Provision of psychosocial support to vulnerable children, adolescents and parents through sport (PORUCH)

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Poltaa and Sumska oblasts, Ukraine
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €1,019,850
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 200230654
Partners United Around Football
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Since the start of full-scale war in February 2022, the children of Ukraine have experienced violence, trauma, loss, destruction and displacement, not to mention the stress of constant air raids and shelling. The living conditions, everyday news and general situation take a toll on their mental and physical health. According to official sources, by the morning of 29 November 2023, 511 children had been killed and more than 1,148 physically injured.

Recovery through sport is the ethos of PORUCH, a joint initiative by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and UNICEF Ukraine to use sport, in particular football, to provide psychosocial support to children, teenagers and families affected by the war. They have teamed up with the Ukrainian Association of Football, foundation partner United Around Football, and Football Development in Ukraine, another charitable foundation.

Physical education teachers (sports coaches), psychologists and healthy lifestyle coaches (medical volunteers) engage participants in a form of play that will hopefully lead to regular physical activity and help them develop a range of skills and values in a positive, holistic way. This approach is considered effective in supporting psychological recovery after a traumatic experience and overcoming fears.

A similar project was implemented in 15 oblasts between March 2022 and May 2023, reaching 90,417  vulnerable children and 34,663 parents and guardians (indirect beneficiaries).

Project goals

General

  • Provide group psychological support to vulnerable children and teenagers through sport

Specific

  • Develop the methodology and materials for targeted psychological support through sport
  • Deliver group psychological sessions to 25,000 vulnerable children and teenagers in 2 oblasts (Poltava and Sumy) in central and northeastern Ukraine
  • Boost the capacity of professionals to provide targeted psychological support

 

Project content

Sports grounds will be divided into three zones or stations, where children will take turns playing mobile games with a football, working with a psychologist, and learning from medical volunteers about healthy lifestyles and what to do in case of injury.

  • Zone 1 – Sports coach
  • Zone 2 – Psychologist
  • Zone 3 – Medical volunteer

Approximately 30 children affected by war will participate in each session, in three groups of ten. Each group must visit each station twice.

Partner

TEAM Project

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Scotland
Start date 04/01/2024
End date 03/31/2025
Cost of the project €139,620
Foundation funding €73,782
Project identifier 20230913
Partners Big Hearts Community Trust
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Vulnerable children affected by trauma, poverty, cultural barriers and mental health challenges are at particular risk of struggling with the transition from primary to secondary school. The need for increased support has been clearly evidenced in communities in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Paisley, Motherwell and Greenock. Football can be used to improve the resilience and social connectedness of children at this critical life stage.

Project goals

  • Children aged 10 to 12 benefit from: new friendships and social connections, better connections within the community, better physical health and increased confidence and well-being
  • 250 children intensively supported each year
  • More than 80% of those children see improvements in their confidence and overall well-being, and enjoy better relationships with their parents and guardians.
  • Model and lessons learned can be shared with and rolled out in other communities around Scotland in the medium to long-term

Project content

The project comprises weekly football sessions alongside confidence and resilience-building activities. Healthy snacks will also be served.

It will target marginalised children living with multiple disadvantages, including poverty, trauma, isolation and having English as a second language – young people who often miss out on positive experiences and opportunities – helping them to feel less excluded, better integrated in their communities and more confident about the transition from primary to secondary school.

Partner

Future Ball – Football and Education for Sustainable Development

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Germany
Start date 03/01/2023
End date 09/30/2024
Cost of the project €125,508
Foundation funding €52,000
Project identifier 20230801
Partners Spirit of Football e.V.
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Spirit of Football takes young people’s concerns about climate change seriously by connecting football to environmental concerns. Especially within the context of schools, clubs, community centres and stadiums, this NGO tries to make the necessary changes with fun and interactive methods to strengthen people’s motivation and make it clear that it is more effective to act, preferably as a team, than to be overwhelmed by seemingly unsolvable problems.

Project goals

Spirit of Football aims to call young people’s attention to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through workshops in schools and stadiums with interactive, fun and inspiring methods, especially focusing on SDGs 5, 12,13 and 17. This means that everyone should have equal chances in sport and elsewhere, responsible consumption and production, and climate action should be practised in everyday life. It is also important to show that change is only possible through strong, committed and creative partnerships.

Project content

  • 2 train the trainer sessions for teachers and trainers, to provide them with methods combining football and education for sustainability
  • 24 workshop days in schools and stadium education centres on sustainability and sport, including team-building methods, role-play, fair play football and communal murals at two sites
  • A 30-day Future Ball Tour through Germany by train and bicycle during EURO 2024, holding mini-workshops, collecting signatures for a more climate-neutral lifestyle, and attracting media attention on football and education for sustainability.

Partner

Info @thletes

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Montreuil, France
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €90,000
Foundation funding €90,000
Project identifier 20230979
Partners Libraries without Borders
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Digital technology is advancing at such a rate that it has become essential to help the younger generation understand how to use the tools required to navigate the world around them. Managing our digital identities is crucial in today's interconnected world, and childhood is the most opportune time to teach children how to behave online, spot fake news and avoid the dangers of social media.

This project capitalises on the power of sports in education, using sports clubs as a forum for talking and sharing and as an opportunity to teach children about safe and responsible digital participation through fun educational activities, as a complement to their classroom learning. The project will be implemented in partnership with two football clubs: CSM Île-Saint-Denis and Red Star FC. Red Star FC is actively involved in the local community in Saint-Ouen, and in 2008 set up the Red Star Lab, which offers free cultural, artistic and social events and activities for its young players during the school holidays.

Project goals

  • Introduce children to media and information literacy to help them better decipher information and behave appropriately on social media
  • Get young people to think critically about digital citizenship and disinformation spread online
  • Turn sports clubs into media and information literacy resource hubs
  • Develop innovative ways to teach good digital habits through sports
  • Train sports coaches in the issues surrounding media and information literacy so that they are able to support young people

Project content

  • Adapt Libraries without Borders’ existing media and information literacy resources for use in extracurricular settings and football training
  • Create the ‘Info @thletes’ education kit in partnership with football coaches, integrating resources, activities and guidance on mediation through sport
  • Provide football coaches with training and support to roll this kit out during training sessions
  • Develop exercises, games and workshops that can be integrated into football training sessions (especially during the warm-up) with the help of coaches from partner clubs
  • Hold workshops, training sessions and fun learning activities alongside major events in the club calendar (e.g. tournaments) and throughout the year to educate young people and their families about media and information literacy, teach parents how to talk about and respond to the difficulties faced by their children online, and ensure that media and information literacy is also addressed at home with the help of trusted adults outside the family
  • Widely share the ‘Info @thletes’ kit – created in an easily adaptable open-source format – with other football clubs in the region and within the networks of the two participating football clubs

Partners

We Welcome Young Refugees

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kraainem, Belgium
Start date 11/30/2022
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €140,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20231120
Partners Royal Europa ’90 Kraainem FC
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Personal development

Context

Royal Europa ’90 Kraainem FC is an amateur football club that has established itself in Belgium as ‘the club of diversity’. In response to the sudden increase in the number of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe, in September 2015 the club decided to launch an integration project showing how to support young refugees and asylum seekers, most of them unaccompanied minors. Since spring 2022, the club has also been working with Ukrainian children.

Project goals

The primary objective is to support asylum seekers and refugees, helping them to get active again and feel at home in their community. In doing so, the club also wishes to share its experience and approach with other stakeholders and civil society organisations that can take inspiration from what’s being done and set up projects of their own.

Project content

The club hosts groups of young refugees and asylum seekers, boys and girls, every afternoon during the football season, from September to May. They take part in discussions and train with the club’s youth teams. This initiative is intended as part of a long-term process of integration – a process in which we believe football plays a vital part.

Partners

Sustainable future for all

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Hungary, Budapest, Abaújkér and Márokpapi
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €64,840
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20230630
Partners Oltalom Sport Association
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Access to quality services is the privilege of the few. Traditional institutions struggle to provide services they are originally bound to. With the arrival of large numbers of refugees, they now need to prioritise, increasing the tension between groups who are in line for the limited social support. These circumstances make the work of NGOs more essential, as they try to replace or supplement the efforts of such institutions to foster the social and academic inclusion of athletes.

Project goals

  • Increased physical and mental well-being
  • Strengthen and develop transferable skills
  • Empower of athletes
  • Support the social inclusion of marginalized and at-risk groups

Project content

Oltalom aims to continue its core activities, which focus on strengthening and developing the transferable skills of athletes, who, due to various external reasons, are not thriving in the traditional academic environment. By using the power of football, Oltalom aims to engage children and teenagers in activities, which would also support their development and empowerment. The various on and off the pitch programmes include sport and social activities (e.g. football training, national and international tournaments, employability programmes, scholarship programmes, activities for female athletes) and support the inclusion of marginalised and at-risk groups, including Roma people, refugees and third country nationals arriving from conflict zones.

Partner

SMS – “Sportsmanship in a Multicultural Society”

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Israel
Start date 02/21/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €49,513
Foundation funding €29,871
Project identifier 20230231
Partners A New Way (ANW)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Israeli society is riven by widening gaps among different population groups. Of these, the tension between the State’s Jewish and Arab citizens is acknowledged as the most significant. One cause of this tension is the fact that Jews and Arabs have few opportunities for positive, meaningful interaction. Israel’s divided education system exacerbates these gaps, preventing meaningful encounters, reinforcing fears and misconceptions, and thwarting the creation of a basis for future collaboration. “A New Way” (ANW) acts as a unifying force and challenges the existing rifts in Israeli Jewish-Arab relations.

The October 7th attack and the war that ensued has thrust us into uncharted territory, amplifying the importance and urgency of our work. Now, more than ever, we must begin healing and reconciling Israeli society by mending the intricate fabric of Jewish and Arab relations. By creating a critical mass of individuals dedicated to working together, we can pave "A New Way" forward—a path towards a more peaceful future for Jews and Arabs in Israel.

Project goals

  • Promote a peaceful, tolerant and inclusive society.
  • Create a good first experience of multicultural collaboration among Arab and Jewish school students developing their desire and ability to work together.
  • Bring knowledge regarding the ‘other’ society and promote shared values and ideas that will foster understanding a more tolerant and sustainable future for Israeli society.
  • Strengthen Israeli society and promote a new generation that, through collaboration and joint action, will improve Jewish-Arab relations.

Project content

Project Structure: In the schools where we operate, ANW holds educational programs and multi-year processes that allow children and their teaching staff to meet and get to know their counterparts from the ‘other’ community, learn and be exposed to the neighbours’ culture, develop a common dialogue, find shared values and work together towards common goals and objectives. As part of the educational process and in order to enable students to work together, there is an essential need to hold workshops that will prepare the children and help them to develop the necessary skills and basic ability to act together and engage in real multicultural cooperation. Recognizing the power of sport to create collaboration between children from different groups and sectors, our organization chose to focus on tools from the world of sports and use them to build the ability to collaborate during the initial stages of the program. The project presented here is aimed precisely at addressing this need. As part of the project, we will hold unique workshops that create collaboration using tools and methods we have developed with our partners. This collaboration phase is built on three different activities to maximize our flexibility and ability to adjust each day of activities to the unique nature, age, needs, and level of development of the different participants in our educational process.

• “Challenges in Nature” day in collaboration with "Rikmae Enoshit" (Human Texture in English) - a local group of experts that develops collaboration workshops based on sports and outdoor challenges. “HUMAN TEXTURE - A house of meaningful group activity. We specialize in group bonding activities which include sports and outdoor challenges, leading to cooperation, teamwork, leadership development, initiative, imagination and creativity. We believe in passing on a message through experience, allowing close communication and inviting the participants to go through a thorough and meaningful process in a joyful and accessible way.”

• Acro-Yoga: The activities and tools used during this workshop were built with the assistance of “The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel.” Circus and acro-yoga are non-verbal art forms that can overcome the barrier of language, while simultaneously reducing fears and building trust. The joint physical activities necessitate mutual acquaintance and trust, and in a human pyramid everyone is equal, without differences of race or religion. Moreover, acro-yoga requires that participants must work with each other and learn to know and trust one another. Just one day leads to remarkable changes in the way Israeli Jewish and Arab school students relate to each other.

• Fair-Play Football: The fair-play football workshop was built with the assistance of Iddo Diamant, former director of activities in "Tzav Pius", a leading specialist in educational development through sports. "Iddo has an MBA in Social Leadership from Ben Gurion University and has vast experience in the field of education both as a program manager and a content developer. Iddo believes in working in an interdisciplinary way to merge sports and education as a single field bringing together his experience as a basketball coach, educator and academic.”

Partner

Football as a tool for social integration !

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Lithuania, Vilnius
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €66,450
Foundation funding €42,000
Project identifier 20230125
Partners Vilnius Social Club
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Lithuania has faced significant tensions in recent years: stress and anxiety have soared as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine has led to strained relations with the Russian community and an influx of Ukrainian migrants, and inflation and rising poverty have exacerbated inequalities. Football is not accessible to vulnerable children and young people because of the high fees and a focus on performance rather than participation.

Project goals

The focus of this programme is on bringing about qualitative change in the life of each participant, rather than achieving sporting results. The key aims are to help young people to develop the skills and qualities they need to broaden their options for the future, including social skills, independence, communication, teamwork, problem-solving and a sense of responsibility, and to raise awareness of the unique method used. The project aims to promote social integration, equal opportunities and a sense of belonging for all members of the community.

Project content

The programme consists of football training sessions where children of all genders, nationalities and communities are welcome, ensuring inclusivity and equal access. Over the course of the programme, participants learn how to work as a team, manage their emotions, solve problems constructively, interact with peers and adults, and reflect on their experiences. The Vilnius Social Club informs the wider community about its unique approach to social integration by distributing documentation and producing publications, sharing success stories, providing training, collaborating with other organisations and making use of digital platforms.

Partner

Bijzondere Eredivisie

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Netherlands
Start date 09/22/2023
End date 05/31/2028
Cost of the project €1,281,810
Foundation funding €150,810
Project identifier 20230682
Partners Stichting het Gehandicapte Kind
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Sport is crucial to children’s physical and mental well-being, and team sports also help develop social skills through collaboration. Unfortunately, it is often a challenge for disabled children to join their local football club and participate in team sports generally.

Project goals

  • Promote social interaction and friendship through football clubs.
  • Improve disabled children's health and confidence.
  • Foster positive, inclusive perceptions of disabled children, both inside and outside the football community.
  • Increase disabled children’s participation in football during and as a result of the project.
  • Involve a minimum of 18 professional clubs within three years.

Project content

  • Bijzondere Eredivisie (Special Eredivisie) competition: every club hosts a one-day competition involving four visiting teams travelling with their official club bus.
  • Press conference: a press conference is held with journalists that make the children feel like professional
  • Clinics and training sessions: clinics and training sessions are organised with professional footballers from the participating
  • Friendly matches: friendly matches are organised against other clubs in the Bijzondere
  • Grassroots activities: activities are organised for disabled footballers through the grassroots sections of the professional

Partner

Learn to be Healthy

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Romania, Bucharest
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €70,000
Foundation funding €70,000
Project identifier 20230507
Partners United Way Romania
Categories Access to Sport - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

In Romania, 1 in 4 children has weight problems. That is why it is imperative to continue the UEFA Foundation project and increase its reach by adding 1 new community, 850 disadvantaged children and 100 parents, reducing part of costs by reusing previously purchased equipment.

By 2030, almost 500,000 children aged 5-19 will suffer from obesity, because of unhealthy diets and reduced sport activity (estimated by The World Obesity Federation), in the absence of prevention and treatment measures.

Project goals

To promote and support a healthy lifestyle for children in three disadvantaged communities, one urban and two in rural areas of Bucharest:

  • Inform, educate about the importance of a balanced nutrition, sports and anti-bullying
  • Promote the importance of sport by practicing soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis
  • Ensure healthy snack during activities
  • Organize Sports Days, sports events and info sessions on the importance of nutrition, sports for a healthy life and anti-bullying

Project content

Sports and education sessions on the importance of healthy life to foster improved long-term wellbeing for children and parents from disadvantaged communities.

Parents from target group are not even aware of their children's weight and health problems. More than this children often witness inappropriate behaviours of adults, verbal aggression and often physical. Involving them in project activities, we teach them what fair-play means and to develop positive behaviours with parents, teachers.

Partner

LEARN&PLAY – Equal educational and sport opportunities for all children

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Montenegro
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 06/10/2024
Cost of the project €77,308
Foundation funding €56,308
Project identifier 20230543
Partners NGO Parents
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Alarmingly, every third child in Montenegro (33.7%) is facing poverty, according to UNICEF research “Multidimensional Child Poverty in Montenegro”. Parents Association is supporting children living in extreme poverty –often in non-formal houses, without electricity, regular meals, discriminated and socially isolated. They are struggling with learning at school and often drop of in early age. Non of them never have access to any sport. Without education and social inclusion, they have no chance for better life.

Project goals

General objective:

  • Support education, sport and social inclusion of 1560 children who live in poverty in north Montenegro.

Specific objectives:

  • Provide access to sport -  free football trainings for 1080 children who live in poverty
  • Provide free lessons for 480 children to acquire basic school curriculum–reading and writing.
  • Increase self-esteem, motivation and social skills of the children
  • Promote equal opportunities for all children among main stakeholders.

Project content

Equal educational and sport opportunities for all children! The mission of this project is to improve chances for children age 6 – 10 who live in poverty in suburban and rural areas in undeveloped north part of Montenegro, by supporting their education and social inclusion through football. The project will consist of regular football trainings, mentorship (teaching classes of reading and writing) and a final event – sports tournament. LEARN&PLAY will help them to finish the school, include in social life, and spin the wheel of change!

Activities:

Organization of football training in 12 small municipalities in north Montenegro

  • Selection and coordination with chosen schools and townhall football centers
  • Developing Training program for licensed coaches.
  • Providing sport equipment for children and football centers
  • Recruiting volunteers who will help coaches delivering the trainings
  • Coordinating football trainings, twice a week for 90 children per municipalities
  • Organizing visits of famous Montenegrin football players

Organization of free classes for school curriculum

  • Developing reading and writing workshop program for learning coordinators
  • Recruiting volunteers who will help children in learning
  • Training for learning supervisors and volunteers

Organization of football tournament for 24 football  teams (2 per municipalities)

Partners

Deporte por Refugio

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Spain, Sevilla
Start date 02/15/2022
End date 03/01/2025
Cost of the project €448,177
Foundation funding €303,165
Project identifier 20230727
Partners Fundación Grandes Valores – Fútbol Más
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The city of Seville is home to four of Spain’s ten poorest areas, with 38.6% of children at risk of or already suffering alarming levels of poverty and social exclusion. These areas also have a large migrant population experiencing exclusion and segregation. Inequality and a lack of employment opportunities also have a negative impact on families, and consequently, the education and development of children.

 

Project goals

  • Promote the inclusion, education and well-being of children and young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds and vulnerable communities in Seville
  • Help children feel more connected, resilient and involved in their local community
  • Reduce children's biases based on gender and cultural differences
  • Help schools to incorporate sport for development into their programmes
  • Raise awareness and advocate for the inclusion of people in vulnerable situations through sports in schools

Project content

The Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR), the Real Betis Foundation and Fútbol Más Spain have joined forces to develop a community-based project promoting the inclusion and well-being of vulnerable migrant and refugee children and their families. Deporte por Refugio is an award-winning social sports programme designed to enhance the physical and mental health of children at risk of social exclusion in three neighbourhoods of Seville. It also aims to raise awareness about the role of health in improving the inclusion of migrants and refugees, and to highlight how football can help to achieve this.

Last year, Deporte por Refugio had a positive impact on the lives of more than 2,000 people and received two national awards: a Rompe el circulo (‘break the cycle’) award from the Spanish High Commissioner against Child Poverty and the Spanish High Council for Sport’s award for best inclusion project. Now in its third year and supported by the UNHCR, UNICEF, the Spanish government and Seville city council, the programme aims to convey to society that football can transform the reality of children and refugees.

Partners

Promoting togetherness through girls in football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kosovo, Priština
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 01/31/2025
Cost of the project €90,550
Foundation funding €78,550
Project identifier 20231077
Partners KFV Prishtina – Prishtina Girls Football Team
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Despite strides towards peace in post-conflict Kosovo, social divisions persist in some communities, which makes cooperation harder, especially among the younger generation.

This project seeks to use football as a tool for social change with the power to transcend geographical, cultural and gender boundaries. Interest in women's sports is growing in Kosovo, but the participation of young women and girls remains low due to gender stereotypes and other barriers.

Project goals

  • Boost the involvement of young women and girls in football, including those with disabilities
  • Create a safe environment for girls to play football, free from bullying and discrimination
  • Foster trust and unite girls from diverse communities
  • Break down barriers and create a cohesive environment
  • Improve the well-being and develop the life skills of girls through football
  • Ensure representation from every community by creating girls football teams in all primary schools
  • Raise awareness about gender equality, diversity and discrimination prevention, and about the positive impact of sports on mental health, well-being and confidence
  • Achieve community engagement and involve local and national partners

Project content

  • Girls football teams in all primary schools so that all girls have access to free training twice a week
  • Tournaments where girls from different ethnic backgrounds can play together
  • City football teams for girls with disabilities, set up in close collaboration with Down Syndrome Kosova
  • Volunteer outreach, whereby older girls from KFV Prishtina volunteer in activities with younger and disabled girls
  • Targeted training programmes designed to improve communication, teamwork and leadership skills among girls from various ethnic communities
  • Mentoring sessions with role models to educate girls about the sustainable development goals, including gender equality and environmental conservation
  • Training for sports teachers and staff on the UEFA Child Safeguarding Policy, in order to create a safe and inclusive sporting environment
  • Meetings with an ombudsperson to raise awareness of discrimination
  • Partnership agreements with local government bodies, the media and academia and collaborating with national organisations working to prevent discrimination
  • Gender inclusivity workshops, community football events and advocacy campaigns designed to engage the community
  • A joint tournament to mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
  • A World Children’s Day tournament in Brezovica using football to bring together different ethnic communities

Partner

Football3 Girl and Women Changemakers

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Poland
Start date 01/02/2024
End date 06/30/2025
Cost of the project €148,000
Foundation funding €54,575
Project identifier 20231213
Partners Trenuj Bycie Dobrym
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

In Poland, the biggest social problem faced in football is unequal representation and access, with far fewer women playing and coaching than men. In 2020, only 23,578 of the country’s 414,217 players were women, and only one of the 12 top-tier women's teams has a female manager. From an early age, children learn that football is for boys, and this stereotype is reinforced at school.

The Polish Football Association found that only 7% of female players started playing at school. It has therefore made working with schools to get more girls involved in football a key objective of its strategy for women's football.

Project goals

  • Work with the Polish Football Association to get more girls and women involved in football, including in schools
  • Raise awareness among primary school teachers across Poland about the power of football3 to promote equal access to sport for children
  • Train at least 600 teachers to become football3 mediators and trainers
  • Make girls and female teachers role models or ‘football3 changemakers’, laying the foundations for grassroots children’s football in Poland

Project content

The project works closely with the Polish Football Association and primary school teachers, 99% of whom are women. It will offer in-person training on the football3 programme in 13 regions of Poland as well as an online course, with a view to evaluating and certifying at least 600 female primary school teachers.

Each teacher trained will deliver football3 sessions to boys and girls aged 7–9, teaching them to play together from an early age. By setting the rules of the game together and awarding each other ‘super power points’, the children will learn to cooperate, respect and empathise with one another regardless of gender.

In addition, football3 changemakers tournaments will be held in each of the 13 regions, followed by a final gala, designed to promote equal access to football for everyone.

 

Partners

Game with Mum and Dad

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Europe
Start date 06/06/2023
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €270,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20230188
Partners Children of Prisoners Europe
Categories Gender Equality - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

More than two million children in Europe are separated from an imprisoned parent, often causing them overwhelming sadness, grief and anxiety. The incarceration of a parent will affect a child’s self-esteem, undermine feelings of affection and mental health. It creates social barriers and feeds into exclusion, discrimination and poverty. Given the small number of visits permitted with children, it is necessary to create joyful moments, in which parents and children have the opportunity to spend time together.

Project goals

The project’s main aim is to reinforce trust, love and the bond between children and their parents. Joyful memories will contribute to a child’s well-being, by fostering inclusion and empowering them. The project also aims to bring about structural transformation within prisons, so that the rights and best interests of the child are taken into consideration at all times during the parent’s incarceration.

Project content

Game with Mum and Dad brings families together for a day of play, hugs, and laughs – all over Europe. The children are actively involved in preparing each event, which culminates in a game of football with their parents inside prison walls.

The games take place during late summer and early autumn, in multiple locations throughout Europe. The Europe-wide campaign raises awareness about children of prisoners on local, national and international levels.

Partners

In sport and play; Together Equal and Safe

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Albania
Start date 02/01/2024
End date 01/31/2025
Cost of the project €155,997
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20230545
Partners Save the Children
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

In Albania, 83% of school children report the unethical behaviour by school staff, including insults, sarcasm and derogatory nicknames. Although there have been considerable changes in child protection law in the past few years, there are still significant issues. Every other disabled child experiences discrimination during play with peers.

Project goals

Help to ensure safeguarding, equity and inclusion in sport for all Albanian children by providing them a safe space to practise sport, be active and develop to their full potential.

Project content

Save the Children will provide tools to improve ways of working and positive models for the inclusion of disabled children. This intervention will enable best practices from previous projects to be embedded in targeted activities on child safeguarding in sport using UEFA modules on safer play for 212 coaches. Six unified sports clubs will be set up based on children’s feedback to include children with disabilities in various sports. A total of 31,454 children will promote safer play and inclusion in sport.

Activity 1.1 Use Safeguarding and Inclusion in Sport and Development package for sports clubs
Activity 1.2 Boost skills and practices of 212 coaches on child safeguarding and inclusion
Activity 1.3 Provide sports equipment
Activity 1.4 Celebrate inclusion and promote ‘safety for every child’ events
Activity 1.5 Conduct surveys on safety and non-discrimination in sport
Activity 2.1 Capacity-building of 60 unified sports coaches
Activity 2.2 Support unified sports teams in six schools
Activity 2.3 Organise football/basketball tournament
Activity 3.1 Draft a safety and inclusion policy
Activity 3.2 Hold a sports festival
Activity 3.3 Hold a final event

Partners