We are the Champions

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location South-Sudan
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €180,166
Foundation funding €103,200
Project identifier 20200429
Partners Light for the World International
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims

Context

Over 1.87 million South Sudanese people have been internally displaced by the conflicts that erupted in December 2013 and July 2016. In the aftermath of the December 2013 to April 2014 conflict, Light for the World carried out an informal random appraisal of the accessibility of the humanitarian services provided by various agencies in the Mahad and Gumbo Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps and host communities. It primarily assessed the education and rehabilitation services for children and adults with disabilities; the general physical accessibility of the camps; and the knowledge, attitude and practices of the humanitarian assistance staff in relation to disabilities. It was found that the knowledge, competencies, vulnerability and needs of persons with disabilities, especially children, girls and women, were being ignored.

Project content

The project’s main goal is to use sports to promote the rights of children with disabilities to access basic health, rehabilitation, education and other services in schools, IDP camps and host community settings.

Sports will further uplift spirits, promote inter-ethnic togetherness, raise disability awareness, and enhance social-cultural and economic inclusion and participation leading to empowerment and independence for persons with disabilities.

Objectives

  • Use the power of inclusive sports as a transformational tool in IDP camps and schools to break down the barriers preventing persons with disabilities from accessing humanitarian response services and education.
  • Promote inclusion in mainstream sports activities in three IDP camps and 90 schools.
  • Create an environment that promotes acceptance of disability.

Project activities

Creation of five inclusive football and basketball teams:

  • Community mobilisation with the support of community-based rehabilitation workers and disability inclusion facilitators
  • Procurement of sports equipment for football, basketball and indoor games, including first aid kits and dignity kits for girls with disabilities
  • Recruitment and orientation of coaches who will provide weekly coaching

Tournaments:

  • Tournaments in Juba every quarter for teams from three IDP camps
  • Friendly matches every month

Teacher training:

  • Training workshop for teachers/coaches in disability inclusion, inclusive sports, inclusive education and children’s rights
  • Refresher training for teachers and coaches
  • Follow-up on the impact of the training

Raising awareness:

  • Awareness raising campaign on disability rights/inclusion and peaceful coexistence including camp management committees
  • Celebration of World Refugee Day and International Day of Persons with Disabilities and production of information, education and communication materials

Disability mainstreaming:

  • Disability mainstreaming training for humanitarian and development organisations
  • Follow-ups and on-the-job coaching for humanitarian staff trained in disability inclusion
  • Continuous engagement with ministries, NGOs, companies and other stakeholders

Expected results

  • 5,000 children with disabilities will have access to existing services, including sports
  • 864 children with disabilities (250 girls and 614 boys) will participate in tournaments
  • 32 children from the inclusive sports team will be supported to become professional players
  • Five inclusive sports for peace teams will be created and trained and they will take part in friendly matches, tournaments and awareness raising campaigns
  • 90 teachers from 90 schools will be trained in inclusive sports lessons in a three-day training course
  • More than 18,000 people will be more aware of disability inclusion
  • There will be mass awareness campaigns in all three IDP camps and 90 schools
  • 18 humanitarian agencies in the IDP camps will become disability inclusive, through a five-day capacity-building training course

Partner

Improving Protection, Socio-Educational Provision and Social Reintegration for Vulnerable Children in the Central African Republic

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Central African Republic, Bangui
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 04/28/2023
Cost of the project €780,000
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 20200647
Partners Triangle Génération Humanitaire
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

According to the Central African Republic’s Ministry of Social Affairs, there are 4,000 children living on the streets in Bangui. State social support services are limited and these children are exposed to drug abuse, prostitution, infectious diseases, gender-based and other forms of violence. Incarcerated minors are also vulnerable as their rights and dignity are not respected.

 

Project content

This two-year project aims to improve support for street children and incarcerated minors by boosting the capacity of child protection agencies and workers. To help these marginalised children reintegrate into society and their families, the project will cover all stages of their journey: assistance, accommodation, schooling and vocational training. Sport will provide educational and recreational opportunities.

Objectives

  • Improve support for vulnerable children who have lost social or family contact in Bangui and its surrounding areas
  • Maintain and develop services to improve the protection and reintegration of these children

Project activities

  • Developing the capacity of state actors and civil society in the area of child protection
  • Providing educational and social support to marginalised children:
    • medical and social assistance
    • outreach and education, particularly through sports
  • Supporting the social reintegration of marginalised children who are living on the streets or incarcerated through:
    • housing
    • schooling
    • vocational training
  • Reuniting children with their families

Expected results

  • Coordination and support measures for child protection agencies and workers will improve care for vulnerable children: 25 places in accommodation will be available for 150 children and 80 people working in child protection will be better informed.
  • 300 vulnerable children will have access to protection services which will help improve their living conditions.
  • Vulnerable children will be stabilised and helped to reintegrate into their families and society: 100 children will attend school and 30 young people will take part in vocational training or a work placement.

Partner

Blind Solidarity

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Mali, Bamako
Start date 01/02/2017
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €60,000
Project identifier 20200717
Partners Libre Vue
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The Institut des Jeunes Aveugles, a school for blind children in Bamako, is home to 250 disabled children, where they live and study in difficult conditions. Since 2012, Libre Vue has provided a blind football programme to promote the schoolchildren’s access to sport and contribute to their personal development, health and inclusion.

Project content

The Solidarité Aveugle programme initially developed blind football at the school as a leisure activity for the children by creating a pitch and training coaches. Over time the programme has expanded to include other activities. Mali’s national blind football team was created out of the centre’s best players, coming 10th in the 2018 Blind Football World Championships and 2nd in the 2017 and 2019 Blind Football African Championships. The programme has also involved drilling a well to supply the school with drinking water, planting an organic vegetable garden to improve canteen food and raising public awareness about disability.

A total of 120 young people aged 6–20, 20% of whom are girls, take part in four weekly training sessions and have access to the Maison Cécifoot (home of blind football) equipped with showers and changing rooms.

Objectives

Despite the tragic events in Mali, over the past eight years Libre Vue has provided sports and solidarity activities for blind children with the support of its partners. The current objective is to upgrade its infrastructure with an artificial turf pitch that will allow the Solidarité Aveugle programme to become self-funding by organising events and hiring out the pitch.

Project activities

  • Operating the blind football centre in 2021: holding training sessions, providing sports equipment and mobility aids (white canes), organising exhibition matches and arranging public awareness raising events.
  • Installing an artificial pitch: importing the turf from France, building and under-pitch drainage system, installing the pitch, inaugurating the pitch.

Expected results

  • Improved playing conditions: replacing the dirt pitch will improve safety and enjoyment of the game and attract more children (25% more at the start of the 2021 school year).
  • Reach: coverage of the new facilities with help to publicise blind football in Mali and change attitudes towards disability (30% more followers on the Mali blind football Facebook page – 500 people more disability aware through blind football).
  • Elite level football: the pitch will be used by the national team for official matches or training (plan to hold a regional African tournament in 2022).
  • Funding: events, hiring out the pitch and the involvement of local partners will partially fund the activities (25% expected in 2022).

Partner

Football Foundation Programme

Location and general information

Terminé
Location South Africa, Western Cap
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €81,000
Foundation funding €30,000
Project identifier 20201327
Partners Grootbos Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The Football Foundation, a subsidiary of the Grootbos Foundation, operates in the rural towns of Hawston, Zwelihle, Hermanus, Stanford, Gansbaai, and Elim in the Overberg region two hours from Cape Town. Here vulnerable children and their families live in underserved townships and overcrowded informal settlements in inadequate shack housing without electricity, digital access, running water or inside toilets. Families move here hoping to find work, but are faced with socio-economic problems such as poverty, high levels of school drop-out, gangs, marine poaching, drugs, alcohol abuse and gender-based violence. With an unemployment rate of over 50%, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, young people face a bleak future. Schools are struggling to serve these communities and children have little hope of breaking out of the cycle of poverty.

The Football Foundation programme aims to give these children role models, hope, healthy lifestyles and promising opportunities so that they can pursue the same dreams as more affluent children.

Project content

The Football Foundation programme uses community development sports programmes to give vulnerable children not just access to sport, but also to education, life skills, health and nutrition, life opportunities, gender equality, employability and conservation awareness, which paves the way to a better future and more dignified life.

8,461 vulnerable children attend free, daily, multisports coaching at community sites and schools. This gives them a safe place where they benefit from daily meals, role models in the form of their coaches, and digital access and learning support, which are vital during school closures due to the pandemic. The children receive education in female empowerment, conservation, nutrition, HIV and AIDS, employability, entrepreneurship and racial integration.

Objectives

The programme aims to uplift vulnerable children (aged 6 months to 18 years) through sports coaching, education and life skills to help them become thriving young adults. With a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular conservation, the programme is committed to conserving and restoring the natural biodiversity of the local Cape Floral Kingdom.

Project activities

  • Coaching in football, hockey, cross-country running, netball, track and field, canoeing, women’s rugby and water safety.
  • Motor skills sports at early childhood development centres and a special needs centre.
  • An HIV/AIDS programme in schools.
  • Afterschool programmes: female empowerment programme; Earth Rangers conservation programme; Food 4 Sport nutrition programme; and employability and entrepreneurship programme.
  • Learning support and free data.

Expected results

  • A minimum of 8,461 beneficiaries aged 6–18 years (49% female) of the sports programmes.
  • A minimum of 200 beneficiaries aged 0–6 years (50% female) of the motor skills programmes.
  • A minimum of 15 beneficiaries with special needs (aged 8–16 years) of the motor skills programmes.
  • 40 beneficiaries of the female empowerment programme.
  • 90 beneficiaries of the Earth Rangers programme.
  • 120 beneficiaries of the Food 4 Sport programme.
  • 120 beneficiaries of the employability and entrepreneurship programme.
  • A minimum of 8,461 beneficiaries of the daily meals scheme.
  • 100 beneficiaries of access to education support.

Partner

Just Play

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Pacific Islands
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €1,000,000
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20200701
Partners Ocean Football Confederation (OFC)
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The Pacific region is home to half a million children spread over 17.2 million square kilometres of ocean. These children face significant challenges as they navigate their way through daily life.

Obesity and diabetes are on the rise. Only 18% of children in Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu attend regular physical education classes, and fewer than 20% play for 60 minutes or more a day. More than 25% of children are overweight or obese at 13 years of age.

Children with disabilities experience discrimination, exclusion and social barriers; and girls are marginalised and face inequalities in education, decision-making processes and access to health services.

Children are exposed to high levels of violence at home and at school and one in four live below the poverty line. More than 40% miss school and up to 30% of those aged 15–24 are illiterate.

Furthermore, the region is prone to natural disasters, with children one of the most severely affected groups.

Through structured sport-for-development interventions, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) seeks to enhance national capacities to tackle the issues affecting children in the Pacific region, particularly non-communicable diseases, child protection, gender and social inequality, and humanitarian response.

Project content

As the most popular global sport, football has the power to influence the perceptions, behaviours and actions of children and their communities. Whether it is a training session, fun activity, kick-about or competition, children and teenagers are forced to make hundreds of important decisions, and with no two drills, kick-abouts or matches ever the same, they are given a variety of scenarios and contexts to learn from.

The OFC capitalises on this with a learning through sport approach to programme development recognised for creating low-cost, high-impact tools to achieve global development priorities. The Just Play programme promotes regular physical activity and harnesses its power to impact issues such as nutrition, disability and social inclusion to bring about positive social behaviour change. By integrating social messages into its sessions – for example, the importance of eating fruit and vegetables, the programme works to reduce regional vulnerabilities to endemic social issues.

Objectives

  • Build stronger, healthier communities and address the social issues affecting young people in the Pacific region.
  • Provide a platform through which to enhance positive behaviour, build confidence and resilience, develop fundamental life skills and enable informed decision-making in children and teenagers.
  • Empower children and teenagers to advocate for change and create role models to encourage active civic engagement.
  • Empower and engage girls, broaden their opportunities, and improve their access to football and to management and leadership pathways within football.

Project activities

The Just Play programme currently has four streams: Just Play 6–12 years, Just Play 13–18 years, Just Play grassroots and Just Play emergency.It provides children and teenagers with access to quality sports activities, educational platforms, advocacy campaigns, public dialogue, and the knowledge and skills necessary to make consistent, long-term lifestyle choices that promote health and wellness, gender equality, social inclusion and child protection.

 Just Play also supports the upskilling of teachers and community volunteers to enable them to deliver programme activities. It develops partnerships with inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations to expand and enhance the delivery of football for development programmes.

Expected results

Since 2009:

  • 317,004 children and teenagers have taken part in the Just Play programme across the Pacific region
  • 7,198 teachers and community volunteers have been trained to deliver the programme
  • 17,390 children and teenagers have taken part in Just Play emergency programme festivals

After participating in Just Play:

  • 82% of children chose to drink water instead of soda (compared to 52% previously)
  • 72% of boys said they enjoyed playing football with girls (53% previously) and 85% of children said they acknowledged and celebrated differences (65% previously)
  • 59% of children said they felt safe in the wake of a natural disaster (24% previously)
  • 54% of teenagers said they knew how to make SMART goals
  • 98% of teenage boys saw their coach as a positive role model
  • 71% of teenagers said they had someone to talk to if they had a problem or needed help and 93% said they knew what to do if they or someone they knew was being bullied

Partner

The Game, The Life !

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location South-Africa, Pretoria
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €62,248
Foundation funding €15,000
Project identifier 20200921
Partners Médecins du Monde
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Personal development

Context

The Mamelodi township, northeast of Pretoria, is one of the poorest communities in South Africa. The level of education is low and opportunities for supervised learning outside the classroom are often non-existent. Physical education was taken off the national curriculum in 1994 and it is a subject easily neglected in townships lacking playgrounds and sports fields. Children often hang out unsupervised on the streets where they are exposed to numerous risks, such as violence, drugs, and early and unprotected sex, further damaging their already fragile lives and preventing them from building a future.

Project content

Bophelo Ke Kgwele (The Game, the Life!) was launched in 2011 by the Swiss NGO IMBEWU, in partnership with the South African association Altus Sport and the basketball player Thabo Sefolosha. The project promotes children’s learning and holistic development through extracurricular sports, educational and recreational activities. These activities are led by young adults from within the local community and consist of academic support classes, summer camps, tournaments and life skills sessions.

Objectives

The project improves the participants’ physical and mental well-being, as well as raising their level of education. By building partnerships, Altus Sport becomes more sustainable and autonomous.

Project activities

  • Sports activities every day after school, on some weekends and during the holidays.
  • Fun life skills sessions covering social issues, health and prevention, rights and responsibilities, crime, gender equality, drugs and sex.
  • After-school English reading and writing support for children aged 6–8.
  • Daily distribution of fruit to all the beneficiaries to address the problem of malnutrition.
  • Maintenance of sports facilities and provision of water and sanitation facilities.
  • Training and knowledge-sharing workshops every month for the young coaches.

Expected results

  • Trust will be established between the young people and the coaches.
  • Coaches will develop professional, personal and social skills; each coach will participate in at least 80% of the workshops each year; and at least one coach will find employment each year.
  • The beneficiaries’ self-esteem and self-confidence will increase by 75% each year.
  • English reading and comprehension levels will be improved by 50% each year and children needing extra academic support will attend at least one reading support class per week.
  • Each child will attend at least one sports lesson per week and over the year they will learn the rules of the game and develop their skills in at least six sports.
  • The nutritional element will remain part of the project and the physical fitness of the beneficiaries will be improved by 80% each year.
  • Communication with all partners will continue; the municipality of Tshwane will continue to support the project; and networking will attract new sponsors and partners.
  • Manuals will be regularly updated and tests at the beginning and end of each year will provide accurate and relevant quantitative and qualitative data.

Partner

Bijzondere Eredivisie

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Netherlands
Start date 06/01/2021
End date 05/31/2022
Cost of the project €150,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20200607
Partners Het Gehandicapte Kind foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There are more than 100,000 disabled children in the Netherlands. Exercise is very important to improve their health, independence and self-confidence. Disabled children are more likely to experience loneliness, and sport gives them the opportunity to make friends. The Het Gehandicapte Kind foundation believes that all children should be able to share the same dreams and playing for their favourite football club is one those.

Project content

In 2019, the Het Gehandicapte Kind foundation kicked off the world’s first official football competition for disabled children: Bijzondere Eredivisie. Thanks to the funding of the UEFA Foundation, the third season can begin!

Children with a disability are given the opportunity to join a professional football club and play the sport they love. Playing sport helps them become socially included, build friendships and boost their self-confidence. Ten football clubs competed in the first season: Ajax, ADO Den Haag, De Graafschap, Excelsior, FC Emmen, FC Groningen, FC Utrecht, Heracles Almelo, SC Heerenveen and VVV Venlo.

Objectives

  • Increase the visibility of children with disabilities.
  • Inspire disabled children to believe that anything is possible.
  • Increase disabled children’s participation in sports.
  • Increase awareness of disabled football in the Netherlands.
  • Establish a sustainable competition.

Project activities

  • Clubs 'scout' their own team during the open selection days for approximately 200 disabled children.
  • Ten clubs and 120 children participate in the competition (more clubs and more children next season).
  • The teams train once a week at the grounds of their professional club.
  • A competition takes place twice a month, and every professional football club hosts once a season.
  • The competitions are a fully organised event with a welcome by the club manager, lunch and transport.
  • Communication via social media platforms (Bijzondere Eredivisie and football clubs’ channels).

Expected results

  • Children socialise and make new friends through their football clubs.
  • Children act as a catalyst for a more positive, inclusive perception of disabled children.
  • More disabled children start to play football.
  • Notable improvement in the confidence and health of the disabled children.
  • Minimum of 18 professional clubs involved in the competition.

Partner

Good Health and Climate Action through Football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Lesotho
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €245,000
Foundation funding €122,600
Project identifier 20201058
Partners Kick4Life
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle

Context

Young people in Lesotho face many severe and overlapping health challenges that negatively impact their well-being and prospects, including:

  • The world’s second highest prevalence of HIV and a lack of access to HIV testing and counselling.
  • High levels of gender-based violence.
  • A lack of access to sanitation facilities and poor standards of hygiene, contributing to the spread of preventable diseases such as TB.
  • An accelerating COVID-19 infection rate.
  • Drug and alcohol abuse.
  • Extremely high levels of poverty and food insecurity.
  • An urgent need for mental health support, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A reduction in vital resources due to climate change.

The young people engaged in the programme come from a range of underprivileged and vulnerable backgrounds, including:

  • Children living on the street.
  • HIV-positive youth.
  • Orphans.
  • Teenage mothers.
  • Children living in poverty.
  • At-risk children and vulnerable girls.
  • Children engaged in child labour.

Project content

The project focuses on improving the health and long-term prospects of Lesotho’s youth, with an enhanced emphasis on gender equality and reducing gender-based violence. It tackles issues such as HIV prevention, hygiene, nutrition and urgent COVID-19 health education, as well as facilitating referrals to specialist healthcare providers. The project also develops key life skills, empowering participants to protect the health of people and the planet. Participants are also encouraged to take part in other Kick4Life activities such as employability programmes and training and employment opportunities within its hospitality social enterprises.

The expanded project also aims to reduce the health impact of climate change, with new sessions on water conservation, biodiversity and preventing land degradation. A Youth Climate Action Group will be set up to drive climate action by young people across Lesotho.

Objectives

The project aims to increase the health-related knowledge of 5,000 young people through a football-based curriculum in order to improve their physical and mental health, well-being and nutrition and reduce their vulnerability to HIV and COVID‑19. The project’s outcomes are aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being), 5 (gender equality), and 13 (climate action).

Project activities

  • Delivery of an 18-session football-based curriculum to 5,000 young people, in 200 intakes of 25 participants, with an even gender balance
  • Creation of four new climate education sessions and a Youth Climate Action Group
  • Development of a COVID-19 adaptation plan for alternative delivery if regular programming is interrupted
  • Two training courses for 20 coaches, including updated COVID-19 safeguarding
  • 500 referrals to health and protection services
  • Monitoring and evaluation including 125 pre- and post-tests and eight focus groups

Expected results

5,000 young people will have:

  • Increased health-related knowledge, including on HIV prevention and sexual health, hygiene and sanitation and nutrition
  • Improved attitudes to gender equality
  • Improved access to healthcare, including HIV testing and mental health services
  • Better understanding of climate change and motivation to take climate action
  • Greater confidence in maintaining their health and achieving their potential

Partner

Promoting Sports to Build Resilience in Rural Nicaragua

Location and general information

Closed
Location Nicaragua
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €96,115
Foundation funding €57,000
Project identifier 20200543
Partners Fabretto Children's Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Economic activity in Nicaragua has decreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Reduced disposable income and higher unemployment, together with rising food costs and limited access to hygiene supplies, have led to a rise in health problems and community stress. The uncertainty being experienced by already vulnerable communities is endangering children’s fundamental rights to education, play and development, as well as their access to learning materials.

Project content

The project has two components: (1) health and personal well-being; and (2) education, extracurricular activities and sport. It seeks to mitigate the risk of COVID-19, by promoting personal hygiene, a balanced diet and other healthy habits. It also seeks to reduce exclusion by ensuring access to quality education for 780 children from vulnerable communities in Nicaragua and foster an inclusive and healthy environment through extracurricular activities, sport, and community engagement.

Objectives

  • Educate students and their families about the importance of personal hygiene, a balanced diet and good mental health.
  • Provide children in poor communities with meaningful afterschool activities.
  • Enhance the reading and writing skills of primary school children.
  • Promote physical activities, such as football training and at-home workouts.

Project activities

Promotion of health and personal well-being:

  • Provision of hygiene kits, sports kits and learning materials.
  • Health campaigns.
  • Workshops (in-person and/or online) with parents and educators.
  • Lunches and snacks.

Education and extracurricular activities:

  • Teacher and coach training.
  • Education enrichment and literacy activities.
  • Development of a physical education plan for Fabretto.
  • Formation of sports teams and organised training sessions.

Expected results

  • 780 children enrolled in the education enrichment programme.
  • 550 children playing in football teams.
  • 780 hygiene kits distributed.
  • 650 families accessed information on personal hygiene, balanced diets and good mental health.
  • Sports and educational material kits distributed to all 40 teams.
  • 25 teachers trained.
  • 12 coaches trained.

Partner

Mbo Mpenza Challenge

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Belgium
Start date 10/01/2020
End date 06/30/2022
Cost of the project €163,770
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20200480
Partners Impala Performance ASBL
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Belgium does not currently have a satisfactory strategy to integrate vulnerable young people, particularly refugees, disabled children and institutionalised children. The Mbo Mpenza Challenge project has been working to rectify this for the past three years by using football to promote the sporting values of respect, solidarity and pushing yourself.

Project content

The Association of Francophone Football Clubs will hold selection trials in early 2021 for over 2,000 girls and boys aged 10 and 11 from all backgrounds at the football fields of Decathlon stores. The Mbo Mpenza Challenge project will educate the children about combating racism and provide high-quality coaching focused on integrating every child. All children will be able to take part in these trials thanks to support from children’s institutions, vulnerable children’s coaches and carers of disabled or refugee children.

The 120 children selected will take part in a big one-day tournament involving small individual challenges and a final.

 

 

 

 

Objectives

The Mbo Mpenza Challenge seeks to educate children at an early age about discrimination and use football to instil the fundamental values of respect, team spirit, fair play and pushing yourself. The challenges are designed to foster team spirit by removing difference-related barriers.

Project activities

  • Training sessions for over 2,000 girls and boys aged 10 and 11 from all backgrounds
  • Small challenges at Decathlon football fields
  • Trials for a one-day tournament
  • Tournament activities: orientation for the children, training by qualified coaches, formation of twelve teams of ten children who have never met before, football challenges, a final in which the winning team will be selected based on criteria including fair play and pushing beyond limits

Expected results

  • Positive experiences will boost the confidence and self-esteem of the children
  • Excellent support will encourage the children to practise sport
  • Difference-related barriers will be removed allowing children from all backgrounds to mix
  • 2,000 children will directly benefit from the project and over 5,000 will benefit indirectly through 500 amateur clubs
  • At least 10% of the beneficiaries will be girls
  • A large number of disadvantaged children will benefit from the project and the club registration fees of the most disadvantaged will be paid for

Partner

Education and sport for street-working children in Afghanistan

Location and general information

Closed
Location Afghanistan
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €296,936
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20200614
Partners Action for Development
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Violence, extreme poverty and food insecurity are everyday problems for many Afghans. The country’s critical situation, exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, hits the most vulnerable groups, such as children, the hardest. The children who work on the streets have the starkest future prospects, due to their lack of access to education among other factors.

Project content

This project aims to improve the health, quality of life and access to education of children working on the streets in Afghanistan. Action for Development (AfD) has developed teacher training modules on literacy, numeracy, social behaviour, and advocating for children’s rights in Afghanistan. The focus is on empowering children with education, making the government aware of their special needs, providing meals and football lessons for their social development, and helping them to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

 

Objectives

  • Provide children working on the streets with access to a quality, tailor-made education programme, with the aim of improving their overall wellbeing in the short term, and reducing poverty and child labour in the long term.
  • Give 200 street-working children aged 5–13 access to education and food by the end of 2021.
  • Strengthen gender equality.
  • Further develop special training methodologies.
  • Adapt to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
  • Establish a vocational training programme for 20 students aged 14–15.

Project activities

  • Continuing to organise awareness sessions and promote education and sport for girls.
  • Continuing to provide one healthy meal per day to the children.
  • Increasing the number of football lessons to accommodate more children.
  • Improving the current teaching methodology and bringing the curriculum in line with the formal school curriculum.
  • Continuing to train the teachers to deliver student-centred lessons and learning through fun.
  • Training the teachers in special education provision and providing them with material for tailor-made classes for street-working children.
  • Providing English language training to teachers and children.
  • Prevent the spread of COVID-19 by reducing the number of students per classroom; providing hand sanitisers, face masks and thermometers; and designing a distance learning strategy in case of a new lockdown.
  • Recruiting new teachers.
  • Designing a vocational training programme for older students and working with local partners to design modules on in-demand skills (mechanics, carpentry, gem cutting, etc.).
  • Increasing synergies with local government schools to learn from their expertise, support AfD’s teachers and help integrate the children into the formal education system.
  • Identifying and setting up new centres close to the areas where children work.
  • Introducing regular health checks and proper growth monitoring and vaccinations in collaboration with AfD's Comprehensive Health Centre.
  • Equipping classrooms with technology (iPads/PCs and projectors).

Expected results

  • 200 children receive quality education, daily meals, health checks and play football.
  • 20 older students get access to vocational training.
  • Gender parity increases in classes and football training, most staff members are women and awareness of female education increases.
  • Teacher training is enhanced.
  • The curriculum is further aligned with the governmental one.
  • The project is resilient to COVID-19 challenges.

Partner

Team GOALS

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Haiti
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €221,326
Foundation funding €15,935
Project identifier 20210108
Partners Global Outreach and Love of Soccer
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The GOALS organisation uses football to engage young Haitians in programmes focused on education, health and the environment to improve their quality of life. Through leadership development and social change initiatives, GOALS is creating stronger, healthier communities in areas where no other non-profit or government services exist. People in these severely deprived areas have no electricity or running water and 80% of the players’ parents are unemployed.

Project content

Team GOALS is a sport-for-development programme focused on football, education and community service. It is designed to develop leadership skills, spark change, and promote equality. The emphasis is on teaching life skills such as literacy, health literacy, conflict resolution and gender equality. It takes a holistic approach and actively engages each of the participants. Through their love of playing the game, they learn how to be engaged members of their community.

Objectives

Team GOALS aims to improve physical and mental health as well as the environment. Each objective relates to GOALS’ overall mission to create healthier and more stable communities in the long term, so that every child in rural Haiti can realise their potential and follow their dreams. By using football as a platform for development, GOALS reaches children who are left behind by conventional educational systems.

Project activities

  • Football: daily practice using specialised curricula (CAC and SFW games) to teach inclusion, conflict resolution and gender equality; friendly matches; and rural outreach.
  • Health education: disease prevention; sex education; and proper hygiene.
  • Climate action: tree planting; recycling; and community gardens.
  • Leadership training: youth leaders identifying community issues and solutions.
  • Education: literacy programme and high school scholarships.
  • Community service: volunteerism.

Expected results

  • Improved physical and mental health of GOALS participants.
  • 92% of participants will have played sports for the first time.
  • 77% of underweight children reached the normal weight range.
  • Annual pregnancy rate in GOALS areas under 1% compared to a 7% country average.
  • 35 literacy class graduates, 25 scholarship recipients and average test scores up from 13% to 71%.
  • 300 trees and three community gardens planted.
  • 400 youth aged 8 to 18 will have increased their self-confidence, health literacy and awareness of social issues through purposeful play.
  • Six youth-led community improvement projects.

Partner

Open Fun Football Schools in Syria

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Syria
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 06/30/2021
Cost of the project €200,000
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20200868
Partners Cross Culture (CCPA)
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Syria is still one of the worst humanitarian crises in human history, with 6.1 million internally displaced people, including 2.5 million children.

Many families have started to return to their homes and are trying to get back to a ‘normal’ life. However, organised sports activities are still rarely accessible to children.

Project content

The Open Fun Football School initiative has proved to be an excellent tool to mobilise local communities and volunteer coaches in some of the most politically uncertain and conflict-sensitive areas across the world.

CCPA will use the Open Fun Football School (OFFS) initiative as a tool to enhance peace education, safeguarding and resilience among children and teenagers throughout Syria.

Objectives

The overall objective of Open Fun Football Schools in Syria is to enhance resilience and encourage a culture of peace and non-violence, gender equality, child protection, an appreciation of cultural and social diversity and of culture’s overall contribution to sustainable development.

    1. Mobilise a network of young Syrian leaders and coaches and build their capacity to independently organise Open Fun Football Schools and other community-based fun football activities
    2. Organising Open Fun Football Schools and other fun football activities for children aged 6-12
    3. Anchoring the network in sustainable and community-based clubs that organise day-to-day Open Fun Football School activities throughout Syria

Project activities

Open Fun Football Schools will focus on following areas : Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hamah, Latakia, Tartus

  1. Introduction to the CCPA child-centred and community-based approach for eight Open Fun Football School leaders/trainers-of-trainers who will receive training in theory and practice.
  2. 60 hours of Open Fun Football School coaching seminars for 96 coaches to teach them the approach. The seminars will be led by the eight leaders/trainers-of-trainers under the supervision of the CCPA and its associated partners from CCPA Lebanon, CCPA Jordan and CCPA Iraq.
  3. 30 hours of seminars run by the eight leaders for 96 young coaching assistants aged 14–18 to teach them the approach.
  4. Eight six-day Open Fun Football Schools organised by the leaders in cooperation with the trained coaches and coaching assistants for 1,600 children aged 6–12.
  5. One-day fun football festivals organised by the leaders in cooperation with the trained coaches and coaching assistants for a total of 1,600 children (show-ups) aged 6–12.
  6. Three-day seminar for 60 Open Fun Football School leaders and coaches so they can set up football clubs.
  7. Regular fun football training sessions organised by the Open Fun Football School leaders in cooperation with the trained coaches and coaching assistants for a total of 1,000 children.

Expected results

8 Open Fun Football School leaders /trainers-of-trainers

96 Open Fun Football School coaches

96 coaching assistants aged 14–18

  • gender balance: minimum 30% females
  • social balance: minimum 50% refugees/internally displaced persons/socially disadvantaged individuals

3 capacity-building seminars

3,200 children aged 6-12 years in 8 Open Fun Football Schools and Festivals

1 club-formation seminar

60 clubs set up

Partner

Smiles for Children – Disability and the COVID-19 health crisis

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Switzerland, Rolle
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €150,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20200121
Partners Just for Smiles
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities

Context

There are over 150,000 children with disabilities in Switzerland. The COVID-19 pandemic has isolated them at home. To help them reintegrate and readjust, Just for Smiles plans to expand its sailing programme to reach more beneficiaries.

Project content

Children are enrolled in a sailing activity to suit their preferences, abilities and needs in terms of motor skills and sensation. They spend a half day laughing and feeling the thrill of being on the lake. This adapted sports activity is particularly useful in the treatment of neurological conditions such as spinal injury, head injury and stroke.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to give children with disabilities the greatest possible access to sailing and wellbeing. Just for Smiles seeks to have a lasting impact on the participants and their independence.

Project activities

The sailing trips take place in the warmer months, consisting of two two-hour trips per day.

Expected results

2,400 children will go on a sailing trip from Rolle harbour.

Partner

Empate for Argentina

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Córdoba, Argentina
Start date 02/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €54,000
Project identifier 20200136
Partners Fundación Empate
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Fundación Empate is an Argentinean NGO that provides free, non-profit spaces and activities for people with Down syndrome to promote their holistic development and social growth. Since 2016, the foundation has offered activities such as football, tennis, music, art and job training workshops.

The activities promote encounters between people with and without different types of disability. The aim is to foster inclusion in all social, cultural and sports contexts, with an emphasis on psychomotor and cognitive development. In this continuous learning environment, people with Down syndrome develop in terms of sports, culture and play, helping them to improve their quality of life and find their place in society. The goal is for them to learn about themselves to better understand the world around them.

Project content

Across Argentina there is a shortage of places where people with Down syndrome can learn to play sports, have fun and develop. Empate for Argentina seeks to fill this gap by offering quality inclusive sports spaces with fewer barriers. To help achieve this, Fundación Empate is developing a scheme of free social franchises to share its experience, methodology, guidelines and success with other locations.

 

Objectives

  • Improve the health of the participants
  • Develop learning skills through sports practice
  • Promote personal and social recognition through sports activities as a framework for social inclusion
  • Encourage socialisation so participants can establish new bonds and create friendships
  • Promote self-esteem, individual growth, self-control, courtesy, social skills, respect and cooperation with others
  • Encourage recreational and sports meetings with other schools and institutions
  • Generate exchanges with society to facilitate the active participation of all those who wish to collaborate

Project activities

  • Developing a franchise model in three Argentinian provinces (Buenos Aires, Tucumán and Mendoza)
  • Developing training programmes to share the knowledge and experience gained by Fundación Empate over the last four years
  • Identifying three institutions to become franchises
  • Supporting and mentoring the franchises in the first few years of development
  • Gathering experiences to provide feedback and improve the methodology so that the franchise can be expanded to more provinces in the future

Expected results

  • Reach 500 people with Down syndrome (110 in Cordoba and 100 per province)
  • Develop free quality sport spaces for people with Down Syndrome
  • Promote the values ​​of Fundación Empate in the three social franchises: respect, empathy, equality and equity, commitment and confidence
  • Develop tools to facilitate the integration of people with Down syndrome into different social environments, such as school, local community, family and work

Partner

Football for Children with Down Syndrome

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Russia, Moscow
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 02/28/2022
Cost of the project €45,277
Foundation funding €34,850
Project identifier 20200451
Partners Syndrome of Love
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities

Context

In Russia, there are still many obstacles to the integration of people with Down syndrome into the community. Sport assists social integration since it develops physical and mental abilities, improves emotional and psychological well-being, and teaches teamworking and social skills. However, there are still insufficient clubs, coaches, methods and conditions to enable children with Down syndrome in Russia to engage in sports, including football.

The Football for Children with Down Syndrome project began in 2015, when the charitable foundations Syndrome of Love and Downside Up started to teach football to children and teenagers with Down syndrome in Moscow. Through active promotion of the methodology, the project has spread to 12 other major Russian cities. More than 1,300 sessions took place between 2015 and 2019, with over 200 children with Down syndrome benefiting from regular football lessons.

The project has proven its value and effectiveness for children with Down syndrome. Regular physical activity is vital as a means of physical, mental and social development.

Project content

Football for Children with Down Syndrome is the first initiative in Russia that teaches children with Down syndrome how to play as a team. They attend football training sessions several times a week, participate in friendly games and other sports events, and attend football matches.

The project plans to organise:

  • professional development courses at the Russian State Social University (RSSU) to train 15 coaches how to organise mini-football lessons for children with Down syndrome;
  • training camps for children with Down syndrome from Moscow and other regions;
  • an intensive training course in better competition preparation, sports form, and football skills;
  • a mini-football competition at the end of the project (in autumn 2021).

 

 

Objectives

  • Stimulate the physical development of children with Down syndrome and improve their communication and social skills through regular football playing
  • Popularise sports, physical activity and football among children and teenagers with Down syndrome and their families
  • Draw attention to sports for children with Down syndrome among parents and the professional community
  • Create a friendly and tolerant environment for people with Down syndrome that supports equal rights and opportunities

Project activities

  • Conducting regular football classes for children with Down syndrome
  • Organising training camps and refresher courses for coaches from Moscow
  • Conducting advanced training courses at RSSU for 15 trainers
  • Holding training camps for paritcipants from Moscow and other regions for a total of 150 people (children with Down syndrome, coaches, volunteers and organisers)
  • Holding mini-football competitions for children with Down syndrome

Expected results

  • Physical development in children and young people with Down syndrome
  • Broader range of communication skills to compensate for difficulties with speech
  • Active leisure time
  • Improved socialisation skills and independence
  • Raised awareness at government level of the need for sports development for children with Down syndrome
  • Increased tolerance towards people with Down syndrome and other disorders in Russian society

Partner