
Foundation funding €15,000
Project identifier 20201599
Partners Rêves Passion Montréal
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Almost 70% of Montreal’s population are immigrants. Dreams Passion Montreal works in areas where low-income immigrants are concentrated, offering team sports in partnership with local community centres. Football is used not only as a form of physical activity but also as a tool for integration, especially the integration of girls.

Dreams Passion Montreal helps Montreal’s community centres provide inclusive and equitable mixed football activities. When girls and women come into their own through sports, they can thrive in their private and professional lives and bring positive change to society.

Gender diversity is as much a fact of team sports as it is of daily life, so it is essential for young boys to be educated about tolerance and respect. It is equally important to build girls’ confidence to take part in mixed activities.

Project content

The aim of the project is to create an environment that enables the personal development of vulnerable young people whose parents cannot afford to enrol them in extracurricular activities. The goal is to help young people integrate into their community and educate boys about respecting and including girls.

Objectives

  • Use sports as a tool for integration and social development.
  • Promote equitable and equal participation in sports and combat all forms of discrimination, including gender-based discrimination.
  • Develop the self-esteem and self-confidence of girls through mixed sports.
  • Foster positive attitudes and behaviours in young people and improve their team working skills.

Project activities

  • Supporting community centres in their weekly mixed football activities, by providing a structure, coach, fair play-based methodology and equipment if needed.
  • Providing a series of No Girls Offside football workshops, usually combined with other activities (Zumba, basketball, singing), to promote leadership, self-confidence and a sense of belonging in girls.
  • Organising a yearly Urban Football Festival bringing together all the participants, their families and the project partners to celebrate everyone’s involvement.

Expected results

  • 100 girls will have taken part in activities that are 100% female or led by women by the end of 2021.
  • At least 150 children (minimum 25% girls) will have participated in mixed football activities at community centres.
  • More than 150 young people will have learned about group dynamics, including how to work as a team, respecting diversity and other people’s ideas, accepting criticism, making constructive comments based on mutual respect, peacefully. managing and resolving conflict, and following rules.
  • More than 150 young people will have adopted positive attitudes and behaviours, including honesty, integrity and working together.

Partner

Senior Leaders Programme

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location USA, Philadelphia
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €235,107
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20201322
Partners Starfinder Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Philadelphia’s poverty rate is the highest among the US’s largest cities. Nearly 40% of the city’s youth live below the poverty line and face barriers to success: under-resourced schools, limited access to healthy foods, a lack of safe places to play, neighbourhoods with high rates of drug use and gang activity, exposure to violence, and high rates of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Only one in five gets the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity daily, and one in five gets none at all.

Project content

The intensive Senior Leaders after-school programme combines football with health and fitness, academic support, and leadership training to help low-income and immigrant youth achieve success on and off the field. A positive, intentional culture honours youth voice and promotes accountability. The teens learn to apply mental toughness and lessons from the field to other parts of their lives. 99% graduated high school, and 91% continued to university, far outperforming their peers (69% and 55%).

Objectives

Disadvantaged youth gain:

  • skills, confidence and resilience to overcome challenges and achieve their goals
  • long-term good health and physical fitness by establishing healthy lifestyles
  • social and emotional well-being through healthy, positive connections
  • post-secondary success
  • a future as resilient, empathetic adults and engaged, productive citizens

Project activities

The intensive after-school programme for 100-120 low-income teens requires them to attend two-hour sessions three days per week from November to March. They participate in football, mentoring, leadership, and fitness training. At the weekends they take part in university visits, post-secondary and professionalism workshops, community service projects, leagues, open play, tournaments and social events. Activities then continue from April to August, keeping the teens involved throughout the year.

Expected results

  • 100% of the participants will increase their engagement in physical activity and 100% will increase their knowledge and practice of healthy habits and behaviours.
  • 100% will learn and practice key life/social-emotional skills to support long-term success and 100% will be matched with a mentor.
  • 100% will graduate from high school and 95% will attain post-secondary education or training.

Partner

Promoting Sports to Build Resilience in Rural Nicaragua

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project content

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

Promotion of health and personal well-being:

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

Education and extracurricular activities:

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

Expected results

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

Partner

Team GOALS

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project content

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

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

Expected results

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

Partner

Empate for Argentina

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Córdoba, Argentina
Start date 02/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €54,000
Project identifier 20200136
Partners Fundación Empate
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Fundación Empate is an Argentinean NGO that provides free, non-profit spaces and activities for people with Down syndrome to promote their holistic development and social growth. Since 2016, the foundation has offered activities such as football, tennis, music, art and job training workshops.

The activities promote encounters between people with and without different types of disability. The aim is to foster inclusion in all social, cultural and sports contexts, with an emphasis on psychomotor and cognitive development. In this continuous learning environment, people with Down syndrome develop in terms of sports, culture and play, helping them to improve their quality of life and find their place in society. The goal is for them to learn about themselves to better understand the world around them.

Project content

Across Argentina there is a shortage of places where people with Down syndrome can learn to play sports, have fun and develop. Empate for Argentina seeks to fill this gap by offering quality inclusive sports spaces with fewer barriers. To help achieve this, Fundación Empate is developing a scheme of free social franchises to share its experience, methodology, guidelines and success with other locations.

 

Objectives

  • Improve the health of the participants
  • Develop learning skills through sports practice
  • Promote personal and social recognition through sports activities as a framework for social inclusion
  • Encourage socialisation so participants can establish new bonds and create friendships
  • Promote self-esteem, individual growth, self-control, courtesy, social skills, respect and cooperation with others
  • Encourage recreational and sports meetings with other schools and institutions
  • Generate exchanges with society to facilitate the active participation of all those who wish to collaborate

Project activities

  • Developing a franchise model in three Argentinian provinces (Buenos Aires, Tucumán and Mendoza)
  • Developing training programmes to share the knowledge and experience gained by Fundación Empate over the last four years
  • Identifying three institutions to become franchises
  • Supporting and mentoring the franchises in the first few years of development
  • Gathering experiences to provide feedback and improve the methodology so that the franchise can be expanded to more provinces in the future

Expected results

  • Reach 500 people with Down syndrome (110 in Cordoba and 100 per province)
  • Develop free quality sport spaces for people with Down Syndrome
  • Promote the values ​​of Fundación Empate in the three social franchises: respect, empathy, equality and equity, commitment and confidence
  • Develop tools to facilitate the integration of people with Down syndrome into different social environments, such as school, local community, family and work

Partner

A Safe Space to Play for Children in Cabreùva

Location and general information

En cours
Location Cabreùva, Brazil
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 03/01/2022
Cost of the project €271,950
Foundation funding €177,950
Project identifier 20200768
Partners Cruyff Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The community of Novo Bonfim in Cabreúva, Brazil is the most vulnerable in the region. Children and young people are affected by high levels of poverty, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and drug trade. There are no safe public sports facilities in the community for children.

Project content

The Cruyff Foundation will build a Cruyff Court for this community to give children a safe space to play football and other sports. It will be built next to the school cluster, including a high school, primary school and daycare centre. The Cruyff Foundation’s local partner, the Instituto Plataforma Brasil (IPB), will run daily football sessions based on the 14 rules of Johan Cruyff.

Objectives

  • Use the Cruyff Foundation’s 20 years’ experience developing sports projects for children and the IPB’s 10 years’ experience running activities on a Cruyff Court in São Paolo to create a great facility for the children
  • Have expert IPB coaches running daily sessions and making sure the space stays safe
  • Educate local teachers and coaches in the philosophy and vision of the Cruyff Foundation
  • Engage local youth in the activities, making them role models for their peers and next generations

Project activities

  • Daily football sessions by the IPB’s professional coaches
  • Three-day coach course provided by the Cruyff Foundation
  • The young people (‘heroes’) will organise at least one big event per year through a two-month project helping them develop skills and act as role models
  • School PE classes on the Cruyff Court
  • (Virtual) exchange between Cruyff Courts in Brazil
  • Community events involving the local community/parents

Expected results

  • One safe place for children to play
  • 15-20 coaches trained as Cruyff Foundation coaches
  • 300 children per week engaged in football sessions on the Cruyff Court – more than 4,000 children over a five to ten-year period
  • 1,250 children from the schools also using the Cruyff Court
  • 30% of participants are girls

Partners