We live together, learn and play

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Madrid, Spain
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €213,113
Foundation funding €20,000
Project identifier 2025001114
Partners Asociación Alacrán 1997
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The main critical issues detected are the vulnerability of children and adolescents regarding their mental and physical health. Anxiety, stress and unwanted isolation have been identified, along with unhealthy habits related to nutrition, sleep and excessive smartphone use. There is also an increased risk of tobacco, alcohol and other drug consumption.

Project goals

  • Support the personal and social development of vulnerable children, helping them to acquire life skills and develop key values.
  • Create a community environment that provides a protective, caring space for children and adolescents, and guarantees their rights.
  • Support the active engagement of children and adolescents, and serve as a model for other projects and initiatives in the community and society at large.

Project content

The project, with football at its core, promotes the holistic development of 130 vulnerable children and adolescents aged between 6 and 17. We believe that sport and civic activities are powerful tools for supporting children’s physical and mental health, strengthening their social and personal skills and instilling key values like equality, respect and teamwork. The project aims to use those tools to create safe, inclusive spaces where children can grow, be empowered, and become agents of change in their communities.

To achieve these objectives, the project delivers activities and programmes in the following areas:

  • Football activities, including running a football school, training youth coaches, organising community sports events and campaigning for equality in sport.
  • Comprehensive social, emotional and educational support both individually and in groups, including additional schooling, training workshops and a mental well-being group.
  • Educational leisure activities and training for youth monitors.
  • Setting up councils of children and adolescents to promote active engagement in decision-making.

Partner

Green Goals for All

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Shkodër and Elbasan, Albania
Start date 02/01/2026
End date 02/01/2027
Cost of the project €115,000
Foundation funding €70,000
Project identifier 2025002471
Partners Qendra Marrëdhënie (The Relationship Center)
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Environmental protection - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

Football is Albania’s most popular sport and a source of national pride and community. However, access to spaces for sport and play remains poor, with girls, Roma children and disabled children in particular often excluded from team sport.

Project goals

  • Transform school playgrounds in two Albanian cities with high Roma populations into green playgrounds: shaded and welcoming community-centred spaces that are inclusive and climate-responsive
  • Provide quality sports pitches and safe places for neighbourhood residents of all ages and backgrounds to exercise, play and learn
  • Offer equitable, low-barrier access to sport and nature, fostering health, confidence and community among marginalised young people

Project content

  • Organise school selection workshops and introductory sessions with each municipality to align objectives and expectations within the relevant city departments
  • Run training sessions and on-site exchanges with expert green playground designers and engagement professionals
  • Engage with the community through playground parties, neighbourhood meetings and baseline opinion surveys
  • Involve students – particularly girls, Roma children and disabled children – in the design process to ensure the spaces reflect their diverse needs
  • Lead the technical design process in close coordination with municipal departments, oversee the construction process and quality control during implementation
  • Use environmental measurements, observational surveys and perception surveys to assess outcomes such as reduced surface temperatures, increased shade coverage, increased use outside of school hours and improved inclusion
  • Provide hands-on training to municipal maintenance staff and sport and science teachers, who can potentially use the playgrounds for outdoor learning opportunities

Partner

Smart Ball

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Türkmenabat city, Lebap region, Turkmenistan
Start date 01/05/2026
End date 12/18/2026
Cost of the project €69,020
Foundation funding €32,000
Project identifier 2025001508
Partners Taze Zaman NGO
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Young people in Türkmenabat have limited access to quality extracurricular activities, particularly in sport and civic education. Around 60% of schools lack adequate sports facilities, and girls’ participation in organised football remains very low (about 15%), reflecting persistent gender stereotypes and unequal access. Youth unemployment and rural-urban disparities further restrict opportunities for personal development and social inclusion. Although football is popular, public pitches are scarce, underfunded and often unsafe, especially for girls. These challenges create an urgent need for integrated initiatives that combine access to sport with life skills, gender equality and civic education – making the Smart Ball project both timely and highly relevant to the local context.

Project goals

  • Increase youth participation in safe and structured sport, with a strong focus on girls
  • Promote gender equality by challenging stereotypes and increasing girls’ participation in football
  • Enhance young people’s life skills and employability through education in leadership, teamwork and civic engagement
  • Improve access to quality sports infrastructure by renovating public football pitches for long-term community use

Project content

The 12-month football and education project comprises a variety of complementary activities:

  • Regular football training sessions delivered three times a week by certified local coaches, in structured groups and safe, inclusive training environments
  • Weekly educational workshops that use interactive methods to engage participants in topics such as teamwork, leadership, gender equality and active citizenship
  • Renovation of two public football pitches, equipped to ensure safe and consistent access for training and community use
  • Inclusive community tournaments and thematic events, including activities specifically encouraging girls’ participation, bringing together young people, their families and local partners and strengthening community engagement around the programme

Partner

Logo Smart Ball

Inclusive Sport for All

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Tokmok, Chuy region, Kyrgyzstan
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 02/28/2027
Cost of the project €33,810
Foundation funding €26,610
Project identifier 2025000796
Partners UPLIFT PF
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Healthy lifestyle - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Children with disabilities in rural Kyrgyzstan have very limited access to inclusive forms of sport and physical activity. Their non-disabled siblings also often lack opportunities for healthy development and social interaction, especially if their families are living on a low income. This leads to isolation and reduced mobility, and places children and families under emotional strain.

Project goals

To provide inclusive, community-based opportunities for children with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan (and their families) to take part in sport, thus promoting good health, inclusion and equality of opportunity.

Project content

  • Weekly inclusive sport sessions held at Uplift Centre
  • Weekly sessions with local partners (NGOs, schools and clubs)
  • Group movement/exercise activities for the participants’ parents
  • Inclusive family sports days and tournaments
  • Volunteer-led training on how to make sport more inclusive
  • Free access to local clubs for participants’ siblings

Partner

Play for Change: Building respectful communities through sport

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Gaborone and Kweneng districts, Botswana
Start date 01/05/2026
End date 06/30/2026
Cost of the project €136,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 2025001231
Partners HOPE Worldwide Botswana
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Gender-based violence is a significant challenge in Botswana, experienced by 67% of women. Young teens lack positive role models and structured opportunities to develop healthy relationship skills. Moreover, traditional gender-based violence prevention focuses on the women and girls, without giving men or women adequate support to challenge harmful gender norms and develop respectful attitudes towards gender equality and children's rights.

Project goals

  • Reduce acceptance of gender-based violence by 30% among 1,100 teenagers aged 10 to 15 (660 boys, 440 girls)
  • Promote gender equality, healthy relationships and positive forms of masculinity and femininity, fostering respect, leadership and protection of children’s rights
  • Build sustainable community-based prevention programmes
  • Strengthen protection of children's rights through bystander intervention training for all participants
  • Create lasting inclusive community partnerships for comprehensive, sustainable youth development

Project content

  • Training 15 coaches to deliver a dual-track sports-based programme that is adapted to the local cultural context and combines sport with gender-specific curricula and child protection: Coaching Boys Into Men and Changing the Game for Girls
  • Weekly two-hour sessions by 15 trained coaches in 20 schools, 2 disability institutions and 10 community clubs for 1,100 teens aged 10 to 15, including children with disabilities
  • Baseline, midway and end-of-programme assessments with all 1,100 participants
  • Joint community showcases, stakeholder engagement events and community dialogue on changing norms and human rights, including children’s rights, women’s rights and disability rights

Partner

Sport and support – Equal goals!

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Berane, Nikšić, Podgorica and Zeta (Montenegro)
Start date 01/15/2026
End date 06/15/2026
Cost of the project €92,636
Foundation funding €73,162
Project identifier 2025000548
Partners Parents NGO
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

UNICEF has reported that more than 30% of children in Montenegro are at risk of poverty, and more than 40% of children under five years old in low and middle-income countries such as Montenegro are at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential. Early childhood poverty increases the risk of developmental delays, lower academic achievement, mental and physical health issues, and future unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and political instability have further worsened conditions for children and families. At the same time, growing inequality between rich and poor is deepening disparities among children.

Project goals

  • Reduce inequalities among children by providing equal opportunities.
  • Reduce dropout rates in primary and secondary education.
  • Increase the children’s self-confidence, with a special focus on girls.
  • Increase opportunities for socialisation and peer connections.
  • Improve the children’s self-esteem and ability to direct their own learning.

In collaboration with coaches and school staff, the project aims to send a clear message: the children are valued, strong and supported, and together, we can overcome anything!

Project content

The project runs sports and psychological workshops in ten schools across Montenegro, with a focus on Roma children and those from low-income families, helping them to become champions of equality. It provides free football programmes for 720 children, 76% of whom are taking part in sport for the first time, as well as psychological empowerment sessions for 150 girls and continuous psychological support for 150 girls.

Partner

Kicking Barriers

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Corona, California, USA
Start date 02/20/2027
End date 02/20/2026
Cost of the project €86,600
Foundation funding €59,100
Project identifier 2025001630
Partners Arise Organization
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Many children in Corona, California are disabled, including 12% of students in the Corona-Norco unified school district. Despite this, there are no structured, year‑round inclusive sports programmes, and unified sport opportunities are rare. As a result, many children are deprived access to the developmental, social and emotional benefits of sport.

Disabled children are often excluded from team play, watching from the sidelines rather than participating. Many families report that their child is never chosen or always left out, which leads to social isolation, low confidence and poor mental health.

The barriers to sport are multidimensional:

  • Physical: No adapted equipment or inclusive football programmes.
  • Social: Low awareness, stigma and exclusion.
  • Emotional: Fear, anxiety and repeated experiences of rejection.
  • Structural: Transport issues, limited funding, inaccessible facilities.

Project goals

Kicking Barriers aims to change this by creating a culture where every child belongs on the field.

  • Expand access to inclusive football
  • Train local coaches in inclusive practices
  • Build children’s confidence, empathy and teamwork skills
  • Strengthen community awareness
  • Create a replicable inclusive sport and social-emotional learning model

Project content

Deliver a one‑year integrated programme combining inclusive football training, social-emotional learning, coach development and community advocacy.

Inclusive football sessions

  • Run 36 adapted football sessions for mixed-ability teams using inclusive rules and equipment
  • Complete safeguarding and risk assessments and track attendance

Coach training and mentoring

  • Develop and deliver three inclusive coaching training sessions
  • Train ten local coaches and provide ongoing mentoring and practical support

Ability Avengers programme

  • Organise 36 sessions that combine social-emotional learning with football as part of the Ability Avengers programme, educating children about disabilities
  • Carry out baseline and endline assessments to measure growth in empathy, confidence and teamwork skills

Community engagement

  • Host three inclusive community matches
  • Reach 300 parents, caregivers and teachers through events and outreach activities
  • Collect feedback and document shifts in attitudes

Documentation and replication

  • Produce a detailed inclusive sport and social-emotional learning methodology and develop guidance materials
  • Document the success stories of three children who have previously experienced exclusion
  • Package the model for use by schools, clubs and community organisations

Partner

Play and Debate

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Aley and Beirut (Achrafieh district), Lebanon
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €35,572
Foundation funding €15,240
Project identifier 2025001131
Partners Baroudeurs de l'Espoir
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Lebanon is facing a serious multisectoral crisis, exacerbated by the current war and regional conflicts, which are having a profound effect on young people. Persistent instability, electricity and fuel shortages and the breakdown of essential services are restricting children’s access to education, healthcare and protection. War also increases the risk of domestic violence, child labour, family separation and psychosocial distress.

Project goals

Use sport to support the psychosocial development of children and teenagers in Lebanon, offering them opportunities to relax in a safe environment, teaching them about peace and social harmony, and enabling them to grow, exercise, excel and develop team spirit.

Project content

Two-hour socio-educational sports sessions, offering children and teenagers a precious opportunity to move, play, learn and develop a sense of teamwork.

The first hour is divided into three 20-minute sections in which the children learn a new game, receive a presentation on a particular topic (e.g. conflict management or peace) and then discuss the topic and how to apply it to their everyday lives. A nutritious snack is provided – a valuable support for families experiencing financial hardship – before the second half of the session, which comprises a mini sports tournament.

 

Partner

Fútbol en Señas: Deaf kids on the field

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Argentina
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 10/30/2027
Cost of the project €99,000
Foundation funding €73,040
Project identifier 2025001810
Partners Canales Asociación Civil
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Over 2,600 deaf athletes are registered with the Confederación Argentina Deportiva de Sordos, the national governing body for deaf sports in Argentina. Nonetheless, deaf children are often excluded from football and other sports because they lack accessible spaces and coaches trained in Argentine Sign Language. This exclusion limits their social interactions, personal growth and self-esteem. There are few deaf role models in sport and many families don’t have the resources to support their children’s participation in football.

Project goals

Main goal: Promote deaf children’s social inclusion through sport, particularly football, the most popular sport in Argentina

Other objectives:

  • Turn deaf coaches into role models
  • Encourage interaction between deaf and hearing peers
  • Support families to help their children thrive in sport
  • Build self-confidence, teamwork and discipline
  • Expand to new regions, ensuring long-term sustainability and wider impact

 

Project content

  • Training for deaf football coaches in Argentine Sign Language and inclusive strategies
  • Weekly football sessions in institutions for deaf people in Buenos Aires
  • Awareness workshops and support sessions for families
  • Production and distribution of football training materials that use or are adapted for use with sign language
  • Inclusive tournaments involving deaf and hearing children

Partner

Kicking off rights: Sport as a gateway to legal identity and other children’s rights

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 06/30/2027
Cost of the project €143,286
Foundation funding €71,643
Project identifier 2025000291
Partners Toybox Charity
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

A growing number of children and young adults in Santa Cruz live on the streets with no identity documents because their births were unregistered or they have lost their papers. Without a legal identity, they are denied access to healthcare, social services, education and employment. They are confronted with systemic discrimination, generational poverty and extreme vulnerability. Despite the urgency, no government policies address their needs; these children remain invisible and at risk.

Sport can be used to get these street children into the system and give them a legal identity, opening the door to long-denied rights while building trust and resilience, confidence and life skills.

Project goals

By June 2027:

  • Get 50 street/high-risk children to attend weekly sports practice or play, through which they can access identity documents, education and healthcare
  • Secure legal identity documents for 720 children
  • Enrol 120 children in education
  • Educate 30 health workers to actively support street/high-risk children

Project content

  • Birth registrations, IDs and disability cards
  • Outreach: Street work, child contact and first aid
  • Sports activities: Football and Zumba
  • Education: Preschool play, literacy, numeracy and crafts
  • School support: Enrolment and education campaigns
  • Health: Check-ups, disability evaluations and follow-up

Partner

Move Forward

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Budapest, Hungary
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €72,840
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 2025001801
Partners Second Chance Sports Association
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

In Hungary, disadvantaged children and refugees face serious challenges such as poverty, social exclusion and restricted access to education and support services. Organisations working with them operate under significant pressure and cannot rely on stable domestic funding. These conditions make targeted projects essential to maintain support for marginalised communities and respond to their needs.

Project goals

  • Strengthen social cohesion and a sense of belonging among disadvantaged children and refugees
  • Develop participants’ personal and social skills, including teamwork, communication, self-confidence and problem-solving, in order to support successful social integration
  • Raise awareness of key values, including equality, women's empowerment and fairness
  • Foster intercultural exchange and skill development
  • Support participants' well-being
  • Strengthen the capacity of staff and volunteers delivering sports-based educational programmes and adapt innovative methodologies to different community needs

Project content

  • Organise regular football and basketball training sessions that create an inclusive environment, develop essential personal and social competencies and promote teamwork and mutual respect among participants
  • Provide individualised support through mentoring, social work, job-seeking assistance and other tailored services
  • Run fair play football roadshows that combine sport with awareness-raising, promoting values such as equality, non-discrimination and active citizenship
  • Hold workshops on topics such as anti-racism, digital literacy, employability, women's empowerment, adolescent pregnancy prevention and financial skills
  • Through our Social Coach training, we build the capacity of staff and volunteers to work more effectively with marginalized groups using sport-based methodologies.
  • In addition, we aim to pilot and further develop a football-based educational and skill-building methodology.

Partner

Amputee Football Junior Camps: Empowering children and youngsters through sport

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico and Kigali, Rwanda
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2027
Cost of the project €151,802
Foundation funding €104,561
Project identifier 2025001278
Partners European Amputee Football Federation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

In Mexico and Rwanda, underdeveloped infrastructure, low public awareness and economic hardship create major obstacles for disabled children, from mobility barriers to social stigma. Those from poor or rural backgrounds are especially marginalised. Their exclusion runs deep and their potential remains untapped for lack of inclusive programmes and support. Sport, especially football – and in our context amputee football – can offer hope, create opportunity and deliver meaningful change.

Project goals

  • Create inclusive football opportunities for disabled children from poor backgrounds
  • Improve physical, social and emotional well-being
  • Build confidence, resilience and identity
  • Develop social skills through team activities
  • Facilitate peer exchange
  • Promote inclusion, especially for disabled girls
  • Train and support local coaches and educators
  • Engage parents and families

Project content

  • Online introductory sessions to present the learning model and support implementation in each country
  • Online pre-camp workshops for coaches and staff, including webinars and live Q&A sessions
  • Two camps – one in Mexico and one in Rwanda – including adapted football training, inclusive games, peer exchange, life skills workshops and parental support
  • Inclusion training for local coaches
  • Camp workshops with partners to promote cultural exchange, foster inclusion, build capacity and empower

Partner

Sports Generation

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €282,844
Foundation funding €95,000
Project identifier 2025001148
Partners Association TIBU Maroc
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

In many African countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, children grow up with limited access to structured physical activity, health education and safe, inclusive spaces. State schools, particularly in rural, peri-urban and fragile areas, often lack regular programmes promoting well-being, disease prevention and equal opportunities for girls and boys.

At the same time, a significant number of young people face serious challenges in accessing decent employment, especially those no longer in the education system and not already working or being trained for work. This increases vulnerability to social exclusion, irregular migration and long-term poverty. In Libya and other areas affected by instability or natural disasters, children are even more exposed to psychosocial and educational risks.

In these circumstances, sport represents a powerful lever to promote health, inclusion, resilience and community cohesion. Génération Sportive uses sport as a structured educational tool, strengthening local teams by means of a ‘train the trainers’ model and using a ‘solidarity caravan’ to reach the most remote and fragile areas.

Project goals

  • Promote healthy and active lifestyles among children through regular sport and well-being education
  • Foster inclusive, safe and gender-equal school environments
  • Strengthen local capacities by training sports and health activity leaders to serve as community changemakers
  • Support the professional integration of young adults through the recruitment and certification of 31 activity leaders
  • Extend access to sport and educational activities to remote and fragile areas through a mobile ‘solidarity caravan’
  • Build sustainable partnerships with ministries, schools and local associations to ensure long-term impact and ownership

Project content

The project is implemented through a set of complementary and structured activities:

  • Weekly sports-health sessions in 31 schools, ensuring that each child participates in at least one guided physical activity a week
  • Daily well-being support provided by activity leaders, focusing on hygiene, nutrition, emotional health and positive behaviour
  • Inclusive and mixed-gender sports activities promoting equal participation of girls and boys and challenging stereotypes
  • A ‘train the trainers’ system that trains, certifies and supports 31 sports and health activity leaders to become local community leaders
  • Cascading of training so that the activity leaders can transfer their skills to more than 600 youngsters and other members of the local community
  • A solidarity sports caravan that takes sport, education and awareness activities to rural, remote and crisis-affected areas

Partner

Familjeprogrammet Funkis

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Sweden, Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €26,500
Foundation funding €20,500
Project identifier 2025001561
Partners En Frisk Generation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The Public Health Agency of Sweden has found that intellectually disabled children report lower life satisfaction and poorer self-rated health than their peers. Currently, very few participate in organised sport due to structural barriers, limited support and a lack of inclusive opportunities. Early health-promoting efforts are crucial to reduce these health disparities and enable healthy choices later in life.

Project goals

  • Promote physical health and well-being through regular sports activities
  • Foster social inclusion and community engagement
  • Enhance intellectually disabled children’s personal development and social skills
  • Provide accessible and inclusive sports opportunities for intellectually disabled children
  • Raise awareness of the structural barriers that intellectually disabled children face in society

Project content

The project centres on Funkis, a programme offering weekly football and sports activities designed specifically for intellectually disabled children and their families. Beyond physical activity, sessions include education on health, nutrition and well-being. The project also organises inclusive community events such as races and family activity days to support integration and raise awareness. Collaboration with local sports clubs and schools ensures long-term engagement and reduced barriers to participation.

Partner

Football for All – Unified Football in Thuringia

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Arnstadt, Bad Langensalza, Erfurt, Gera, Jena, Suhl and Weimar, Germany
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 06/30/2027
Cost of the project €152,828
Foundation funding €47,828
Project identifier 2025002425
Partners Spirit of Football e.V.
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Intellectually disabled children in Thuringia often face exclusion from mainstream schools, football clubs and social life. Many love football but lack access due to stigma, financial barriers or lack of support. Girls are especially affected. Unified Football breaks down these barriers through inclusive school and club activities, role models from pro clubs and life-changing events like the Unified Football tournaments – promoting visibility, health, friendships and confidence for all.

Project goals

  • Promote inclusion in schools, clubs and communities, creating shared experiences that break down stigma and build empathy
  • Improve the physical and mental health of intellectually disabled children and young adults while also teaching non-disabled people tolerance, compassion and teamwork
  • Raise visibility and inspire replication, especially in rural Thuringia, through collaborations with (professional) clubs

Project content

Unified Football brings together intellectually disabled and non-disabled children through weekly inclusive football sessions in schools and clubs, awareness-raising workshops, unified community events and inclusive tournaments. The programme fosters empathy, mutual respect, well-being and teamwork. It helps create lasting friendships, reduces stigma and breaks down barriers. Unified Football proves that football is for everyone, regardless of ability, on and off the pitch, locally and internationally.

Partner

Invisible Champions

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Serbia, Vranje, Bujanovac and Preševo, Pčinja district
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 11/01/2026
Cost of the project €56,112
Foundation funding €56,112
Project identifier 2025002437
Partners Vranje centre for activism
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The Pčinja district in southern Serbia is among the country’s least developed and most socially diverse regions. Many children and young adults – particularly girls, Roma children, migrants, refugees and disabled children – face poverty, social exclusion and limited access to safe and organised sports activities.

Much of the district’s sports infrastructure is outdated or neglected, and opportunities for children from different backgrounds to meet and interact through positive, structured activities remain limited. Cooperation between schools, sports clubs and local institutions is also often insufficient, limiting the potential of sport to promote inclusion and healthy development and prevent violence.

Project goals

  • Increase access to safe, inclusive sports activities for marginalised children and young adults, particularly girls, Roma children, migrants, refugees and disabled children
  • Use sport as a tool to promote social inclusion, tolerance and mutual respect among children from different ethnic and social backgrounds
  • Reduce gender, social and cultural barriers through activities that mix sport with learning
  • Improve access to safe and functional sports infrastructure in local communities
  • Promote healthy lifestyles, non-violence, teamwork and fair play among children and young adults
  • Strengthen cooperation between schools, sports clubs, civil society organisations and local authorities to ensure long-term impact and sustainability
  • Empower children and young adults by providing safe spaces where they can participate, develop and interact with their peers

Project content

We run a comprehensive set of sports, educational and community-based activities targeting children from marginalised backgrounds that offer safe access to sport and contribute to improving local sports facilities and strengthening partnerships at community level. By creating spaces where children can play, learn and grow together, Invisible Champions fosters tolerance, equality and social cohesion, contributing to the well-being of children and the long-term resilience of local communities.

All activities are implemented in close cooperation with schools, sports clubs, civil society organisations and local authorities, and are continuously monitored and documented to ensure quality, transparency and sustainability.

  • Sports clubs are established in partner primary schools, and trained coaches and teachers lead weekly basketball, football and volleyball training sessions, adapted to ensure that marginalised children can participate
  • Young volunteers work alongside local communities and partners to renovate and revitalise neglected sports fields by cleaning, painting, repairing and installing basic sports equipment and creating safer, more accessible spaces for children’s activities
  • Under the Sport programme, educational workshops complement sports activities by addressing topics such as tolerance, gender equality, non-violence, child safeguarding and discrimination prevention, while encouraging dialogue, teamwork and respect
  • Inclusive sports tournaments bring together mixed teams of children from different communities and engage parents, schools and local communities, fostering cooperation and fair play and strengthening social cohesion
  • The digital platform My Sport, My Voice provides information on local sports opportunities, training schedules and renovated facilities, while also giving children a space to share experiences and stories

Partner