Football Pitch for youth with disabilities

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Kazakhstan
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project €To be announced
Foundation funding € 45,000
Project identifier 2019294
Partners National Paralympic Committee of Kazakhstan
Categories Children with disabilities

Context

According to statistics from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the number of people with disabilities has increased by 20.7% over the past 7 years. Approximately 4% of these 680,000 people have a visual impairment. Visual impairment has a negative effect on children’s physical development, including height, body weight, lung capacity and chest volume. Most visually impaired children have poor posture, curvature of the spine, and flat feet, as well as reduced motor abilities, strength, speed, endurance, coordination, and static and dynamic balance. In addition, complete or partial loss of vision leads to psychological pathologies in some cases. Limited contact with others can lead to isolation, lack of communication and introversion, making it difficult to form business and personal relationships with the outside world.

Project content

The Paralympic Committee plans to provide a football pitch for people with disabilities to offer all citizens equal development opportunities and advance societal development.

 

Objectives

The aim of the project is to run blind football training sessions to allow visually impaired children to:

  • develop their physical strength;
  • improve their motor abilities and posture;
  • combat their isolation and limit psychological pathologies.

Project activities

  • Building of the football pitch
  • Provision of blind football sessions
  • Hiring of coaches from football teams
  • Further improvement of the pitch in the future

Expected results

  • Football facilities with easy access for people with disabilities
  • Specific training for football coaches to support people with disabilities
  • Football sessions for visually impaired children
  • Enhanced mobility and social integration of people with disabilities in society
  • Increased self-esteem in people with disabilities

 

Partner

Welcome through Football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK and Ukraine
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 06/30/2022
Cost of the project € 250,487
Foundation funding € 175,000
Project identifier 2019565
Partners European Football for Development Network (EFDN)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

A large proportion of refugees around the world are children and young people. In 2016, more than four in five (83%) first-time asylum seekers in the European Union were younger than 35 years old,  with those aged 18 to 34 accounting for slightly more than half of first-time applicants (51%). Nearly a third of all first-time applicants were aged under 18 (32%).

While the resettlement of individuals and families is a priority, ensuring their long-term inclusion into society is also crucial. The Council of Europe’s youth policy focuses on providing all young people with equal opportunities and experiences, thus enabling them to develop their knowledge, skills and competencies and to fully participate in all aspects of society. Special attention is paid to vulnerable groups of young people such as refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

The Welcome through Football project was developed in line with the statement on the refugee crisis in Europe adopted by the Advisory Council on Youth in 2015, which sets out various priorities and calls for special attention to be paid to the growing number of vulnerable and marginalised young people in Europe.

Project content

Participation in safe and structured activities is vital for the development of young migrants and refugees and the need for additional services for this population is even greater than in previous years owing to the numbers of new arrivals. Almost all the countries participating in the project have high numbers of refugees concentrated in the inner cities. These young refugees are mostly excluded from society and participation in sport can be a first step towards social integration, as it allows them to make friends and establish social networks. Cultural understanding is a central theme of the programme and, by working with and playing alongside their peers from different countries, youngsters build mutual respect and gain a shared educational experience. It is also valuable for young people to understand that, while sporting talent can create opportunities, success can also be achieved by giving back to local communities through citizenship projects.

The project activities are organised into three stages:

  1. Socialisation to sports – different football activities are offered for young refugees of both sexes, taking into account any special needs, such as language skills or trauma.
  2. Socialisation in sports – the participants work on team structure and are given more responsibility. Participants also have the opportunity to engage in activities outside the sports training sessions.
  3. Socialisation through sports – participants focus on the skills they have acquired, with a view to qualifying for further education in and outside of sports.

These three stages offer the participants many opportunities to contribute to their own development, their community and the project itself.

During the first stage, sporting activities enable the participants to relieve stress, cope with trauma and learn a new language. They take part in activities, but do not have any responsibilities other than their own personal development.

During the second stage, participants are introduced to a grassroots club where they discover the importance of volunteering to ensure the sustainability of such clubs. Cooperation with local schools and NGOs provides them with the opportunity to develop themselves further, participate in regular sports training and matches, and take part in a wide variety of volunteering activities offered by a professional or grassroots club, in cooperation with local partners.

During the third stage of the project, participants have the opportunity to do short internships in local businesses, receive additional language training and develop important employability and life skills.

 

Welcome through football is implemented in partnership with SV Werder Bremen, Everton in the Community, Fundação Benfica, Sheffield United Foundation , Shakhtar Social, FC Emmen (Naoberschap United) and Apollon Limassol FC.

 

Objectives

The Welcome through Football methodology focuses on the social inclusion and employability of newly arrived young migrants and refugees. To this end, the activities aim to improve the quality of youth work and intercultural dialogue, raise awareness and increase acceptance of diversity in society. The project also builds the capacity of football coaches and youth workers, helping them to develop and share effective methods for reaching out to the marginalised target group and preventing racism and intolerance. The project aims to empower vulnerable and marginalised young people and ease their transition to adulthood, with a particular focus on integration into the labour market.

Better cooperation between local youth and sporting organisations will be established through multiple cross-sectoral partnerships. The project focuses on improving active citizenship, reducing social exclusion and promoting the social autonomy of young migrants and refugees in their new home. To this end, the project aims to encourage volunteering among the refugee and migrant population.

Specific objectives of the project:

  • Evaluating existing methodologies
  • Delivering Welcome through Football activities and developing the Welcome through Football methodology, practitioners guide and other resources
  • Tackling racism, discrimination and violence in sport
  • Promoting healthy lifestyles and regular physical activity
  • Improving the emotional well-being of refugees through participation in sport
  • Improving perceptions about refugees
  • Raising awareness among stakeholders (sports clubs, NGOs and national and local governments) of the positive impact of football and sport in general
  • Increasing the community and sporting participation of refugees who are at risk of social exclusion
  • Encouraging refugees to volunteer in sport
  • Raising awareness of the social power of sport
  • Sharing experiences and best practices
  • Integration into grassroots clubs
  • Integration into the labour market

Project activities

  1. Delivery of five 12-week programmes during which the critical success factors of the Welcome through Football methodology will be tested. Seven clubs will organise a minimum of 672 activities as part of the project, but the total number of activities organised is expected to be around 1,000.
  2. An affiliation and advocacy programme for youth organisations, sports clubs, associations, federations and public bodies.
  3. Development of the Welcome through Football methodology and a methodological guide that can be published as an open-access resource on the EFDN educational online platform.
  4. Networking activities: five transnational project meetings will be organised and presentations will be made at four international conferences to introduce the project, its outcomes and the resources developed (November 2020, Breda, the Netherlands (EFDN conference); March 2021, Budapest, Hungary; November 2021, Bremen, Germany; and March 2022 Liverpool, UK).
  5. Establishment of a communication and dissemination plan (including workshops at conferences, resources for an online platform for sharing experiences and examples, participation in #FootballPeople action weeks).
  6. Development of a pilot affiliation programme for youth organisations, sports organisations, clubs and associations to develop and test an innovative approach for promoting the values of sport (respect, fair play, etc.) and facilitating the integration of refugees through sport.

Welcome through Football – Apollon Limassol FC

Expected results

Participants will receive non-formal education on refugee integration through sports, giving them a greater awareness of the benefits of social integration. The establishment of intercultural teams will be encouraged, helping to familiarise participants with European sporting values (fair play, respect, teamwork).

Participants will be empowered by their increased responsibilities and active participation in sport.  The project will therefore help to develop a generation of young refugees in Europe with the potential to become community leaders.

The project will also have a direct impact on sports stakeholders, raising awareness of initiatives for refugee integration at all levels of sport and youth work and leading to new partnerships and new networks across Europe.

Partnerships will be established with local grassroots clubs in order to integrate and continue to create opportunities for refugees and migrants after the delivery of the project.

Partner

Live match commentaries

Location and general information

Terminé
Location France
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 79,700
Foundation funding € 10,700
Project identifier 2019144
Partners Bel endroit pour une rencontre
Categories Personal development

Context

The ‘Bel endroit pour une rencontre’ association promotes an inclusive, fairer society where everyone belongs. In an effort to combat exclusion, the association provides young people of all ages with the opportunity to develop their full potential through various socio-cultural, educational and civic programmes, while respecting themselves, others and their environment.

The Live sport commentaries training to develop verbal and soft skills (“Raconte moi un match”) was a result of the following observations in young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods:

  • Poor verbal communication skills leading to difficulties interacting with friends, acquaintances, teachers and their social environment
  • Verbal or even physical aggression resulting from the frustration associated with difficulties in making themselves understood, understanding others and expressing their thoughts
  • Some young people limited to a language built around a divisive identity and the use of combative, violent speech
  • A lack of self-esteem and confidence in those at risk of dropping out of school
  • Higher exclusion and dropout rates

This was coupled with the following observations in relation to journalism:

  • A lack of (ethnic and gender) diversity in the media and in sports journalism in particular
  • Poor understanding of the principles of freedom of expression, freedom of the press and ethics in some young people

After three years setting up and testing the programme in Lyon, in 2018/2019 the association decided to see whether it could be replicated. It was rolled out in Lyon (five locations), Grenoble (three locations) and Marseille (one location). The results were resoundingly positive in terms of both the programme’s set-up and its impact on the beneficiaries.

All the beneficiaries are young people aged between 11 and 18 years in difficult circumstances:

  • living in disadvantaged urban areas and/or at risk of dropping out;
  • under court-ordered supervision and living in a juvenile detention centre; or
  • in a workforce integration or job seeking programme.

Project content

The association uses initiation to the commentary of men and women’s football as an educational tool to improve speaking skills. The participants learn to commentate men’s and women’s football matches like on radio. Their love of sports is used to engage them in the challenging task of improvised oral expression and sophisticated collaboration, which helps them develop their public speaking and life skills.

Objectives

The ‘Bel endroit pour une rencontre’ association aims to:

  • continue to roll out the project, increasing the number of beneficiaries from 57 in 2018/2019 to 110 in 2019/2020;
  • work on two of the main components to ensure the longevity of the project:
    • reduce the hourly cost by training volunteers to deliver some of the sessions and develop skills-based sponsorship,
    • develop profitable activities sponsored by companies;
  • expand its activity throughout France, including Grenoble, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and Saint-Étienne;
  • adapt the programme to sports other than football, such as and basketball;
  • establish its presence in schools in disadvantaged neighbourhoods through academic achievement programmes and develop sports news-related programmes;
  • set up new partnerships or sponsorships and strengthen existing partnerships;
  • develop volunteering.

Project activities

  • Radio match commentaries in tandem
  • 14-hour workshops for up to eight children, delivered by professional journalists and actors
  • Public performances in front of juries and mentors, with prizes awarded

 

Expected results

In addition to expanding (from 57 to 110 beneficiaries), the project hopes to support its beneficiaries in a variety of ways, to improve their chances of social success.

  • Oral expression: vocabulary, precision of expression, syntax, elocution, public speaking, selecting and prioritising information, analysis and synthesis
  • Social skills: concentration, assertiveness, self-confidence, overcoming personal limits, listening, posture, body language and self-awareness
  • Living together and citizenship: cooperation, respect, mutual support, commitment, knowledge of the media, critical analysis and ethics in journalism and sports
  • Equal opportunities and inclusion: developing young people with educational difficulties, bringing neighbourhoods together, social and intellectual openness and breaking down barriers to professions

Partner

Synthetic sports field

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Romania
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 38,000
Foundation funding € 33,000
Project identifier 2019179
Partners Luncşoara Bihorului Association
Categories Access to Sport

Context

Luncşoara Bihorului Association is active in Luncşoara village in western Romania. Over the years, it has dedicated time, resources and passion to help the local community and especially to provide the basis for the healthy growth and development of children. The association has already carried out three different projects in the village.

Project content

The association is the owner of the ground (924m2), which was bought in 2014 thanks to numerous donations. It comprises a synthetic sports field, fences and floodlights. Luncşoara secondary school is a key partner in this project.

Objectives

  • Build a synthetic sports field
  • Install surrounding fences
  • Install floodlights
  • Set up other infrastructures

Project activities

This sports field is an alternative way for the younger generations and pupils of the local school to spend their free time, and is conveniently located next to the school. As this is a rural area, the children do not have many other options for spending their free time, so this football pitch and sports area will help the integration of the community and give a chance to the children to practise football and other sports, such as handball, tennis and running.

Being located in a rural area, the sports field is meant to be an opening towards nature. The children will be involved in keeping the ground clean and watering the plants.

Expected results

Between 300 and 1,000 people, mainly children, will benefit from the project in the village and the surrounding area.

Official website : Luncşoara Bihorului Association

Partner : Luncşoara Bihorului Association

Football for development

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Czech Republic
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 154,500
Foundation funding € 65,909
Project identifier 2019630
Partners INEX – Association for Voluntary Activities
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

INEX – Association for Voluntary Activities – is an NGO founded in 1991 whose primary activities are centred around the areas of international voluntary work and intercultural education.

INEX believes that volunteering and cooperation on a local and global level help to promote mutual understanding and non-violence. It creates opportunities for people to actively participate in society in order to gain knowledge and experience, and to develop their personal, civic and professional lives.

Its flagship project Football for Development engages young people through football-based informal educational activities. The project is run in various urban environments in the Czech Republic (in the regions of Prague, Usti nad Labem, Pilsen, Ostrava and Karlovy Vary), where INEX teams up with low-threshold clubs, social services, youth clubs, leisure centres, orphanages and youth detention centres.

The target group comprises children and teenagers who are at risk of social exclusion or discrimination due to their ethnic or disadvantaged social background. The beneficiaries also include disabled children and orphans. Thanks to the work of these organisations, the children and teenagers enjoy a safe space for social interaction and personal development.

The project aims to help these youngsters re-engage with society and develop the skills they need to be active. Experience shows that regular planned sports activities are effective in this regard. Football is a learning and preventive tool that uses rules and other methods to resolve conflicts without violence.

Football for Development in the Czech Republic has been running for almost 15 years, over which time it has developed a network of partners at national and international levels and represented the Czech Republic at many international events.

UEFA Foundation is supporting this project for the second year in a row.

 

Project content

Football for Development uses the Football3 concept*, which was devised by streetfootballworld and is based on the principle that fair play, inclusion and mutual respect are at least as important as the sports competition itself. Fair play includes the development of social values such as teamwork, discussion and mutual understanding. Another important aim of the concept is to develop participants’ ability to create rules and then adhere to them.

Football for Development also uses the Football for Good methodology, which is based on so-called ‘integration football drills’. These drills are linked to football training sessions and cover different social topics (e.g. drug abuse, violence, vandalism, racism) and life skills (e.g. communication, teamwork, respect, leadership skills, rules, non-violent conflict resolution) that can be used on a day-to-day basis.

[*Football3 is a methodology used by the streetfootballworld network to harness the educational potential of street football by ensuring that dialogue and fair play are integral to the game. Its overall objective is to promote life skills and empower young people to become leaders. The emphasis is on resolving conflict through dialogue.]

Objectives

  • To further develop the association’s activities in the Czech Republic and beyond, using football as a tool for education and development
  • To organise football leagues, tournaments and cultural events where people from different backgrounds can meet
  • To recruit and train youth workers and social workers to ensure the long-term stability of project
  • To deliver proper methodology and ensure a multiplier effect
  • To use training sessions and educational programmes for young people who are hard to reach with conventional training opportunities
  • To teach skills such as self-confidence, teamwork, leadership, resilience, conflict management and respect for gender equality
  • To raise the project’s public profile by organising ‘fair play days’ and increase social cohesion at different levels of society

Expected results

  • Equip grassroots organisations and projects in target communities
  • Increase self-confidence and reduce the risk of gender-based violence
  • Provide easy access for members of the target group, who usually come from difficult backgrounds
  • Provide a safe space and low-threshold access that ensures stability and continuity of participation
  • Increase the number of coaches and social workers in order to broaden the scale of the programme
  • Organise events such as fair-play league matchdays, fair-play football days, national youth gatherings, fair-play football league finals, training workshops for social workers and educational football training for children
  • Raise public awareness of social cohesion

Partner

Success Packages

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Ukraine
Start date 01/31/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 150,000
Foundation funding € 100,00
Project identifier 2019021
Partners Klitschko Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Many young people in Ukraine live in economically disadvantaged communities. Schools cannot always afford to supply their pupils with adequate equipment. As a result, children are not motivated to practise sport, which is so important to a child’s health and character. This is not only due to the lack of new and good-quality equipment, but also outdated types of games and teaching methods. PE teachers are unable to improve their skills through new innovative teaching methods and so cannot provide the children with the best education.

To meet these needs, in 2013 the Klitschko Foundation created a project called Success Packages, whose mission it is to provide all children in Ukraine with access to sport and turn their PE teachers into role models and mentors. Thanks to the project, children and teachers should realise that they can be the driving force in their communities.

Project content

The project comprises three days of training for PE teachers in the form of lectures by famous and experienced speakers that share their knowledge in the fields of:

  1. Self-identification and self-esteem through sport
  2. Learning values and applying them throughout life
  3. Nutrition and hygiene
  4. Active and healthy lifestyle choices
  5. Understanding human rights through sport
  6. Civic and moral education
  7. Supporting the delicate transition to the independence of adulthood
  8. Excursions to sports museums and sports complexes
  9. Reflections about the day – participants have a chance to share their emotions, impressions and ideas about the project

Since the project participants work in sport and education, this experience will be useful not only because of the opportunity to gain new knowledge, but also because they will be able to communicate with colleagues and like-minded people, share their own experiences, discuss innovative learning approaches and suggest new techniques.

Objectives

  • Motivate pupils to practise sport
  • Present opportunities that exist regardless of socioeconomic status
  • Break down old stereotypes about sport at school and create a new vision
  • Help PE teachers develop and promote different sports
  • Inspire teachers to be a coach and mentor for pupils
  • Motivate PE teachers to believe that they can create social change
  • Enhance the image of PE teachers as a profession

Project activities

Stage 1 Application and selection

The sports teachers and their pupils are asked to get creative and shoot a three-minute video about their usual sporting activities in school and the conditions surrounding them. The selection criteria are clear motivation, readiness to implement changes in their local community and compliance of the team with the project requirements.

Stage 2 Training programme

The PE teachers take part in a three-day workshop designed to teach them innovative methodology and educational tools as well as raise important topics for young people.

Stage 3 Local projects

When the teachers return to their communities, they share the skills and knowledge they have acquired by implementing the local project for pupils at their school, encompassing the educational and sports aspects. Teachers try themselves out in the new roles as managers of the local projects. They communicate with potential sponsors, media, and the school administration. In this way, they become an active part of the local community.

Stage 4 Delivering the success packages

After the successful execution of the local projects, 360 schools receive the success packages comprising sports equipment for various physical exercises that will make lessons exciting and diverse.

Expected results

  • 360 PE teachers from all over Ukraine will attend, in six cycles each consisting of 60 people in order to develop teamwork and effective communication among themselves.
  • The participants will receive lectures from professional coaches and workers in the field of sports and physical culture.
  • The participants will have the opportunity to gain new knowledge, communicate with colleagues and like-minded people, share their own experiences, discuss innovative learning approaches and proposed methods.
  • Participants will learn about proper nutrition, hygiene and healthy, active lifestyles.
  • Participants will understand how sport helps to boost self-esteem, overcome conflicts and problematic situations and promote self-determination for young people.
  • Participants will hold 360 training sessions involving more than 25,000 children and teenagers.

Partner

Street Football Move

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Portugal
Start date 12/01/2019
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project € 106,186
Foundation funding € 70,000
Project identifier 2019346
Partners Associacao de Futebol de Bragança
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

In a recent past the first contact of children with physical activity, sport in general and particularly football was made in the streets. It doesn’t matter if you lived in a big city, a small town or a village, all the children used to go play outdoors.

It was on the street that, for millions of children, the passion for football, for sport and for movement really started to flourish.

Today we have a problem, especially in large cities, the absence of free spaces, traffic, increased violence, the reduction of children's free time and all the existing comfort (for example with television, internet and all digital technology), among other factors, seem to have condemned  the street football and the play in the street to the extinction.

On March 21st2018, the European Commission published the "Special Eurobarometer 472 on Sport Physical Activity" (with data collected in December 2017). In this study it is verified that in Portugal 68% of the population never exercise or play sports, and this percentage increased in relation to the data of 2013 in 4%. Globally, in the European Union of 28 countries there is a tendency to continue to increase the number of people who never exercise or play sports, in 2009 the figure was 39% and in 2018 the figure was 46%.

In this context, Associação de Futebol de Bragança have the responsibility of help children to access more easily to sports and we should take street football events for free to children and young people in our region.

Project content

The name of the project is "Street Football Move" means that as participant you must move and be active. The name also means that street football can be a "Movement" that can help in the fight against the sedentary lifestyles and obesity in children.

The project will take the street football in a van to the children of 12 municipalities in the northeast region of Portugal (Bragança District has a total of 4 cities, 12 small towns and 533 villages). The van will be a very important element of this project because it will be totally decorated with the name of the project, logos and images of street football. The van will have inside sport equipment like small goals, balls, markers, roller-ups and t-shirts for the players and a sound system to entertain during the matches.

To attract more and more children, we will install in the van an eSports console, with only two controllers, for the children that will be waiting for his turn to play street football, the video game in the console will be FIFA 20.

Objectives

The main goal of the project it’s to give to the children in our region a better access to sport, to move more, to be more active, to have more fun, to develop better social skills and to prevent health problems. This is also a great way of promoting physical activity, promoting football and help in children’s education using sport as a tool.

Project activities

According with a plan and a schedule organized in collaboration with municipalities and local schools, we will travel to all cities and small towns in the region and we will park the “street football van” in a very specific spot in this towns, it can be in the town centre, city park, near historical places or other previous defined place. The project team staff will prepare the place for the street football matches, prepare all the equipment (goals, balls, t-shirts, water bottles, bibs for the teams) and prepare the various playing fields and the music for the events. With the help of local football and futsal clubs’ staff, our team will organise and supervise the street football matches.

The children will came from the local schools and they will play 10 minutes matches, in teams one against the others according with the age group (Under-7, Under-11, and Under-15) if possible, all teams should have boys and girls playing together. The results of the matches don’t count for any championship or classification table.

All the participants will receive a “Street Football Move” project t-shirt and they can use the project steel bottles to drink water during the events. We will have also a video game console and a TV installed in the van to be used by the children and youth that will be waiting for their turn to play street football. They will be allowed to play a 10 minutes match in the PlayStation, in the FIFA 20 videogame in the 1 vs. 1 mode, they only can play standing and they only can play one time for each local event.

  • Street football and physical activity
  • eSports
  • Fun and entertainment
  • “Street Football Move” project gifts

Expected results

We expect to reach a total of 10 000 participants under 15 years old from the 12 municipalities of our region.

Partner

SCORING GIRLS

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Germany
Start date 03/01/2020
End date 02/28/2021
Cost of the project € 195,456
Foundation funding € 15,000
Project identifier 2019822
Partners HAWAR.help e.V.
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Girls with migration backgrounds in Germany face additional challenges in navigating the path to adulthood and becoming productive and engaged citizens. Many are caught between cultures, where they must forge a new identity in order to find their way in their social environments. This path can be especially difficult to navigate for girls, many of whom come from patriarchal societies with strict family structures.

Education, contact with peers, and play are the basis of physical well-being and the positive social development of children. Sport not only enables girls to be healthy but also develop important life skills, such as leadership, communication, conflict resolution, confidence and teamwork. Girls from migrant, refugee, and socially disadvantaged backgrounds are often excluded from taking part in organised sports activities because of financial and cultural constraints. SCORING GIRLS Bildung uses the world’s most popular sport, football, as a springboard for integration and empowerment of disadvantaged and refugee girls in Germany.

Project content

Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Yazidi girls playing football together? That is integration. That is SCORING GIRLS Bildung. Implemented in Cologne and Berlin, SCORING GIRLS Bildung uses football as a tool to empower refugee, migrant, and underprivileged girls. The project fosters healthy personal and social development by nurturing the girls’ self- confidence, intercultural awareness, and sense of independence and responsibility towards their teammates – skills that are essential in life and in becoming a responsible citizen. To watch a project video on SCORING GIRLS Bildung, please click here:

Founded in 2016 by former Bundesliga player Tuğba Tekkal, SCORING GIRLS Bildung safeguards the fundamental rights of its participants, regardless of their country of origin or how they came to Germany. Since 2016, SCORING GIRLS Bildung has gained accolades from across Germany, highlighted by the CIVIS Medien Preis in 2019 and a visit to the programme by Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017, when she highlighted the integrative power of the project and the effective use of sport as a informal education tool.

Objectives

  • Empower girls with life skills such as self-confidence, teamwork, conflict resolution, fairness, reliability and intercultural understanding.
  • Guide girls to find their talents and strengths, so that they can successfully take the next step into either the labour market or furthering their education.
  • Strengthen the girls’ leadership qualities, so that they are able to play an active role society and be fully engaged citizens.
  • Media coverage: 1,000,000 people become aware of the project through newspaper articles and social media.

Project activities

SCORING GIRLS Bildung is a holistic sport-based integration and empowerment programme for 120 refugee, migrant and German girls in Cologne and Berlin. Each week throughout the year, the participants take part in football training sessions, educational support, and soft-skill development.

Activity 1: Participant outreach and relationship building

Trusting relationships with the girls and their families are a prerequisite for engaging girls who would otherwise not take part in athletic activities. The project begins with HAWAR.help social workers entering refugee and underprivileged communities to build relationships with the girls’ parents. Over multiple visits and conversations, families are convinced of the benefits of their daughters’ participating in SCORING GIRLS Bildung. Once the girls start the programme, relationships with family members continue to be an important aspect, with the trainers giving the families periodic updates on the girls’ well-being.

Activity 2: Weekly football-based educational programme

Bi-weekly training sessions are held for 120 girls between the ages of 12 and 25 in Berlin and Cologne. A typical session opens with a group discussion in which the girls share important events in their lives and talk about what is going on at school. This gives the trainer and project manager the opportunity to see whether any of the girls need additional support and to identify themes that can be used for future training sessions. The girls then take part in football drills where they learn to follow instructions and to communicate with one another. Drills that incorporate the learning of German and school subjects such as maths are also used. Each training session concludes with a short practice game and a review of the session.

Activity 3: Educational support
After the football-based activity, individual support is provided to the girls as need. The participants receive help with their homework and school projects. The girls’ families can also ask for help with booking appointments with a doctor, a legal advisor or at the visa office.

Activity 4: Community building and integration activities

To strengthen the bonds between the girls and to expose them to different aspects of German society, excursions and workshops are carried out. Each excursion includes an educational element and gives the girls the opportunity to have fun as a group in a new environment.

Activity 5: Annual SCORING GIRLS Bildung tournament

Each year, the SCORING GIRLS Bildung tournament brings the group together with more than 300 community members, for a day of inter-cultural exchange, activities and fun. Prominent personalities have attended the event in the past, including German TV moderator Anne Will.

Expected results

  • Beneficiaries received training in various topics: self-confidence, teamwork, conflict resolution, fairness, reliability and intercultural understanding (activities 1, 2, 4)
  • Beneficiaries received meaningful educational support (activity 3)
  • Beneficiaries’ leadership qualities are strengthened (activity 2)
  • 1,000,000 people become aware of the project

Partner

Social-sports schools in Europe

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Romania, Italy, United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain
Start date 10/01/2020
End date 06/30/2022
Cost of the project € 200,000
Foundation funding €more than 50% financed by the Foundation for Children
Project identifier 2019360
Partners Real Madrid Foundation (RMF)
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

The social-sports schools programme is aimed at children (mixed teams of boys and girls) aged 5 to 18 in Europe who are in difficult socio economical situations, likely to interrupt their education for reasons of poverty and the lack of learning opportunities, or face various risks or behavioural problems. The RMF works in more than 100 countries, in this specific case, the focus is on European social-sports schools in five different countries: Romania, Italy, United Kingdom, Portugal and 14 social-sports schools in shelter homes in Madrid (Spain).

The theme of marginalization is common to all the European locations running the social-sports schools programme. The beneficiaries are vulnerable families, children in difficult socio-economic situations and with poor education prospects, teenagers with youth distress problems, minority groups, children at risk of social exclusion, victims of violence and children living in shelters.

 

Project content

The RMF develops Real Madrid FC’s social and cultural awareness programmes. It has been applying the principle of teaching values through sports since 1998. RMF contributes to the holistic development of the beneficiaries by means of sports and socio-educational activities adapted to their needs, such as: promoting afterschool activities; seminars raising awareness about education, gender equality or other issues; language classes; check-ups; psychological counselling; and supplementary nutrition.

Objectives

The main objective is to promote the values inherent in sport, both in Spain and abroad, and use sport an educational tool that contributes to children’s development. The project additionally promotes social integration for marginalised sectors of the population, while enabling participants to develop their knowledge of football, personal balance and interpersonal relationships.

UEFA Foundation for Children funds will permit the sustainability of the programme for the benefit of 600 children. The RMF wants to

  •  foster values and positive living habits through the use of sport;
  •  benefit children and youth through the practice of sports, to assist in their physical and psychological development;
  •  provide the beneficiaries with outdoor activities, such as tournaments with other shelter homes and social sport schools;
  •  benefit and maintain the staff working on the programme;
  •  benefit the staff involved in the activities.

Project activities

All RMF projects have a sports component; however, the projects do not aim for a high-level performance and are not used for scouting or as a talent pool. They aim to boost education through sport. One tool to reach that is the sports methodology called ‘For a real education: values and sports’. Developed over the last 20 years, it covers the whole spectrum of the RMF’s capabilities: physical and sports training combined with personal and psychological development. The RMF methodology is applied to the two sports that are developed in the social-sports schools: football and basketball. The aim is to train coaches who will then pass on the values to the beneficiaries. Local trainers are also provided with all the necessary teaching materials. During the sessions, various values are related to social, educational, physical-motor, technical-tactical skills, and rules.

In addition, RMF organises the Copa Alma, a 4-day social tournament that promotes coexistence between students and the exchange of experience among their coaches. The tournament includes sports, cultural and social activities and acts as an educational tool by rewarding the application of values in the competition. It has a direct influence on the social and interpersonal skills of the beneficiaries since many of them are exposed to an international atmosphere for the first time. Up to now, RMF has held six tournaments in different cities in collaboration with local partners. Participants are 12 years old who are already enrolled in the social-sports schools in Europe.

Expected results

In general, UEFA foundation funds will contribute to the holistic development of the beneficiaries by supporting the sustainability of the sports and social activities in the next two seasons. It will also contribute to the next Copa Alma.

In parallel to that, some expected results are:

  • Education through football and social activities to help the children integrate
  • Help the individuals see their situation in a different way; providing a variety of ways to solve problems and encouraging a positive motivational experience
  • lncrease self-esteem and self-efficacy in the children and help reduce the risk of social exclusion

Partner

Sport and play for inclusion and integration

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Bulgaria
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 51,859
Foundation funding € 25,930
Project identifier 2019403
Partners World at Play
Categories Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

In 2016, 6,447 unaccompanied refugee children, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, applied for asylum in Bulgaria. With the adoption of a new law on foreigners that came into force in 2017, the temporary detention of children, including unaccompanied and separated children, was legalised, contrary to international human rights standards. Children applying for asylum were moved to refugee centres, where they lived in the same space as adults and faced a huge risk of violence and abuse.

In 2017, World at Play was invited by Caritas Bulgaria, part of the Caritas international aid organisation, to work on a programme to support and integrate refugee children and young people in the Harmanli and Sofia areas.

During a preliminary fact-finding project, it quickly became evident that there were tensions between the refugees and local communities. The local population itself faced difficulties related to low incomes and a lack of opportunities and felt excluded and marginalised due to an increased focus on refugees.

World at Play started to build relationships between young locals and young refugees. Initially working with them in separate groups, it then started integrating them into each other’s games and showed how, through the power of sport and play, individuals can engage with one another with respect and care as equals, regardless of gender, ethnicity and background.

Project content

World at Play believes that access to sport, and the freedom to play without fear, prejudice or intimidation, is an integral part of every childhood.

World at Play has been running specially designed sport and play programmes since 2004. Its games – often requiring little or no equipment – rely on specially selected coaches and trainers who have been extensively trained to:

  • work with children and young people who have experienced trauma and conflict;
  • work with marginalised children and ostracised communities;
  • work with children who have suffered abuse and physical or emotional violence
  • work with disabled children and young people.

World at Play primarily uses common, well-known games and sports such as football, hockey, frisbee, cricket and baseball, but it has a handbook of nearly 150 games that enable children to be active and have fun while also learning about teamwork, cooperation, inclusion, support, gender equality and communication.

Caritas Bulgaria is directly involved in World at Play activities as a local partner of the Harmanli refugee centre and the Voenna Rampa and Ovcha Kupel refugee centres in Sofia. Their staff and volunteers are trained to deliver World at Play programmes.

Objectives

  • To improve the lives of vulnerable children in society, e.g. socially underprivileged children, Roma communities, disabled children and unaccompanied refugee children
  • To promote gender equality in communities where females are often treated unfairly
  • To use games to promote teamwork
  • To strengthen academic knowledge, particularly language skills, through play
  • To encourage participation of young refugee victims of trauma, using sport and cricket as a starting point to engage with them, lift them out of depression and find common ground to work from
  • To use music therapy in rehabilitation centres to improve the self-confidence of disabled children

Project activities

  • Sport and play sessions for refugees from a diverse range of backgrounds
  • Inclusive play sessions that emphasise gender equality
  • Skill development sessions for community leaders within the refugee camp
  • Donation of equipment to ensure sessions are sustainable

Expected results

  • Individual engagement and respect will be fostered between the different communities, regardless of gender and heritage.
  • Physical activities will benefit health and well-being.
  • Partner organisation staff will develop their sports coaching skills and be empowered to deliver future sessions in order to make the project sustainable.
  • Individuals who have faced barriers to participation in the past will be welcome at sessions as equals, in line with long-established World at Play principles.
  • Over 100 male and 35 female participants will attend World at Play sessions.

 

Partner

Child and Parent Day

Location and general information

Terminé
Location The Netherlands
Start date 09/01/2020
End date 10/31/2020
Cost of the project € 50,000
Foundation funding € 25,000
Project identifier 2019027
Partners Edwin van der Sar Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

The Child and Parent Day is an annual event for families with children 5–12 years old with brain injuries, including their parents and siblings. When it comes to regular education and sport, these children often fall behind. On the outside, most of these children look like any other; however, their brain injuries cause delays in learning and social-emotional development. This leads to exclusion, bullying and isolation. Many of these children have no suitable school or education programme. And they simply have no friends. Ultimately, they don’t go to school or sports club at all and many of them just stay at home with their parents. Which has a huge impact on their development and their day-to-day family life.

Project content

The purpose of the Child and Parent Day is to help these children make a connection, to encourage social interaction among children with the same background and help them make friends through sport. In addition, it encourages knowledge sharing and recognition for the parents. They can take part in workshops and lectures about education, rehabilitation, family support, legislation and regulations.

Objectives

  • Improve self-confidence, self-reliance and social contacts

Project activities

The Child and Parent Day comprises a variety of sports activities, adapted to the limitations of the children. The games are supervised by expert sports coaches. There are some traditional sports such as football, basketball and hockey, but also boxing lessons, climbing walls and a cycle cross track. In addition, there are all kinds of cognitive games and challenges to stimulate their brains.

Expected results

Tailor-made education, rehabilitation and leisure activities for children with brain damage.

Partner

Hapoel Katamon’s Neighbourhoods League

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Israel
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 304,000
Foundation funding € 100,000
Project identifier 2019337
Partners Katamon Moadon Ohadim
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

The poorest city in Israel, Jerusalem is a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with hardly any positive contact between the two populations. A lack of communication is significant in the sports sector.

Arab children and teenagers in Jerusalem desperately need improved formal and informal education, as well as leisure activities and proper facilities.

Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem (HKJFC) feels that if their work can make a difference in Jerusalem it must be possible everywhere else, including in areas with less tension.

Project content

The Neighbourhoods League project is run in the greater Jerusalem area and shows the marginalised Jewish and Arab children from the east and west of the city a different reality that radiates potency, professionalism, optimism, joy and hope.

Most Jewish youngsters taking part in the project also come from poor neighbourhoods. They need help overcoming their prejudices, stereotypes and alienation from Arabs. Gender-wise, HKJFC are a pioneer in girls' and women's football and have the only female team in the city. The club obliges any school that joins the project with a boys' group to also set up a girls’ group. HKJFC’s teen girls have just won the national girls’ cup.

In addition to the female players in its professional, recreational and community programmes, the club promotes female coaches, managers and employees who also serve as role models. HKJFC is the first and only professional football club in Israel with an elected female chair and the only football club in Jerusalem, and one of the few in Israel, to employ female coaches. In the Neighbourhoods League we require any school that wishes to enrol its boys' team in our programme to set up a girls' team as well.

Objectives

  • Bring children from different religions, nationalities and backgrounds together, in order to break down walls and stigmas
  • Use football to promote values such as: tolerance, anti-violence, anti-racism and women’s empowerment
  • Give children from underprivileged backgrounds a better education and high-quality sports activities
  • Promote women’s football in Jerusalem

Project activities

Learning centres: The club has set up unique learning centres within schools, holding 80 meetings annually. Each week, before practice, these Neighbourhoods League learning centres hold sessions to further the children’s learning skills. With the help of the learning centre staff and volunteers, the youngsters work on their homework, with an emphasis on maths, science and English. Sometimes the children utilise the time to work on a specifically requested subject or task. The centre also includes social activities, to enable the children to work better as a group, become friends and overcome problems that occur during practice.

Football training: Two football practices geared at children aged 9–14 are held each week during the October–June school year. The teams, each with its own coach, enable children to play organised football, learn skills and improve their fitness, as well as consolidate social skills. There are no try-outs: all children are welcome to take part.

Festive tournaments: Regular festive tournaments encourage fair play and sportsmanship. Each month, all the girls’ teams and all the boys’ teams take part in festive tournaments. Games are played simultaneously and have no referees – it is up to the participants to sort out their differences by themselves, which changes the whole perspective. The tournaments bring children from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and religions together, with the common language of football.

One-on-one sessions: The core essence of HKJFC’s P2P approach. Our decade of binational activities has taught us that a substantial amount of time needs to be devoted to additional face-to-face work with binational teams. Rather than playing Arabs against Jews, the teams are mixed and play games together. This is in addition to taking part in the league.

Expected results

The project invests a major effort in directly addressing and reducing conflict between the Arabs and Jews of Jerusalem. Its 750 children, 30 coaches, 20 volunteers and 10 tutors are being trained in conflict mitigation and management, to be used by them on the field. Football improves the atmosphere by setting a clear set of rules in a complex environment framed by a never-ending conflict.

It ensures impartiality and teaches the youngsters the principles of fairness, mutual respect and the equal rights of other people, fostering a bubble of non-violence, which in turn radiates out to the community at large. It bypasses socioeconomic differences, addressing the marginalised, regardless of whether the individual can pay, and occupies the youngsters in positive and meaningful activities that promote conflict mitigation, rather than behaviours and dynamics that perpetuate conflict and exclusion. It fosters good human relations and contributes to a healthier society and the reduction of stress. Our main goals are to promote dialogue through football and education and empower the girls of Jerusalem to play football.

Partner

GoFitba

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Scotland
Start date 02/01/2020
End date 03/31/2021
Cost of the project €70,596
Foundation funding €33,448
Project identifier 2019015
Partners Scottish Football Partnership Trust
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

The GoFitba project invests in young, vulnerable primary schoolchildren living in poverty across deprived areas of Scotland. It aims to maximise their future prospects for health and well-being by providing free-to-access fun football activities, health education and hot, healthy meals.

Project content

GoFitba is a 12-week football-based health and well-being project that provides opportunities for Scotland’s most disadvantaged primary schoolchildren living in poverty to take part in a free-to-access, fun sport and health education initiative delivered by partner community football clubs across the country.

GoFitba takes a holistic approach to teach children the benefits of regular physical activity within a football environment, with each structured session providing the national target of one hour of moderate physical activity each day. During the second hour of each session, the children take part in an interactive educational journey with their very own learning journal to explore the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle through diet and nutrition. The final component of each session sees the children being served a hot, healthy meal which crucially ensures the children are being fed outside school hours, helping to tackle food poverty. The project also allows these children to spend some social time with their peers in a safe environment, helping with issues of integration, social inclusion and community development with the wider family unit as parents and guardians are invited to participate in the project during week 12.

Objectives

  • To provide disadvantaged primary schoolchildren with opportunities to take part in free-to-access fun football activities.
  • To educate the project participants on the importance of being active in their daily lives and to use the GoFitba football hour as a vehicle to improve their knowledge and understanding, self-esteem and confidence.
  • To make use of the interactive GoFitba learning journal to educate the project participants on the importance of leading a healthier lifestyle through diet and nutrition and to increase the children’s confidence of working in groups.
  • To provide each participant with a hot, healthy meal at the end of each weekly session to help reinforce their learning on diet and nutrition and to tackle food poverty by providing nutritious food outside school hours.
  • To host a showcase event at the conclusion of the 12-week session for the participants and their parents/guardians and school teachers. This element of the project is geared at extending the importance of leading an active, healthy lifestyle through exercise, diet and nutrition to the wider family unit. It also helps to bring the participants, their families, school teachers and the project coaches together to strengthen the links between the local football club and the broader community.

Project activities

Hour 1 - Football and fitness session

Session structure:

  • Structured warm-ups and cool-downs
  • Weekly football themes – passing, dribbling, technique and control, shooting, defending and football agility
  • Fun game-related activities
  • Team-building and problem-solving activities focusing on improving confidence, communication, team-work, decision-making, respect for others and developing participants’ cognitive skills
  • Small-sided games – fun and competitive play and freedom of expression

 

Hour 2 – Positive nutritional messages and healthy, hot, homemade meal

Session structure:

  • The Eatwell Guide
  • Food groups and their purpose
  • Water and hydration
  • Energy values
  • Healthy cooked meal
  • Personal hygiene – washing hands and table manners

Expected results

  • Provide opportunities for 400 young, disadvantaged children to take part in the GoFitba project, helping them to become happier, healthier and more engaged through the delivery of 9,600 individual hours of football activity and health education
  • Encouraging and enabling the inactive to be active
  • Developing physical confidence and competence from the earliest age
  • Improving opportunities to participate, progress and achieve in sport
  • Supporting the well-being and resilience of communities through physical activity and sport
  • Tackling food inequality

 

Link to the project: www.gofitba.com

 

Partner

Football for Employability

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Romania, Hungary, Ireland, UK
Start date 02/01/2019
End date 05/31/2021
Cost of the project €193,600
Foundation funding € 105,757
Project identifier EUR-0149
Partners FedEx, streetfootballworld, Sport 4 Life UK, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, Oltalom, Sport Against Racism Ireland
Categories Employability - Personal development - Sponsors

Context

Football provides an opportunity to address young adults struggling to enter the job market and help them through education, activities to improve job-seeking skills, vocational training and personal development programmes. This project aligns with the Football for Unity concept that the UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld will implement together during the UEFA EURO 2020 competition. For the first time ever, the tournament will be played in 12 European cities and will see the activation of local initiatives using football to promote social development. The programme will be delivered in four locations (Bucharest, Budapest, Dublin, Birmingham) aiming deliver demonstrable results by bringing youngsters closer to education, employment and training (EET).

This project is being run in close collaboration with streetfootballworld and FedEx.

Project content

The target group and activities in the four locations are broken down as follows:

Birmingham, UK - Sport 4 Life (S4L UK)

S4L UK provides the opportunity for disadvantaged young people aged 12–29 to prepare for and move into sustained education, employment or training by improving their employability and key life skills, through sports-themed personal development programmes. The two main pillars of its work are the TEENS programme (personal development programme for socially excluded 12–16 year-olds) and the NEETS (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) programme (employability and personal development programme for 16–29 year-olds). This project will allow S4L UK to strengthen its actions by scaling the methodologies and approaches of the ‘Team up! toolkit’, resulting in extended reach and higher overall impact numbers.

Bucharest, Romania - Policy Center for Roma and Minorities (PCRM)

The organisation enables youngsters aged 7–18 to play an active role in society and promotes inclusion through sustainable educational and football-based programmes. A small-scale employability programme called the ‘Alternative Education Club’, provides workshops and non-formal education through arts and sports. This project will allow the PCRM to consolidate its activities and offer this programme to greater numbers of marginalised young people.

Budapest Hungary - Oltalom Sport Association (OSA)

Oltalom has developed football-based and educational programmes to help young people aged 16–30 integrate into society. In addition to English lessons, a social support and counselling programme helps these young people to draft CVs and cover letters and provides mock job interviews to improve their interview techniques. This project will enable the organisation to consolidate its employability programme.

Dublin, lreland - Sport Against Racism lreland (SARI)

SARI was founded as an NGO in 1997 to support cultural integration and social inclusion in lreland by using sport, particularly football, as a medium to combat racism, sectarianism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination. As the organisation has grown, SARI has developed a youth leadership programme that provides young leaders with the necessary skills to reach their full potential. This project will enable SARI to strengthen its employability programmes within the youth leadership programme and enable more young people to transition to employment, education and training.

 

Objectives

  • The project will utilise the TeamUp! toolkit, which was the outcome of a pan-European project supported by Erasmus+ and delivered within the framework of the European Commission's Strategic Partnerships for Youth.The toolkit:
    • delivers an innovative approach to one of Europe's most pressing social challenges: youth unemployment;
    • identifies and disseminates best practices and impact-proven methodologies to key players in the sectors of sports, youth employability and non-formal education;
    • arms organisations with a comprehensive understanding of how to develop and run football-based employability programmes;
    • targets young adults not in education, employment or training and equips them with the skills they need to build new paths towards a sustainable livelihood.
  • This initiative brings youth in the four different European countries closer to employment and further education by providing capacity building opportunities for local community organisations and supporting local football for employability programmes. Football serves as a low threshold engagement tool for the local, disadvantaged youth that are difficult to reach through other methods of communication, and as methodology to foster soft skills for increased employability of the participants. This is supplemented by specific hard skill and job skill training sessions, e.g. CV writing workshops, language classes, etc. After the first project phase in 19/20, the further need has been identified by the project consortium for further capacity development modules and specific training programmes on how to successfully implement specific employability activities. The 20/21 project will address this need.

Project activities

FOOTBALL AND EMPLOYABILITY PROGRAMMES:

The partner organisations implement football and employability programmes in disadvantaged communities. Employability activities are structured around three skill areas:

  • Soft skills for employability– personal attributes needed to operate successfully in society
  • Job seeking skills – practical skills for finding and applying for a job
  • Hard skills – qualifications needed to perform a specific job

CAPACITY BUILDING AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

The participating organisations will, guided by streetfootballworld and the expert organisation Sport4Life UK, develop organisational action plans to implement and extent their employability programmes.

Expected results

A three-stage impact measurement process represents the three main milestones in the participant’s journey

  • Engagement: number of young people engaged in the programme
  • Increased employability: number of young people who successfully gain skills and motivation
  • Progression: number of young people moved from ‘not in education, employment or training’ to ‘in education, employment or training’.

Partner

Sports facilities in Belskoye Ustye orphanage

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Russia
Start date 04/01/2019
End date 09/30/2019
Cost of the project €34,620
Foundation funding €29,320
Project identifier EUR-2018751
Partners Step Up Orphan Opportunity Centre
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There is huge concern about the abandonment of children in Russia, most of whom are children with disabilities. More than half of people with Down’s syndrome in Russia grow up in orphanages and nearly 30% of Russian children with any type of disability live in orphanages.

The village of Belskoye Ustye is 20km from the nearest town and orphanage residents are restricted in their interactions almost exclusively to their peer group and carers. The region including the surrounding villages and the nearby town of Porkhov is economically depressed, suffers from large outward migration and has few opportunities for young people.

During the summer of 2018, the huge positive impact of football on the children was discovered after some training sessions with professional coaches were organised, enabling tthe joy of playing football together. It was then decided to create a football programme that will provide a rare source of recreation to both children from the orphanage and children from the local community, giving them an opportunity to socialise and to learn important skills.

Project content

The football project of the Step Up Orphan Opportunity Centre, funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children, aims to include orphans and disabled children in society, outside the orphanage. The project will help the children from the orphanage to go some way towards overcoming their severe isolation, facilitating their integration with locals and helping them to develop key communication skills. Moreover, the project will seek to involve children growing up in the village of Belskoye Ustye, the surrounding villages and the nearby town of Porkhov.

To achieve that aim, a football field will be built, and a methodology for football workshops for children with disabilities will be created so that volunteer coaches can run the activities.

Objectives

  • To give children from the orphanage and the rural community access to sport education (guided by professional coaches and trainers).
  • For children from the orphanage to socialise with children from the surrounding rural areas.
  • To improve the health and psychological conditions of the children from the region.
  • For teachers from the orphanage to gain skills as football coaches.
  • For teachers from the orphanage to improve their ability to support the personal development of the children and to integrate specific skills into the football training sessions.
  • To develop a specific methodology for football workshops for children with disabilities.
  • To build a football pitch.

Expected results

  • Football pitch built.
  • Football training sessions provided for the teachers at the orphanage.
  • Football activities provided for the children of the orphanage.
  • Football events run for the children from the orphanage and the children from the local community.

Partner

Success Packages

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Ukraine
Start date 02/01/2019
End date 12/31/2019
Cost of the project €150,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier EUR - 2018413
Partners Klitschko Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

The bombing in Afrin and Ghouta in Syria, and the escalating violence in parts of Afghanistan is driving people to flee. According to the UNHCR, 21,887 people have crossed the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, one-third of whom have arrived on Greek islands. The number of new arrivals was 33% higher in the first four months of 2018 than during the same period in 2017. The emergency reception centres for refugees and migrants are overcrowded. At the same time, national organisations and NGOs are forced to close shelters and programmes for the youngest of those affected by war, conflict, migration and displacement because of administrative bottlenecks. Homelessness among asylum seekers has become an issue because of inadequate procedures which do not guarantee pre-registration.

In 2017, Terre des Hommes provided safe accommodation for 361 vulnerable families and young people. It currently manages 19 apartments in Ioannina. As part of the same protection package, Terre des Hommes has provided legal counselling and representation to over 1,250 refugees and migrants, and mental health and psychological services to more than 1,500. In addition, access to medical services has been ensured in 70% of all cases.

Project content

Terre des Hommes will continue its mission of supporting Greek authorities and civil society by assisting with the emergency reception of refugees and migrants, supporting their effective integration and helping to build integrated and sustainable child protection systems.

The accommodation programme run for nine months, from April to December 2018, and will be implemented in Thessaloníki and Ioannina.

Objectives

  • To expand the existing accommodation programme.
  • To provide the bare minimum of accommodation and cash.
  • To guarantee a range of protection services, including daily social work, protection activities, legal counselling and interpreting.
  • To ensure children have access to adequate child protection services.

Project activities

The project aims to increase access to safe accommodation and social care in Ioannina and Thessaloníki by expanding its existing arrangements to make 400 beds available in northern Greece. The beneficiaries in Ioannina will have access to a large community centre, which will be the venue for cooking events, language classes, Greek film nights, discussion groups, arts and craft events and child-friendly spaces.

In this way, Terre des Hommes will be supporting vulnerable children with caregivers by providing them with accommodation, and giving older unaccompanied minors (males aged 16–17) somewhere where they can live independently.

Furthermore, the project will focus on psychological support for refugee children, young people and their parents by using games, structured creative work, informal learning, theatre, sport, music, reading and any other activities that will improve self-esteem, trust, cooperation, well-being, safety and life skills.

Expected results

Terre des Hommes is the only remaining international child-focused NGO in northern Greece. The housing programme is essential to ensure urgent action to protect migrant children, prevent child exploitation and provide humanitarian aid to children and their families.

Partner