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