Adopt a Ball for All

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Greece and more than 170 countries across five continents
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 01/01/2021
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €95,000
Project identifier 20200573
Partners Youthorama
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There is a challenge globally to include pupils with visual impairment in physical education (PE) in general primary schools. There is generally only one type of PE class for all pupils and there are limited inclusive sports tools. As a result, pupils with visual impairment do not participate in PE at the same level as their sighted classmates. This project meets this global need and provides a sustainable solution. It supports children’s right to education and their right to play as well as Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education) and 10 (reduced inequality).

Project content

Youthorama’s founder invented an innovative lightweight sound ball. The unique mini ball for all children is not for sale – it is only donated. In Greece, an educational programme using the mini ball was approved by the ministry of education for all schools – both general and special – and all grades. This project aims to establish a network of schools across the world that will promote inclusive sports through this new educational package.

         

Sierra Leon                                                              India

Objectives

  • Produce and donate up to 2,000 mini blind footballs for children
  • Create a more inclusive society through the use of these balls as a non-formal learning tool
  • Educate mainstream nursery and primary schools, NGOs and public structures on inclusive sport
  • Create a manual of up to 40 good practices
  • Launch an Adopt a Ball pilot initiative for schools to raise awareness of sports for all
  • Establish an Inclusive Football Network across the world (currently spanning 172 countries)

Project activities

  • Donation of the innovative mini blind footballs – the only ones available on a global level and not for sale – to children in need and their schools across 5 continents
  • Designing an inclusive educational package
  • Delivering up to 200 sports workshops in general and special nursery and primary schools to promote personal development, empathy and inclusion
  • Evaluation of the project’s success in achieving its aims
  • Launching the Adopt a Ball campaign and promoting open four-a-side events

Expected results

  • 100 schools in disadvantaged areas across the network delivering the educational programme
  • 25,000 sighted and visually impaired pupils in mixed classes
  • 500 schools registered in the Adopt a Ball network
  • 2,500 questionnaires
  • 500 PE teachers and volunteers using the accessible e-learning platform
  • 3,000 participants in the open four-a-side events
  • 2,000 mini blind footballs donated
  • 1 social message documentary for TV

Our vision is for the ball to be heard in every visually impaired child’s home and school around the world!

Partner

Wash and Learn Initiative

Location and general information

Closed
Location Texas (United States)
Start date 08/01/2019
End date 06/01/2021
Cost of the project € 225,000
Foundation funding € 100,000
Project identifier 2019999
Partners Libraries Without Borders United States (BSF-US)
Categories Personal development

Context

Libraries Without Borders (Bibliothèques Sans Frontières - BSF) is a non-profit organisation committed to increasing access to information for those in need by meeting people where they are—whether in a launderette in the Bronx or a refugee camp in Jordan. BSF-United States (BSF-US) partners with local organisations to transform launderettes, residential lobbies, parks and recreation centres into spaces for children’s education and community development. Internationally, BSF has worked in more than 30 countries, running innovative library programmes to serve refugees, remote villages and disaster relief zones since 2007.

Project content

The average launderette customer spends up to two and a half hours a week there. By meeting families where they are, when they are available, the Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) makes literacy education accessible for low-income families who may not have the time or money to access other services. Now in eight states, WALI equips launderettes with computers, specialized software, Wi-Fi hotspots, books, specially designed furniture and other educational resources designed to create playful, literacy-rich spaces for young children and families. BSF-US works with libraries and local organisations to align their needs and interests with those of launderette customers. Together with its partners, BSF-US offers bilingual story times for children, workshops on nutrition or maternal health and games and activities to promote parent-child interactions. Researchers at New York University found that children engage in significantly more sustained literacy-related activities (compared to children at non-WALI launderettes) when a librarian is present in the launderette.

WALI San Antonio focuses specifically on the city’s low-income Hispanic migrants. One-third of the population in San Antonio is foreign-born, and as many as 100,000 are undocumented. Thanks to the support of Google Fiber and local organisations and libraries, BSF-US has piloted WALI in two launderettes in the city, delivering dynamic opportunities for early childhood education, digital literacy and community development.

Objectives

With the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, BSF-US is expanding WALI San Antonio to better support newly arrived migrants. Our goals include:

  • Bringing knowledge and information to those who are most in need. Libraries are excellent places for both personal growth and collective development.
  • Reaching people where they are. Librarians and early-childhood professionals offer in-person classes and opportunities at the launderette, making these services accessible for all.
  • Ensuring equal access to information, which is important to achieve equity. WALI launderettes equip residents with technology and help to spread information about important issues like education, health, employment, citizenship, environment, sustainability and technology.

Project activities

To reach this goal, the following activities are being undertaken:

  • Expanding the Wash and Learn Initiative in San Antonio from two to four launderettes.
  • Collaborating with local non-profits and government agencies to add new services to existing literacy programmes. These new services will include immigration legal services, culturally relevant health information and English language education—all at the launderette.
  • Collecting and disseminating a set of curricula and case-studies so that other non-profits and public agencies can independently scale the work of WALI in San Antonio and across the US.
  • Providing opportunities for parents to observe ideal models of interactive reading and language-rich activities.

Expected results

From October 2019 to February 2020, the San Antonio Wash and Learn Initiative:

  • Oversaw over 100 hours of programming from partners, ranging from story time to voter registration;
  • Engaged with 252 people, from toddlers to seniors;
  • Partnered with 6 different organisations to better serve the community;
  • Delivered 29 library programmes, where library staff at the launderette helped participants download e-books, use their mobile devices and find online resources.

Looking forward, we aim to:

  • Operate four WALI launderettes that serve as community-driven hubs for learning and digital equity.
  • Provide over 300 hours of programming from partners who engage with over 1,000 people of all ages and backgrounds.
  • Partner with a total of 10 different organisations to better serve the communities we are in, especially around issues of legal access and social support for newly arrived migrants.
  • Support the Digital Inclusion Alliance of San Antonio and other digital literacy providers to meet people where they are, when they are available, and create a more equitable San Antonio.

Partner

A goal for gender equality

Location and general information

Closed
Location Santa Cruz Department (Municipality: El Torno), La Paz Department (Municipality: Pucarani) and Chuquisaca Department (Municipalities: Incahuasi, Culpina and Villa Charcas), Bolivia
Start date 02/01/2020
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €106,060
Foundation funding €87,380
Project identifier 2019984
Partners Plan International Belgium
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Bolivia has ratified numerous international human rights treaties, of which the following are particularly relevant to Plan International’s work: the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women. However, despite progress in legislation promoting the rights of children and young people, violations still occur, especially in rural and indigenous populations. Girls in particular face specific barriers to exercising their rights, especially in the three following areas:

Education:

According to the Ministry of Education, only 11% of young people aged 18 to 24 attend university or a technical training centre. Young women are more affected than young men, mainly due to limited access to alternative or post-secondary education in rural areas and limited support from the family and community environment.

Sexual and reproductive rights:

A large proportion of Bolivia’s population is under 18 years, some of whom are sexually active. Despite this, their sexual and reproductive rights are not recognised, nor is their right to protection against sexual violence. In addition, 25% of teenage girls are already mothers at the age 19 (National Plan to Prevent Teen Pregnancy), and this figure is often higher in rural areas. Furthermore, unwanted pregnancy is an important factor in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Gender-based violence:

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2014 Bolivia ranked among the countries where girls and women are most exposed to violence.

Project content

The project’s main component is its social football methodology, divided into three stages:

  • During the first stage, the mixed teams are formed and the girls and boys agree on the rules and how long they will play for. This stage allows the participants to engage in dialogue and reach agreements and compromises.
  • During the second stage, the game is played respecting the previously agreed rules.

The third stage is a time for participants to reflect on their in-game behaviour and the behaviour of their teammates. In social football, sticking to the previously agreed rules is more important than competitiveness.

Objectives

  • Change behaviour towards girls and women and put an end to all types of violence, including sexual violence
  • Support gender equality
  • Ensure children and teenagers can exercise their sexual and reproductive rights

Project activities

  • Work plans for student governments (40) and the community social education councils (40) incorporating the social football methodology
  • Training workshops on the football social methodology for students and student governments (3), community social education councils (2), district directors, unit directors and secondary level teachers (3)
  • Social football cards and audiovisual products (600)
  • 80 student sports meetings applying the social football methodology with a focus on gender equality, violence prevention and the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights
  • Assessments of the educational units’ sports fields
  • 40 refurbished and improved sports fields (one for each educational unit)
  • 80 awards for winners of sports events

Expected results

  • Student government organisations strengthen their organisational capacity and representativeness through the social football methodology; they value the participation of women and positively influence their sexual and reproductive rights, gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence.
  • Community social education councils increase their participation and support for the development of social football with a focus on gender equality, prevention of gender-based violence and the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights of girls, boys and teenagers, especially women in the municipalities where the project is developed.
  • District directors, directors of educational units and secondary level teachers improve the management of sports in the educational units by promoting gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Partner

La Nuestra Football Club

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Argentina
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project € 315,000
Foundation funding € 143,300
Project identifier 2019062
Partners Women Win
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

According to Argentina’s Observatory on Femicide, 124 girls were killed in the country between 2008 and 2013 (an average of around 21 a year). The majority of those killings were linked to gender-based violence among young unmarried couples or followed sexual abuse. Poor social status and a lack of access to leadership roles and economic opportunities are both linked to girls feeling powerless and increases in gender-based violence. The use of violence, intimidation and coercion against girls reinforces their subordinate status, takes power out of their hands and limits their opportunities and the decisions they can make for themselves. Early childhood and adolescence are critical periods for interventions aimed at ending this cycle, with football playing a key role in terms of helping Argentinian girls to develop the skills they need to stand up for their rights.

Through football, girls can take on leadership roles and tackle gender stereotypes. Football is a catalyst for the development of leadership skills, giving girls the opportunity to boost their self-esteem and courage. The ripple effects of their experience on the pitch can be observed in all aspects of their lives: footballers take the initiative, speak up and have the courage to take risks; and when they fall, they get back up again. Through football, girls learn to challenge socio-cultural norms and gender stereotypes, both at community level and in wider society. When girls play football, they transcend the limits that society places on them, acquiring skills that will allow them to do the same in other areas of life, such as education and the workplace.

The La Nuestra Football Club project will work with girls from Villa 31, a slum in Buenos Aires that is home to 14,000 girls. Outside their community, those girls are called by the derogatory name ‘villera’, and they face prejudice throughout the city. In addition to Argentinian girls who have moved (either with or without their families) from other parts of the country in search of a better life, Villa 31 is also home to girls from various other countries (including Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru). This project will use football as a means of empowering those girls and encouraging them to exercise their rights.

Project content

Through La Nuestra Football Club, Women Win and its local partner in Villa 31 will use football to develop life skills and empower socially deprived girls, while at the same time combating harmful gender stereotypes and their consequences (gender-based violence, gender pay gaps, lack of female political representation, lack of universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, etc.).

Through football, girls:

  • become physically stronger and healthier and develop greater ownership and understanding of their bodies. If a girl regards her body as her own, she protects it, cherishes it, and demands that it be respected;
  • develop critical life skills that are transferable to other spheres of life, such as teamwork, goal setting, resilience and communication, all through the constant practice that football requires;
  • gain access to a safe space to grow and explore, especially with regard to physical, social and emotional development;
  • connect with peers for social support – a vital reference point and resource for dealing with the challenges associated with growing up;
  • learn from a positive female role model in the form of a female coach or team leader. This provides girls with a caring, supportive mentor to help navigate growing up and inspire a vision of what is possible;
  • explore human differences and connect with others from different classes, races, countries or religions, which in turn promotes mutual respect and a deeper understanding of other people;
  • capture the attention of the community. When girls play in public, they have an instant awareness-raising opportunity to assert their rights within the community. Victories, kits and leadership positions can alter a girl’s status within her community, changing her from a perceived liability to a source of pride;
  • have fun. The opportunity to be distracted from the pressures of growing up is a universal right.

 

Objectives

Year 1

  • Work with local partner on the development of a Girls’ Empowerment Through Football curriculum and programme, to be available in English and Spanish
  • Work with local partner on knowledge exchange in areas such as: leadership and strategy; people and infrastructure; coach development plan and sports facilities; financial management; fundraising and partnerships; communication and networks; training of female coaches; and technical services
  • Train coaches on the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football curriculum
  • Work with local partner on a monitoring and evaluation plan, including the collection of data for Women Win’s international database on girls’ sport
  • Recruit girls to participate in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme and start delivery in partnership with local partner’s coaches

Year 2

  • Recruit new girls to participate in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme and deliver programme in partnership with local partner’s coaches
  • Deliver sessions addressing specific development needs of female coaches, as identified by local partner
  • Work with local partner on knowledge exchange in areas such as: leadership and strategy; people and infrastructure; coach development plan and sports facilities; financial management; fundraising and partnerships; communication and networks; training of female coaches; and technical services
  • Work with local partner on the translation and contextualisation of Women Win’s Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding self-assessments
  • Help ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations to identify capacity building needs in relation to the recruitment/retention of girls and child protection and safeguarding
  • Co-design, develop and deliver the Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding workshop for ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations

Year 3

  • Recruit new girls to participate in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme and deliver programme in partnership with local partner’s coaches
  • Work with local partner on knowledge exchange in areas such as: leadership and strategy; people and infrastructure; coach development plan and sports facilities; financial management; fundraising and partnerships; communication and networks; training of female coaches; and technical services
  • Work with local partner on the translation and contextualisation of Women Win’s Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding self-assessments
  • Help ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations to identify capacity building needs in relation to the recruitment/retention of girls and child protection and safeguarding
  • Co-design, develop and deliver the Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding workshop for ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations

Project activities

The La Nuestra Football Club project will use a curriculum in which football drills and matches are intertwined with the teaching of life skills. The girls will play football and have fun, while at the same time boosting their self-esteem and confidence, developing leadership skills, learning about health matters and the environment, and becoming financially literate.

Many of the female coaches working with the local partner are former professional footballers or have coaching qualifications. Women Win will provide the local partner with technical support and other institution strengthening assistance (including training aimed specifically at female coaches) in order to help it become a national point of reference for gender equality and football in Argentina.

Expected results

By the end of the third year, it is expected that:

  • 300 girls will have participated in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme;
  • at least four local coaches will have qualified as ‘master trainers’ for the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football curriculum and programme;
  • at least eight employees of the local partner will have participated in institution strengthening and knowledge sharing workshops, helping it to become a national point of reference for gender equality and football;
  • 20 employees of sports associations and sport for development organisations will have participated in the Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding workshop;
  • male and female members of the community will have seen the girls playing, challenging gender stereotypes;
  • relatives of girls participating in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme will have been influenced either by seeing the girls playing or through the girls sharing knowledge acquired during the programme.

Partner

Play to Learn 2.0

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Nicaragua
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 74,695
Foundation funding € 50,000
Project identifier 2019899
Partners Fondation Fabretto Children
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Nicaragua continues to face significant development challenges, including precarious employment and persistent poverty. Many families are struggling to make ends meet and provide food and basic necessities for their children. This affects the socio-emotional well-being of children who suffer from chronic stress, resulting in irritability, anxiety, headaches, and difficulty concentrating.

In addition, Nicaraguan children, especially in rural communities, still face limited access to quality education. Those that do attend school, receive just four hours of classes per day for four days per week.

To support these populations in education and offer them relevant extracurricular activities, the Fabretto Children’s Foundation set up the Play to Learn project, funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children in 2019. By providing organised team sports activities for girls and boys, Fabretto has found a valuable way to enrich the afterschool programme with more emphasis on sports for childhood development and gender inclusion. Physical activities during childhood have a positive effect on mental health in adolescence and later in life.

 

Project content

The foundation’s contribution enables Fabretto to further develop meaningful extracurricular activities in some of the most vulnerable communities in Nicaragua. Fabretto focuses on linking education to sports and recreational activities, especially by training children's football teams in rural communities.

Since the project is run in the Fabretto Education Centres and in the participating schools, capacities are built directly within the communities, creating a lasting impact with educators and sports coaches better equipped for the next generations of pupils.

Objectives

The objectives of the Play to Learn 2.0 project are:

  • extend the programme to 780 students in vulnerable communities with educational enrichment and/or leisure activities for the duration of the project;
  • increase the participation of girls and young women in sports and recreational activities in order to reduce traditional assumptions and stereotypes about roles, and thereby promote gender equality;
  • bridge the gender gap through activities shared by girls and boys, and to include boys and men in the process;
  • train teachers and coaches how to promote active learning through play and student engagement;
  • involve parents in workshops to raise awareness of the importance of education and physical activity.

Project activities

  • Regular – weekly or bi-weekly – football training sessions led by trained coaches.
  • Each session includes a short literacy activity, warm-up, technical practice, and stretching or cool-down exercises.
  • Sports activities are used to instil values of fairness and competition, while fostering a sense of belonging and team spirit, helping students to develop their social and soft skills. The overall goal is to reduce stress and anxiety and to improve the overall mental health of children in extremely vulnerable rural communities.
  • Fabretto also uses team sports to help students overcome negative thoughts and high levels of anxiety and stress so that they become more relaxed, improve their mental health and overall achieve better learning results.
  • Timid and anxious children enrolled in the afterschool programme, who might not naturally join a sports team, are encouraged to take part in the football practice. This has become an effective way to reach some of the children most in need of social interaction and developing social skills.

Expected results

  • The Fabretto Children’s Foundation will provide 780 children with educational and recreational activities; 550 students will join football teams.
  • The project aims to promote gender equality by increasing the participation of girls in sport and combating traditional gender role assumptions and stereotypes.
  • Teachers and sports coaches will be trained to play the critical role of leading activities and guiding the pupils through the learning process.
  • Parent workshops will raise awareness of the importance of education and physical activities.
  • Children will be better educated and become more confident, integrated members of society, with a greater chance of a positive socio-economic future.
  • The institutionalisation of safe environments for sports and play in each community will foster healthy, safe communities enabling children to learn and grow

Partner

Senior Leaders Programme

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Pennsylvania (United States)
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 258,056
Foundation funding € 44,829
Project identifier 2019938
Partners Starfinder Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of the ten largest cities in the United States: 37% of children there live in poverty and struggle with underperforming schools, poor diets, unsafe communities and other barriers to success. This entrenched poverty has a long-term impact: Philadelphia ranks last among all Pennsylvania counties on health outcomes and only 67% of Philadelphia public high-school students graduate on time. Less than 20% of those graduates obtain a college degree within six years. Educational attainment is directly linked to social mobility — without a college degree or vocational training, low-income youngsters have little chance of escaping poverty.

Project content

Sports can help to address the problems faced by youngsters in places such as Philadelphia. Young people who participate in athletics are healthier, less likely to be obese and more successful academically, as they are better able to concentrate and behave and therefore complete high school and attend college (Up2Us Sports). Teenage girls who play sport are less likely to smoke, use illicit drugs or suffer from depression, and have a lower risk of osteoporosis and breast cancer later in life (Women’s Sports Foundation). Sports also provide youngsters with caring adult mentors and help them learn critical life skills. Mentored young people tend to have more ambitious goals and attain a higher level of academic achievement.

However, access is a problem. Philadelphia’s low-income young people have fewer opportunities at school, in recreational programmes and in their neighbourhoods, which often lack safe places to play. Low-income students participate less in sports than their middle-income peers, and 37% of low-income youngsters have no mentors in their lives. In the United States, 60% of children who play sport have to pay fees. Low-income youngsters simply cannot afford to participate. Girls especially face barriers to participation in sport owing to a lack of opportunities and role models, and negative societal pressure. The Starfinder Foundation exists to fill these gaps and help children and young people achieve their full potential.

Objectives

Starfinder’s Senior Leaders Program focuses on young people (aged 14 to 18 years) from low-income and underserved Philadelphia neighbourhoods. This intensive after-school programme combines football training with health and fitness promotion, academic support and leadership development in order to help participants achieve success both on and off the field.

The aim of the programme is to help young people develop critical personal and leadership skills that will help them become successful, healthy adults. Football is a great vehicle for both engaging and supporting youngsters to this end.

 

Project activities

  • Football training
  • Leadership development
  • Academic support
  • “Focus Fuel” fitness sessions
  • Mentoring

Starfinder’s leadership curriculum uses football as a framework to help young people develop specific life and leadership skills. The curriculum is organised into different sections: self, interpersonal, team and community. Leadership topics covered in formal weekly sessions are then reinforced and put into practice with coach-mentors in weekly ‘Focus Fuel’ fitness sessions and at football practice. ‘Team Time’ at the end of every practice gives participants an opportunity to reflect on their application of the weekly leadership topic and helps them to make connections between what they are doing on and off the field.

 

Expected results

Operational goals include:

  • building long-term financial health through effective revenue generation and fiscal management;
  • increasing public awareness of and support for Starfinder’s mission, impact and reputation for excellence;
  • upgrading Starfinder’s facilities; and
  • increasing organisational resilience with effective operating practices and a highly qualified, motivated workforce.

The Senior Leaders Program serves 120 high-school students each year, primarily from low-income neighbourhoods in Philadelphia with low to average household incomes. The majority of participants have little or no access to safe and healthy development opportunities, including quality sports programmes or safe spaces to play within their schools and neighbourhoods. The goal is to equip this very diverse group of young people, almost 50% of whom are female, with the above-mentioned tools to help them to better develop their health and physical fitness, emotional well-being and life and leadership skills. Since its establishment, Starfinder has provided services to over 11,000 young people, with its graduating seniors achieving a 100% high-school graduation rate and 91% college matriculation rate in a city where over 30% of kids drop out of high school.

Partner

Afterschool programme

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Mexico
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 295,171
Foundation funding € 88,235
Project identifier 2019399
Partners Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC)
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico, with over 3.5 million inhabitants. Most of the population are aged 5 to 14 years old and in need of basic education.

Social, health and education conditions

According to the multidimensional poverty measurement conducted by CONEVAL, the national board of social development, evaluation 30% of the population of Chihuahua lives in poverty:

  • 40% have no access to social security.
  • 18% lack access to proper nutrition, but children also suffer from obesity and high rates of diabetes. According to the national institute for public health, within the urban population of the state, 13% of children under five are overweight or obese.
  • 50% of children and teenagers have not engaged in any physical activity over the past 12 months.
  • Chihuahua is in a climate of insecurity, and has one of the highest crime rates due to its strategic border position.
  • More than 30% of the state’s population are illiterate and did not finish elementary or secondary school.

The afterschool programme was created by FECHAC and it is run by different organisations around the state to provides vulnerable children with tools to deal with life situations in a resilient way and motivate them to continue with their studies, by means of fun and formative evening activities that promote their cultural, social and physical development, in a variety of workshops.

Project content

The sports component serves two main purposes: gain physical benefits and exploit the formative role of the sport.

The project focuses on poor school retention, high rates of domestic violence, high rates of sexual abuse and social exclusion. The project’s goal is also to prevent violence. By practising sport, children and teenagers learn rules and discipline and come to realise that there are other life options for them than the drug business.

Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC) currently runs the programme in 88 schools and aims to expand it to 100 schools in next two years.

Objectives

Introduce basketball, football and handball programmes in seven schools throughout Chihuahua state: 2 schools in Ciudad Juarez, 2 schools in Chihuahua city, 1 school in Camargo, 1 school in Delicias and 1 school in Cuauhtémoc.

The sports component aims to:

  • create the habit of daily exercise and generate a lifestyle change;
  • improve body functioning and balanced mental health;
  • prevent conditions such as obesity and improve body coordination and control;
  • enhance confidence through tournaments and leagues, promote universal values and appropriate social behavior, model positive social relationships and teamwork.

Expected results

Expand the programme from 88 to 100 schools in the next two years.

For the participants

  • increased self-confidence and reduced risk of gender-based violence
  • lower drug abuse rates
  • extracurricular activities
  • safe environment for children

Partner

Math Attack

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Saint Lucia
Start date 06/01/2019
End date 07/31/2021
Cost of the project €184,356
Foundation funding €132,405
Project identifier AME - 2018424
Partners Sacred Sports Foundation Inc.
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

The Math Attack programme is a specific response to poor local education standards and alarming declines in understanding of mathematics among school-age children. Academic pass rates in mathematics have been on the decline for well over a decade. Around 50% of male school students in Saint Lucia fails mathematics and around 20% of children who repeat a grade in school have some identifiable learning disability. Currently, fewer than 15% of school leavers in the region move on to further education. School dropout rates are closely associated with adverse health outcomes. Children who fail in school are more likely to engage in subsequent health-impairing behaviours as adolescents. Failing students are also more likely to drop out of school.

Project content

The Math Attack programme will provide a child-friendly, safe and welcoming environment for after-school academic enrichment and support for at-risk youth between the ages of 11 and 15, using sport as a tool to enhance the development of life skills, foster positive social behaviours and improve academic performance.

Children are born wanting to move. The options for sport and play will be fun and modified where necessary to encourage team building and leadership development.

To motivate the participants, Sacred Sports Foundation ties small rewards to children’s efforts and progress so they can experience the short-term, ongoing pay-off of their sweat.

Children of all ages get excited about reaching personal achievements and contributing to team goals. Group and individual feedback loops are built into all activities.

Objectives

  • To use sport as a tool to enhance the development of life skills, foster positive social behaviours and improve academic performance.
  • To provide a child-friendly, safe and welcoming environment for after-school academic enrichment and support for at-risk youth between the ages of 11 and 15.
  • For 120 participants to attend a well-structured after-school programme three days per week, and receive high-quality assistance in three core programme areas:
    1. mathematics and academic tutoring,
    2. extracurricular sporting activities, and
    3. life skills.

Project activities

  1. Mathematics homework support/tutoring three days a week (60 minutes per day), covering topics including academic enrichment, technology skills development and self-discipline.
  2. Sport support three days per week (60 minutes per day), including defined mathematics skills coaching and improved understanding of nutrition, health and well-being.
  3. Life skills support three days per week (30 minutes per day), including a conflict resolution programme and positive behaviour reinforcement to enhance learning and negotiation skills.

Expected results

It is anticipated that over 85% of the participating students will report that their marks increase by at least one grade level annually as a result of attending the programme. Key stakeholders are expected to see noticeable signs of improvement in participants’ learning attitude – for example, a more positive view of school, better study habits and an increase in the completion of homework.

The programme will lead to:

  • improved academic performance and better grades in mathematics,
  • better physical health and understanding of nutrition,
  • a greater ability to find a peaceful solution to disagreements,
  • improved social and emotional well-being of most of the participants,
  • greater engagement in school of all participants,
  • improved student behaviour, and
  • greater parent/guardian engagement.

Partner

Unity and Peace

Location and general information

Closed
Location Jamaica
Start date 01/01/2019
End date 12/31/2019
Cost of the project €5,000,000
Foundation funding €62,152
Project identifier AME–2018382
Partners Fight for Peace International
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Young people in the six target communities are growing up in risk environments that influence their likelihood of becoming victims or perpetrators of violence. The root causes of youth violence tackled in this programme are:

  • gang activity in the community
  • difficult family life due to absent parents, harsh physical discipline, or neglect
  • poverty and lack of opportunities to escape poverty
  • lack of pro-social and personal development recreational activities
  • high unemployment
  • low educational attainment
  • limited access to psycho-social support

Project content

Fight for Peace (FFP) combines boxing and martial arts with education and personal development to help young people realise their potential despite living in communities affected by crime, violence and social exclusion. Fight for Peace coordinates the Safer Communities Programme (SCP) in Jamaica, which brings together over 30 entities – government agencies, sports federations, youth development and violence-prevention organisations – to work in communities with high levels of violence. The Unity and Peace project uses holistic programmes covering five pillars (sport, education, employment, youth leadership and psycho-social support) using the collective impact framework.

The project has been launched in six communities in Kingston with high levels of violence: Hannah Town, Denham Town, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Fletchers Land and Parade Gardens.

Fight for Peace also works informally with the Jamaica Wrestling Federation and the Jamaica Rugby League Association. Funding from the UEFA Foundation for Children will enable the Jamaica Football Federation to be included by integrating school and community football teams.

Beneficiaries:

  • More than 1,670 young people living in urban areas
  • Average age from 10 to 12 years and 95% under 18
  • 56% male and 46% female

Objectives

FFP has developed an integrated and holistic five-pillar methodology that it applies to all its projects and activities. The objective is to give young people all the support they need to become champions in life.

Boxing and martial arts: to promote respect, discipline, self-control, feelings of belonging and self-esteem, and encourage young people to join the programme

Education: to offer support and educational courses for young people who are outside formal learning environments or who have learning difficulties

Employability: to help young people access the job market through training, vocational courses and referrals to job opportunities through a network of partners in the private sector

Support services: a multidisciplinary social-support team provides services, including individual mentoring, social, medical and legal referrals, home visits and community outreach

Youth leadership: through youth councils who represent the organisation externally and liaise with staff on strategy and programme development

Project activities

  • Sports sessions (boxing, martial arts and football) delivered at community centres and schools by coaches trained to integrate personal development skills into sessions (50 sessions per week)
  • Personal development sessions led by trained facilitators from youth development and violence prevention NGOs and/or psychologists and social workers from FFP (12 sessions per month for the six communities)
  • Cross-community recreational activities and tournaments (two tournaments in the first six months)
  • Eight places branded as sport for development sites and safe spaces for children
  • Psychological first aid and sport for development training for all participating coaches, allowing for long-term integration of personal development into sport in schools and the community
  • Training of coaching assistants to provide qualified coaches for disadvantaged communities
  • Partnership with the GC Foster College of Sport and Physical Education to provide coaching courses and certification for all participating coaches
  • Integration with the sport and behaviour change programme of the ministry of education, information and youth/social development commission to allow for policy development and future programming within schools and communities

Expected results

Young people who take part in regular free sports and personal development will report sustained improvements to health and well-being.

  • 1,800 young people practising sport
  • 1,450 sports sessions
  • 72 personal development sessions
  • 4 tournaments
  • 70% improving their health and fitness
  • 4 coach training courses
  • 60% improve the quality of their relationships with friends, family and other adults
  • 60% of those who may have negative behaviour report a positive change, e.g. reduced involvement in crime, respect for authority
  • 60% view their futures more positively

Partner

Play to Learn

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Las Sabanas, San José de Cusmapa, Ocotal, Esteli, Nicaragua
Start date 02/01/2019
End date 12/31/2019
Cost of the project €70,498
Foundation funding €55,000
Project identifier AME-2018408
Partners Fabretto Children’s Foundation
Categories Access to Sport

Context

In the northern Nicaraguan municipalities of Las Sabanas, San José de Cusmapa, Ocotal and Esteli, many children are vulnerable, at risk of poverty and boredom, drop out of school early and lack access to high-quality education and recreational activities. The project aims to empower these children and their families to reach their full potential and improve their livelihoods.

Project content

By reaching out to around 600 of these communities’ most vulnerable children aged between 11 and 15 through education and sport, the project hopes to promote the children’s fundamental rights to education, play, development and recreational activities. Through after-school activities, the children will also learn to develop their social, personal and intrapersonal skills.

UEFA Foundation for Children funding will reinforce the sporting aspect of the project and finance sports equipment, training of our educators in sports coaching, as well as the organisation of local leagues and competitions.

Objectives

  • Educational enrichment for primary school pupils. The project will enrich the children’s education by providing classes aimed at developing their reading, writing and maths skills, as well as promoting play through sport, art and dance.
  • Sports activities for primary school students, increasing the use of sports and recreational activities to support learning; reduction of gender and social inequality through the integration of girls and children at risk of social exclusion.

Project activities

Educational enrichment

  • Educational enrichment classes from February to November, four days a week for two to three hours per day, implementing the aforementioned objectives and activities.
  • Training workshops for educators and coaches with a focus on innovative and learning-by-doing methodologies.
  • Supply of proper learning materials such as textbooks, pencils and art supplies for the classroom.
  • Three workshops for parents in each community to help them understand their role and impact on their children’s development.

Sports activities

  • Acquisition of equipment and materials, and provision of safe environments for sport.
  • Training of educators as sports/football coaches, in sports supervision and engagement of young people in physical activities.
  • Creation of 32 sports teams across the four municipalities and a weekly football practice session in each school or education centre.
  • A biannual football tournament between the teams in each community to promote continuous learning, positive values, healthy habits, gender equality and non-discrimination.

Expected results

  • The Fabretto Children’s Foundation will provide 600 children with educational and recreational activities.
  • The project aims to promote gender equality by increasing the participation of girls in sport and combating traditional gender role assumptions and stereotypes.
  • Teachers and sports coaches will be trained to play the important role of leading activities and guiding the pupils through the learning process.
  • A parents’ workshop will raise awareness of the importance of education and physical activities.
  • Children will be better educated and become more confident, integrated members of society, with a greater chance of a positive socio-economic future.

Partner

Inter Campus Venezuela

Location and general information

Closed
Location Venezuela
Start date 03/01/2019
End date 03/31/2020
Cost of the project €74,705
Foundation funding €29,340
Project identifier AME - 2018622
Partners Inter Futura S.r.l., Fundación Magallanes
Categories Personal development

Context

Since 2014 Venezuela has been experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis. Caritas estimates that there are approximately 380,000 malnourished children in the country and one in three children is suffering irreversible physical and mental damage.

Average pensions are around just $6 a month and people have virtually no purchasing power. Most of the time, however, it is not a question of how much things cost, because the supermarkets are empty. Owing to the scarcity of necessities, many citizens are forced to consume pet food. At the same time, there is a lack of basic medicines and sanitary conditions are disastrous.

This economic and social crisis is linked to the acute political crisis that the country has been facing since March 2017, which has given rise to insecurity, violence and corruption.

Project content

Inter Futura S.r.l. was set up in 1997 to manage Inter Campus, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of FC Internazionale Milano. Inter Campus offers support to needy and often forgotten causes with the aim of making a difference through sport and other long-term projects. It promotes local initiatives, coaching children together with local trainers and encourages the involvement of families.

Inter Campus Venezuela was established in 2010 in collaboration with the Fundación Magallanes as a way of supporting sports and educational activities for children living in deprived areas who are at risk of criminal involvement. The project also provides sports and educational training for three local instructors, two men and one woman. The project focuses on the suburbs of Caracas within the Sucre municipality, one of the largest and poorest in the whole of South America. Petare, a huge favela which, sadly, is well known for being a dangerous and extremely challenging place to live, hosts Inter Campus in the San Isidro neighbourhood. One hundred children train here at least twice a week, which keeps them away from negative influences.

Inter Campus promotes children’s rights and supports the Right to Play initiative. It contributes to the development of local communities, supporting educational, social and sanitary protection programmes carried out by local partners. Moreover, Inter Campus promotes social integration among different ethnic groups and cultures.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to help socially deprived children combat the problems they encounter in their everyday lives. This may be violence, poor sanitary conditions or nutritional deficiencies affecting physical development. Working on and off the pitch, with a good partnership network and strong support from the local partner, Inter Campus hopes to alleviate these terrible conditions and create a virtuous circle from which future generations can benefit.

Inter Campus Venezuela also pledges to respect the ten fundamental values and principles set out in the UN Global Compact and to promote sustainable solutions while carrying out the project.

The project aims to:

  • promote children’s right to play by organising regular training sessions and participating alongside other social institutions in tournaments organised by third parties;
  • support education through leisure and sports activities;
  • support social and sanitary programmes;
  • ensure gender equality by encouraging the participation of girls in the project.

The project offers support for:

  • 125 participants, aged between 6 and 16;
  • children suffering malnutrition, those from violent backgrounds, pregnant teenagers and children abandoned by their families;
  • girls (35% of participants).

Project activities

  • Two football training sessions a week for every child
  • Regular participation in football tournaments
  • Warm meal provided after each training session – 250 meals supplied every week
  • Nerazzurri (black and blue) equipment provided once a year to create a sense of belonging for the participants
  • Creation of girls’ teams
  • Awareness-raising campaign for girls aged between 12 and 15 on early pregnancies. Sport is used to build their self-confidence and to encourage them to stay at school.

Expected results

  • Access to healthy and good quality food (i.e. protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals) is ensured, reducing hunger in the Caracas suburbs.
  • A culture of education, curiosity and integration is created, based on sporting values (respect, solidarity, conflict resolution, responsibility, etc.).
  • Gender equality is promoted and a new awareness exists of the role girls play within society (i.e. reduction in early pregnancies, prevention of gender-based violence).
  • A community is built through the involvement of key people (trainers, cooks, families and partners).
  • Institutions are more aware of sport’s relevance and their mutual collaboration is secured.
  • SENA research figures on children’s attitudes and disorder prevention are improved (from an affective, emotional, cognitive and social perspective).

Partner

Football for Inclusion – Everyone invited to the pitch!

Location and general information

Closed
Location Moreno, Argentina
Start date 08/10/2018
End date Ongoing
Cost of the project €155,476
Foundation funding €104,400
Project identifier SAM – 01xx
Partners Asociación Civil Andar
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

People with disabilities have fewer opportunities to take part in football and integrate into mainstream society because they face various social or cultural barriers and discriminatory attitudes. This violates their human rights. In addition, they find it difficult to access public facilities, education, healthcare, employment and cultural and sports activities.

More than 1 billion people around the world live with some type of disability; at least 2 million of them live in Buenos Aires, the focus of Andar’s social intervention work.

Project content

Through a combination of work experience, sport, art, cultural and health-related activities, Andar promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities. Its Inclusive Football League uses the power of football to promote and foster the active participation of people with disabilities in society, while also addressing stigmatisation and prejudice.

With the foundation’s support, Andar will build the local community’s first inclusive and accessible sports facility for children with and without disabilities to aid their integration. In an effort to bring the best out of every individual and foster equal participation, it takes account of the physical, communicational and methodological aspects of accessibility.

Objectives

Andar’s programme aims to:

  • promote social change through football;
  • generate job opportunities;
  • promote autonomy and develop skills and abilities, empowering the people and communities involved; and
  • reveal the potential of people with disabilities.

Project activities

A total of 3,633 people currently participate in Andar programmes:

  • Therapeutic space: 59 people with disabilities
  • Inclusive social businesses: 86 people with disabilities employed per month
  • Inclusive Football League (LFI): 2,488 participants per year
  • Liga Buenos Aires: 920 participants per year
  • National League: 1,296 participants at national level
  • Inclusive Football School: 172 participants all year round, and their families
  • LatAm Festival: 100 participants from 10 countries across the region
  • Training and educational visits: 1,000 participants per year

Expected results

  • Opportunities to develop the potential of people with disabilities
  • Creation of facilities in which diversity is accepted and valued as part of the human condition
  • Information, tools and new training approaches that promote human rights
  • Access to sport for social change

Partner

Field in a Box – Rio Doce, Brazil

Location and general information

CONTEXT

Following the successful establishment of Field in a Box pitches in Madrid, Mragowo (in north-eastern Poland) and Cape Town, the UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx are working together on the construction of a new pitch in Rio Doce, on the outskirts of Recife. The global not-for-profit network streetfootballworld has helped to identify a suitable location for the pitch and chosen local charity love.fútbol to maintain the pitch and ensure its sustainable use.

PROJECT CONTENT

The UEFA Foundation for Children has been running its Field in a Box project since 2016 with the aim of providing enclosed, fully functional artificial football pitches to impoverished communities. These pitches are environmentally sustainable and quick to install.

OBJECTIVES

This project aims to improve the lives of young people and breathe new life into disadvantaged communities. By providing opportunities to play football, the foundation seeks to improve children’s health and support their personal development, while teaching them football’s core values (respect, team spirit, etc.).

love.fútbol is a global initiative dedicated to giving people access to football where communities lack safe and inclusive spaces for sport. Since its inception in 2006, the organisation has encouraged and taught communities to design, plan, build, manage and ultimately redefine football pitches as community assets and platforms for sustainable social change. In a participatory process, love.fútbol empowers communities to build a football pitch, providing guidance, finance and raw materials and mobilising local resources, while placing ownership of the entire process in the hands of the community in order to ensure the sustainability of the project.
The construction of this pitch in Rio Doce – where almost 60% of the population live below the poverty line, with incomes averaging less than US$100 a month – will give local children and young people a safe place to play and access to various development opportunities. love.fútbol’s local partner, Pazear, will use the pitch as a platform for its football activities, using sport to foster peace-building, gender equality and social transformation.

RESULTS TO DATE AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES

  • Training sessions will take place using the football3 method.
  • Concepts and studies will be developed with a view to promoting the continued use of football as a vehicle for peace-building, gender equality and social integration.
  • Over the next year, hundreds of participants are expected to take part in football-related programmes implemented on the new pitch.
  • In addition to weekly football sessions, the pitch will also provide a platform for weekly educational and monthly cultural activities.

PARTNERS



Logo street football world

Field in a Box – Pirapora do Bom Jesus, Brazil

Situation géographique et informations générales

Context

Konami Holdings Corporation – a Japanese digital entertainment company and a UEFA Champions League sponsor – was willing to work with the UEFA Foundation for Children and take the Field in a Box concept to Brazil. The global not-for-profit network streetfootballworld helped Konami to identify a suitable location for its pitch – in Pirapora do Bom Jesus, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo – and chose local charity Fundação EPROCAD to maintain the pitch and ensure its sustainable use.

Project content

The UEFA Foundation for Children has been running its Field in a Box project since 2016 with the aim of providing enclosed, fully functional artificial football pitches to impoverished communities. These pitches are environmentally sustainable and quick to install.

Objectives

This project aims to improve the lives of young people and breathe new life into disadvantaged communities. By providing opportunities to play football, the foundation seeks to improve children’s health and support their personal development, while teaching them football’s core values (respect, team spirit, etc.).
Fundação EPROCAD is based in Santana de Parnaiba – a suburb of Sao Paulo – and uses sport, education and culture to help children, adolescents and their families to integrate into society. Its work is aimed primarily at children and young people from poor families, providing activities that contribute to social development. Through its projects, the charity gives participants access to sporting, educational and cultural activities that can help to improve their quality of life. It also offers targeted support in specific instances, as well as guidance and referrals for specialist care where necessary.
Pirapora do Bom Jesus is one of the poorest areas of the country, with 27.8% of the population living on incomes totalling less than half of the minimum wage. Heads of households have an average age of 44, with 17.4% under the age of 30. With no access to basic services such as health and education, life there is a struggle.

Results to date and expected outcomes 

  • This newly constructed pitch is the only place in the area where football can really be played.
  • Fundação EPROCAD will use the pitch to implement football-based programmes, as well as encouraging local people to make use of these new facilities.
  • Located next to a local day care centre, the pitch is ideal for physical education classes and recreational activities.
  • It is expected that about 2,000 children and young people from the local community will benefit from this initiative.

Partners



Logo street football world

 

Refugee Life Skills and Employment Training Soccer Programme Atlanta

Location and general information

Context

Commonly known as ‘Ellis Island of the South’ or ‘the most diverse square mile in America’, the small southern US town of Clarkston has welcomed 40,000 refugees over a period of more than 25 years. Whereas in the past they tended to come from Bhutan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Liberia and Vietnam, most current refugees are Syrian or Congolese. Whatever the country of origin, migrating to another country is often a difficult process, notably on account of cultural and linguistic differences. Sport, however, is a universal language that can act as a bridge between different communities: in our case, football provides the scenario for youth to both adapt and become part of the local community fiber. It also gives people an opportunity to integrate: having fun and making new friends at the same time. Nevertheless, the high prices charged by sports clubs, the high level of poverty and the lack of sports facilities in Clarkston are hindering the personal development and social integration of child refugees. The anti-immigration policies directed at Syrian refugees in recent years in the state of Georgia are exacerbating the problem, resulting in a lack of investment in sport and health in refugee communities.

Project content

Soccer in the Streets is a sport for development organisation that supports inner city children and young people living in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Our programs combine football sessions and youth development activities to create positive social change for underserved children. It gives them the chance to play football regardless of their ethnic origin, socio-economic status or religion. By adopting a holistic approach, the project is not limited to football on the pitch. It goes further than that, in particular by enabling personal development and education, with participants taking part in small-group sessions, hands-on activities or youth leadership councils. The project provides out-of-school activities that combine football with basic life skills. Older children are also invited to take part in workshops as part of the ‘Life Works’ programme. These sessions prepare teenage refugees for the world of work by helping them acquire employability skills. The project also plans to broaden its activities to include and have a positive impact on girls by helping them to boost their self-confidence and ensure their rights are respected.

Objectives

  • To facilitate the integration of young refugees and their families living in Clarkston
  • To promote a healthy lifestyle among children in precarious situations
  • To have a positive impact on the town of Clarkston by overcoming prejudice towards refugees
  • To increase the employability of young refugees living in Clarkston
  • To increase the participation of girls in the project’s activities
  • To provide opportunities so program participants can broaden their horizon by seeking to enter higher education institutions (Universities, Technical Colleges)
  • To develop community leaders
  • To connect youth with appropriate partners providing key services

Expected results

  • To work with a total of 200 youth, including 80 girls
  • To graduate 20 participants from our employability program
  • To train/certify 10 coaches or 20 referees from refugee communities and provide them with an income

Partner

 

Inclusion of children with disabilities in Bolivia

Location and general information

Context

In the United Nations Development Programme’s most recent Human Development Report, Bolivia was ranked 118th out of 188 countries, making it one of the least developed countries in South America. With a population of 1.8 million, Cochabamba is one of the most populous of Bolivia’s nine departments. This project is being carried out in Sacaba, Cochabamba’s second city in Cochabamba Department, where 36,3% (statistics from Instituta Nacional de Estadistica)  censosbolivia)of the population live below the poverty line and many persons with disabilities are unable to gain an education or access required specialist health care services.

Project content

The discrimination that children and youth with disabilities face in Sacaba represents a significant barrier to their personal and social development. Light for the World International organises workshops and fun sporting activities for those children in a bid to end their isolation by promoting an inclusive approach to education and changing perceptions of disability in Bolivia.

Objectives

  • Strengthen relations between children and youth with disabilities (beneficiaries) and their families
  • Build up the self-confidence of the beneficiaries
  • Foster the social inclusion of the beneficiaries
  • Contribute to mainstreaming disability inclusion in local networks and regulations of the municipal government
  • Improve access to health services for children and youth with disabilities
  • Promote inclusive education for children with disabilities
  • Train youth with disabilities to access the labour market
  • Empower children and youth with disabilities, as well as their families to stand up for their rights

Expected results

  • Organisation of fun sporting activities for children and their families at regular intervals during the year
  • Organisation of sporting activities such as athletics, swimming, basketball, football, handball, slalom and dancing two or three times a week
  • Training of sports teachers at the Simón Rodríguez Teacher Training College to foster the social integration of participating children
  • Organisation of annual competitions and tournaments for people with disabilities to change the negative perception of disability in Bolivia in cooperation with EIFODEC (Escuela de Integración y Formación Deportiva, Expresión Artistica y Entrenamiento Laboral/ School for Integration, sports training, artistic expression and vocational training)
  • Organisation of 40 visits to schools to foster communication between children with and without disabilities

Partners