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

Creciendo con el Balón(Football for Growth)

Location and general information

Context

George Monbiot, British writer and political activist, once stated that “a community not built around children is no community at all. A place that functions socially is one in which they are drawn to play outdoors”.
Ciudadela Sucre is a community located in the hills to the south of Soacha in Bogota’s metropolitan area. Its population of more than 63,500 has seen major growth over the past few years, especially during the 1990s, with 48 families on average arriving every day, displaced by the violence and lack of opportunities in other regions of Colombia. As a result of this rapid expansion, the local population suffers from limited access to education, a lack of public services and, ultimately, a shortage of safe spaces for local children and teenagers to play in. Without these spaces, they resort to playing in rubbish dumps or between cars in busy streets.

Project content

Football for Growth is a joint project launched by the Tiempo de Juego Foundation and Love.fútbol, two non-profit organisations that focus on fundamentally different, but complementary social missions in the sport for development sector.
Tiempo de Juego uses football to promote values and formal education in several cities in Colombia, providing a range of programmes and activities aimed at enhancing participants’ personal and professional development. Love.fútbol partners with communities to plan, create, manage and ultimately redefine safe and accessible football pitches wherever children have nowhere to play.

The programme will last 17 months and activities will be divided between two axes:

  • Free time activities: a wide range of sports and cultural activities for the positive use of free time will be coordinated by Tiempo de Juego on the new pitch, reinforcing the connection between local schools, children, teenagers and families. Tiempo de Juego expects to attract 600 participants aged 5–20 years old to these regular activities.
  • Leadership school: Using the Football3 methodology, Tiempo de Juego aims to foster a positive change in the community through capacity-building for 14 youth leaders and monitors. Training sessions will be held weekly and each month there will be a focus on a different life skill. Recreational exercises will be combined with field trips and workshops, ensuring that the youngsters understand from experience what each skill entails and the implications it can have in their lives. Ultimately, the leaders and monitors from the leadership school are responsible for coordinating the leisure activities among the wider community, strengthening their leadership skills while replicating the knowledge acquired in the school.

Objectives

Objective: Promote active and positive lifestyles among youngsters in the metropolitan area of Bogota by providing access to sport

Specific objective 1.Build the first open, safe and inclusive sport venue in Ciudadela Sucre
Specific objective 2. Promote the development of life skills among children and teenagers in Ciudadela Sucre by means of leisure activities

  • Venue: the project will involve different groups in the community – local government, parents, NGOs, teachers, sports, cultural and religious groups, local businesses and other youth advocates – to develop the first open, safe and inclusive sports venue in Ciudadela Sucre: a 75 x 45m synthetic turf football pitch.
  • Engagement: the partners will conduct an asset-mapping study to identify the leaders, talents and local know-how that exist in the community, then bring them together in a planning committee.
  • Construction: the partners will provide materials, technical and safety conditions, while local volunteers will be involved in building. On average, a community-driven project requires 2,000 hours of volunteer work.
  • Post-project phase: Love.fútbol will facilitate the transition from the planning committee to a far-reaching neighbours network that will maintain the facility.The ultimate goal for this space is that participants should be able to maintain both the physical facility and its ethos by means of a shared sense of ownership, responsibility and leadership.

Expected results

  • Construction of a 75 x 45m synthetic turf football pitch (from March to May 2018).
  • Inauguration day with a football festival (May 2018).
  • Creation of neighbours network for maintenance and planning activities.
  • Regular facilities for 600 participants aged between 5 and 20 years old.
  • Tiempo de Juego programming development of sports activities and training of 14 community leaders (June 2018 – May 2019).

Partners


Cruyff Courts in the Dutch Caribbean

Location and general information

Context

Many people live in poverty on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin. The recent damage caused by Hurricane Irma, aggravated the local economy and the quality of life.

The project’s target groups live in residential areas just above the poverty line: work does not provide a living income. The quality of education has improved in recent years, but still not to a level that allows adults to live independent lives. Poverty in the Caribbean gives rise to health problems, including obesity, and sometimes leads to child abuse. For many children it is impossible to obtain a proper education, join a sports club and practise safely. This has serious consequences for the children’s health and personal development.

The Cruyff Foundation has been running its Cruyff Courts project since 2005 on Aruba and Bonaire, and 2006 on Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin. The project provides a safe place where children can play, socialise, make friends, and develop their own talent. These are valuable experiences that they carry with them as they develop physically and mentally, and as they move into adult society.

The project was set up in cooperation with the Dutch ministry of health, welfare and sports and is run in cooperation with local sports organisations.

Cruyff Courts have provided thousands of children with a safe public place to play football or other sports in the heart of their community. Cruyff Courts have been used extensively by children and teenagers in this region over the past decade, but schools, sports clubs and other residents have also benefitted from the project. We ran capacity training programmes for coaches in Bonaire, Aruba and Sint Eustatius in 2011.

Project content

Many children live in poverty and have no opportunity to practise sport or take part in activities that help them develop emotionally and socially. Sport is a universal language, regardless of a child’s background, culture, religion or ability. Through sport and play, children become fitter, learn to interact, and develop mentally and physically. We therefore encourage them to take part in the activities at the Cruyff Courts.

A Cruyff Court is a modern interpretation of the traditional playing field that used to be found in many districts and communities before urbanisation. It is the place where children learn respect, health, integration, development and inclusion. Every week thousands of children are active on Cruyff Courts around the world, where they find a safe place to practise sport outdoors.

The pitches on these four Caribbean islands have suffered a lot after 11–12 years of heavy use and need to be refurbished to remain safe places. In the meantime, Hurricane Irma destroyed the Cruyff Court on Saint Martin and damaged the one on Sint Eustatius. So, these two pitches will be replaced with the Cruyff Court Field in a Box concept instead of being refurbished. This is the same principle as the UEFA Field in a Box project, i.e. a specially designed, enclosed artificial pitch, as recently launched by the UEFA Foundation for Children in Madrid and Poland. These pitches are a sustainable, durable and efficient solution.

To ensure the sustainability of this project, a new programme, Heroes of the Cruyff Courts, has been launched. The goal is to turn young people into role models for their neighbourhood and have them involved with the community and the Cruyff Court in the longer term. Events are organised to give young people the opportunity to discover and develop their talents while also being challenged to try something new. The project trains Cruyff Foundation coaches who then oversee youngsters while they organise a sports event for children in the community.

Planning:

  • Summer 2018: Local coaches start training to become Cruyff Foundation coaches
  • Summer 2018: Refurbishment of Cruyff Courts on Aruba and Bonaire
  • Summer 2018/autumn 2018: Cruyff Court Field in a Box installed on Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin
  • Late 2018/early 2019: Inauguration of the new Cruyff Courts with the active participation of young people through the Heroes of the Cruff Courts programme
  • 2018–2028: Projects and activities run by locals (10-year contract) and continually monitored and evaluated by the Johan Cruyff Foundation

Objectives

  • Cruyff Courts will provide at least six hours of sports activities a week for local children
  • Recruit new youngsters to take part in the Heroes of Cruyff Courts programme: learning to coach and organise sports activities and events, while also learning some basic business skills. Everyone who successfully completes the programme becomes a certified coach.
  • 250–500 children attending, playing and enjoying sports activities on the different Cruyff Courts
  • 1 Cruyff Foundation Coaching Course
  • 4 Cruyff Courts inauguration events
  • 4 events organised by 30 heroes/young people in 2019
  • 15 new certified coaches

Expected results

We aim to inspire more children to practise sport and play at Cruyff Courts every day.
We expect to encourage more schools and local organisations to be active in sport.
We believe that once children discover the joy of sport, they will continue to be active for the rest of their lives:

  • Regular physical activities from a young age provides a long-term advantage in motor-skill development
  • Sport and play have a positif impact on concentration and improve academic performance at school
  • Children who engage in regular physical activity have a much lower incidence of psychosocial and behavioural problems

About the Cruyff Foundation

The Johan Cruyff Foundation is an international non-profit organisation that aims to improve the intellectual/mental/emotional and physical well-being of children and teenagers by:

  • Standing up for the interests of children and young people who have fewer opportunities in life
  • Offering and encouraging sport and exercise activities by facilitating Schoolyard14 and (special) Cruyff Courts
  • Financially supporting other projects and organisations with the same objective
  • Encouraging sport in conjunction with education and healthcare
  • Stimulating cooperation between various similar organisations in the Netherlands and abroad
  • Stimulating integration between the various sectors of the population
  • In addition to Cruyff Courts and Schoolyard14 special attention is paid to disabled children

The Cruyff Foundation works with sport assocations and clubs, the foundations run other leading athletes, local, provincial and national governments, schools, institutions, rehabilitation centres and professional football organisations.

Partners

Extra Time – Tackling the ‘Dead Zone’

Location and general information

Context

Jocotenango is an area of Guatemala that suffers from grinding poverty, gang crime, drug/alcohol abuse and domestic/sexual violence. Education for the Children (EFTC) runs a School of Hope in the area which is attended by more than 650 children. It also operates a successful four-point integrated plan helping people to escape poverty, which combines education, nutrition, health care and social support.

EFTC’s Extra Time project aims to tackle the issue of the ‘dead zone’ – the period between school ending and parents returning from work (which is often late in the evening). EFTC plans to use sport as a solution to this problem, seeking to combat the lifelong implications of children falling into gang crime, substance abuse and anti-social behaviour at a young age. In view of the fact that Guatemala has a three-month rainy season, EFTC will build an all-weather pitch with a roof and a drainage system to allow children to use the site all year round. This new facility will also be used for various community projects, such as workshops for children and parents, medical check‑ups and an empowerment project for local girls. For the School of Hope, sport is much more than just a game – it is a game changer.

Project content

Sport as a solution to the ‘dead zone’

The Extra Time project will use access to sport as a solution to the problem of the ‘dead zone’. The organisation of after-school sports clubs and community workshops will provide significant opportunities for personal development and the protection of children’s rights.

Access to life skills through sport

Football clubs – and sports clubs in general – will not only serve as an alternative activity; they will also play a pivotal role in children’s development.

Bridging gaps

The Extra Time project will also organise tournaments with a view to bridging gaps between local communities.

A school of football fans

At present, the School of Hope is full of football fans with no real way of enjoying the game. EFTC aims to harness their passion for football and use it to tackle the issue of the ‘dead zone’, helping them to achieve long-term success by escaping poverty.

Objectives

  • To tackle the ‘dead zone’ and give children living in poverty an alternative to hanging around on the streets after school
  • To offer positive alternative activities, steering children away from crime, alcohol/drug abuse and unprotected/underage sex
  • To increase participation in sport among children with no current access to facilities, coaching or equipment
  • To empower girls through sport, self-defence classes and workshops
  • To provide the local community with a safe venue for workshops
  • To bridge gaps between communities through inter-school football tournaments

Expected results

    • 3,000 local people with access to sport and community workshops that are not currently available to them
    • Safer, healthier and more academically engaged children
    • Children with less time and inclination to engage in gang crime, alcohol/drug abuse or unprotected sex after school
    • Children who are well educated on the subjects of sex, sexually transmitted diseases and sexual abuse
    • A reduction in the number of children at the School of Hope who are involved in gang crime
    • Better future prospects for children as a result of essential life skills taught through sporting activities
    • A reduction in the number of cases of substance abuse at the School of Hope
    • A reduction in the number of teenage pregnancies at the School of Hope (expected to fall from ten to five by the end of the first year)
    • More confident girls who are actively engaged in higher education and making positive choices regarding their future
    • Greater engagement in the local community through community workshops
    • Better networking with schools in surrounding communities through tournament events

    Partners

La League: Champions of Change

Location and general information

Context

Girls and young women in developing countries often face two severe obstacles when growing up: child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Although it is often perceived to be a girl’s destiny, becoming a wife and a mother at such a young age has major consequences. In Latin America, where machismo prevails, girls believe that early marriage and pregnancy are the only way to escape poverty and violence at home. However, this often turns out to be a continuation of an already negative cycle of events, as marriage and motherhood tend to limit girls’ development even more.

Teenage pregnancy and child marriage pose serious health risks, with unsafe abortions and complications relating to pregnancy and childbirth being some of the leading causes of death among girls aged 15 to 19. This not only affects the individual in question; it trickles straight down to the next generation, with families, communities and even entire nations remaining trapped in a cycle of poverty and gender inequality. Teenage pregnancies are more likely in poor, uneducated and rural communities – exactly the kinds of community that Plan works in.

La League project aims to empower adolescent girls and their male peers in Nicaragua with a view to preventing teenage pregnancies and delaying marriage. One of the methods used consists of involving fathers and boys in efforts to achieve equal rights and freedoms for girls. This makes football the ideal vehicle for this project, as a male-dominated arena is exactly what is needed. Football can have a powerful impact in terms of changing gender roles and raising awareness regarding the negative impact of teenage pregnancies and child marriages.

Project content

Plan has, in cooperation with the Johan Cruyff Foundation and Women Win, established an effective model empowering adolescent girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 20 to decide for themselves whether, when and whom to marry, and whether, when and with whom to have children. At the heart of this project lies football, with the organisers encouraging girls to play the game and turn talented players into professional football heroes, and at the same time encouraging fathers and male role models to support their girls – not only when it comes to football, but also in other more important life choices. Thus, football is used to transform gender norms and raise awareness regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

With the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, this project will now be rolled out in Nicaragua, which has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America.

Girls’ football lies at the very heart of Plan’s methodology. Football is used to empower girls and make them more visible to fathers and boys, who then get involved in efforts to achieve equal rights and freedoms for girls, helping to prevent teenage pregnancies and child marriages. This method consists of three different pathways:

    • Social empowerment of girls through football

The goal is to motivate girls to play football and experience teamwork, helping them to increase their self-confidence and boosting their knowledge of sexual and reproductive rights.

    • Involvement of fathers and other male role models

In order to transform gender norms and raise awareness, boys and fathers will be encouraged to support their girls – not only when it comes to football, but also in other more important life choices.

    • Economic empowerment of girls through the creation of job opportunities in football

This project seeks to create jobs and other income-producing opportunities in the world of football or related domains, so that girls can, for example, become coaches or gain access to scholarships in order to pursue playing careers.

Plan of action:

  • Conduct a baseline study looking at the incidence of teenage pregnancy and child marriage.
  • Develop didactic material and train trainers.
  • Engage with local government in order to turn municipal sports courts into safe spaces for girls.
  • Conduct two media training sessions for 20 youth reporters.
  • Help girls and boys (of the same age) to organise events raising awareness of the harmful effects of child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
  • Involve 150 fathers, brothers and other male figures in girls’ football activities.
  • Teach 40 girls leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
  • Produce a video documentary on the impact of girls’ football in Nicaragua.

Expected results

Awareness regarding the negative effects of teenage pregnancy and child marriage will increase significantly. Girls and boys will both learn about how they can prevent early pregnancy and marriage.

  • 300 girls will attend Champions of Change football training.
  • 20 girls’ football teams will be established in 10 different communities.
  • 150 boys will be trained as Champions of Change.
  • 10 girls and 10 boys will become youth reporters and cover the La League project.
  • 4,500 peers will be in contact with Champions of Change through peer-to-peer events.
  • 150 fathers/male role models will be actively involved in their girls’ football activities, supporting them in their SRHR decisions.
  • 300 members of the community will be committed to improving gender equality in their daily lives.
  • 40 girls will learn leadership/entrepreneurial skills and have access to football-related jobs (such as coaching).
  • 4 talented girls will have access to sports scholarships.

Partners




Beyond the Green Pitch

Location and general information

Context

Founded in 2003, the Instituto Fazer Acontecer, based in Salvador de Bahia, promotes sports activities and training in human rights to young people living in disadvantaged areas. The main idea is to use football to educate through play and fun, providing opportunities for social inclusion and development of personal skills to the young participants in the programme. Football3 methodology is already used in 16 municipalities and reaches young adults in the rural areas where most of the challenges lie. Combining sport with environmental awareness activities works as a tool for effective social change in the target communities and provides education in human rights, establishing a relationship of respect and a feeling of being respected and of belonging in the community.

The Instituto Fazer Acontecer plans to extend its action to reach an additional 15 municipalities with the financial support of the UEFA Foundation for Children.

Project content

The UEFA Foundation for Children will support the Beyond the Green Pitch project, which aims to:

  • train 300 instructors in football3 methodology and in combining football with environmental awareness activities;
  • involve 900 young people (boys and girls) aged between 11 and 17 from 15 municipalities in the programme.

Objectives

  • Create a new sporting and environmental culture in the municipalities taking part in the project;
  • Raise the self-esteem of the participants (instructors and young people);
  • Promote environmental awareness in the region;
  • Specific goals:

1) to train 300 instructors in football3 methodology environmental awareness activities,
2) to promote capacity-building in sport and the environment among the 300 instructors,
3) to involve 900 young people aged between 11 and 17 from the municipalities taking part in the project in weekly activities (sport and environmental awareness),
4) to establish sustainable projects in at least half of the participating municipalities.

EXPECTED IMPACT AND RESULTS
• Reach 1,200 individuals (300 instructors and 900 young people)
• Impact public policies of the 15 municipalities by introducing the football3 methodology in schools
• Impact indirectly 5,000 people (families, institutions and communities)

Partners