Sport Comes Back to Syria

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Damascus and Rural Damascus, Syria
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €169,345
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 2025001538
Partners Bonyan for Youth and Development
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

More than a decade of conflict in Syria has left many children and young people affected by displacement, trauma, interrupted education, weakened community networks, and limited access to safe recreational spaces. Sports infrastructure has deteriorated, and many experienced coaches have left the country. Returning families and vulnerable communities continue to face social, psychological, and economic challenges. Sport is recognized as an effective tool for social cohesion, psychosocial wellbeing, inclusion, and youth development.

Project goals

  • Support conflict-affected children and youth through inclusive sport and development activities;
  • strengthen confidence, teamwork, life skills, and community participation;
  • improve employability and digital skills among young adults;
  • and build the capacity of local coaches and sports institutions.

Project content

The Sport 4 Development programme uses Football3 and community-based activities to create safe and inclusive opportunities for children and youth.

Key components include:

  • weekly Football3 sessions,
  • football leagues and tournaments,
  • child protection and safeguarding workshops,
  • environmental education and community clean-up campaigns,
  • digital literacy and employability training,
  • distribution of sports and hygiene kits,
  • and capacity building for local coaches and sports-sector personnel.

Target Groups

  • Children aged 6–17 affected by conflict
    • Internally displaced and returning children and families
    • Children with disabilities
    • Refugees, orphans, minority groups, and children experiencing poverty
    • Young people aged 18–25 facing unemployment and limited opportunities
    • Local coaches, facilitators, and sports-sector personnel

Expected Impact

The programme aims to reach 5,000 children through inclusive sports activities, support 100 young people with employability and digital-skills training, train 25 coaches, organize 50 inclusive matches and tournaments, and benefit approximately 20,000 indirect beneficiaries through families and communities.

Partner

Roots and Routes: Sporting Futures

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Athens, Attica, Greece
Start date 02/01/2026
End date 07/31/2027
Cost of the project €191,218
Foundation funding €117,058
Project identifier 2025001395
Partners Organization Earth
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In Greece, many unaccompanied minors and refugee children are growing up under conditions of displacement, uncertainty and isolation. In Athens in particular, several young people living in shelters have experienced conflict, loss and repeated disruption, while still having limited access to safe, structured opportunities for sport, learning, self-expression and meaningful contact with the wider community. Girls often face additional barriers to participation and visibility. Roots and Routes: Sporting Futures responds to this reality by using sport as an entry point to improve well-being, strengthen resilience, build practical life skills and create pathways for inclusion, protection and belonging.

Project goals

  • Improve the physical, mental and emotional well-being of unaccompanied minors through regular, inclusive sport activities.
  • Strengthen life skills through health literacy, soft-skills development and environmental education.
  • Foster social inclusion and a stronger sense of belonging through shared activities involving refugee children and local youth.
  • Prevent harmful and disruptive behaviors by applying a structured, trauma-informed sport methodology that promotes self-regulation, confidence and respect.
  • Equip frontline professionals with practical tools to support children’s resilience, psychosocial development and integration in everyday settings.

Project content

Roots and Routes: Sporting Futures is an 18-month program built around regular sport sessions, mainly football-based, delivered in a safe, inclusive and non-competitive framework. Sport is used not only to improve physical health, but also to help children develop teamwork, discipline, emotional regulation and trust. Alongside these sessions, the project provides health literacy workshops on topics such as hygiene, nutrition, mental health and substance-abuse prevention, as well as environmental education activities that build awareness and practical green skills through hands-on learning. Soft-skills sessions further support communication, resilience, leadership and cooperation.

A core part of the program is capacity building: professionals working with children will take part in a certified train-the-trainers course led by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, enabling them to use inclusive, trauma-informed, gender-sensitive sport methods in their daily practice. The project also includes dedicated workshops on gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence, as well as community events that bring together refugee children and local youth through sport, culture and shared experiences. Monitoring, participatory feedback and evaluation run throughout the project, helping the consortium improve delivery and document results for wider learning and future scale-up.

Partners

Legacy for the future

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Poland
Start date 08/01/2026
End date 12/31/2027
Cost of the project €163,240
Foundation funding €58,890
Project identifier 2025002127
Partners Trenuj Bycie Dobrym
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In Poland, women make up only 6.7% of football players, only 1 of the 12 top-tier women’s clubs has a female manager and only 166 of the over 6,000 clubs have girls' teams.

At the same time, women’s football is more popular than ever thanks to the historic qualification of Poland's women's national team for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025. Coach Nina Patalon and captain Ewa Pajor became national heroes, and some two million viewers in the country tuned in to watch the tournament.

Project goals

Continue the legacy of UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, using football3 as a bridge between schools and women's football clubs.

Specific goals:

  • Boost girls' participation in football by connecting schools with women’s clubs through football3
  • Empower female teachers to serve as football3 leaders and role models to foster inclusion and fun for girls
  • Strengthen cooperation with the Polish Football Association to promote equal access and visibility for women and girls in football

Project content

  • Create an online course for teachers participating in the programme to simplify access to participation
  • Host educational conferences to introduce activities planned for 2026/27, the football3 method and the online course for new participants, and for the Polish Football Association to present football opportunities for women and girls, supported by the Ministry of Education
  • Deliver 600 football3 lessons to 4,500 children (50% girls)
  • Organise 16 football3 tournaments for 2,400 children (50% girls) to promote equal access, with women’s football clubs and female players in attendance
  • Host a football3 gala with the Polish Football Association for 350 children (50% girls)
  • Conduct research to evaluate the project’s impact

Partners

Football for peace, resilience and the prevention of violent extremism

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Al-Shirqat (Saladin governorate) and Mosul (Nineveh governorate), Iraq
Start date 02/01/2026
End date 12/31/2027
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 2025002131
Partners Triangle Génération Humanitaire
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

More than six million displaced people and returnees in Iraq are grappling with the long-term consequences of conflict, displacement, economic hardship and climate disasters. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable, not only living in poverty and being exposed to violence but also having their education disrupted and being forced to relocate frequently. They often have no identity papers and many are subjected to child labour, early marriage, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, recruitment by armed groups and violent extremism. Children from families that support the Islamic State and children living in detention centres are among the most vulnerable.

Project goals

The overarching aim of the project is to protect and empower vulnerable children and adolescents affected by conflict and the negative consequences of climate change in the Al-Shirqat and Mosul areas.

Specific goals:

  • Improve access to inclusive sports activities in youth centres, detention centres and schools
  • Promote psychosocial well-being, social integration and peace
  • Reinforce the education and protection of children, whether they attend school or not
  • Foster youth community engagement, climate action, decision-making and resilience

Project content

The project combines structured learning, safe play and community support and focuses in particular on girls, disabled children and those who have stopped going to school, been displaced or detained or whose families support the Islamic State.

  • Renovating football pitches
  • Organising tournaments and outdoor sports camps
  • Supporting youth-led structures, initiatives and awareness-raising campaigns relating to child protection, education, climate change and sport
  • Training teachers, coaches and staff at detention centres on child protection, children’s rights and sports-based psychosocial support
  • Providing a safe space where vulnerable children and adolescents can develop their life skills and civic values
  • Offering informal education opportunities
  • Running an innovation lab

Partners

Youth Transformation

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Nairobi, Kenya
Start date 01/02/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €121,246
Foundation funding €85,000
Project identifier 2025000761
Partners Mathare Youth Sports Association
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In today’s rapidly changing world, young people in Kenya face many challenges, ranging from unemployment and poverty to social exclusion and violence.

Project goals

  • Provide young people with essential life skills, leadership skills and opportunities for personal growth and social inclusion
  • Expand the reach of sports and education programmes to enhance learning outcomes and promote healthy lifestyles
  • Implement gender-sensitive initiatives to ensure the inclusion of marginalised groups, especially girls, with the aim of having girls make up 40% of participants
  • Increase girls’ participation in sport and other social activities from 30% to 45%
  • Promote behavioural change among children
  • Train coaches, mentors and community leaders on equality, inclusion and best practices in utilising sport for youth development
  • Provide grassroots coaches with CAF D and C licence training

Project content

In its second year, the project is continuing to work with the same young people to further improve their access to sport and social and economic development opportunities. Grassroots ‘football for all’ leagues are being expanded across 22 different communities, alongside life skills workshops and mentorship programmes, school outreach campaigns and continuous community engagement, monitoring and evaluation.

Partners

Sports for Resilience and Empowerment

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Masindi District, Uganda
Start date 01/04/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €300,000
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 2025000850
Partners The Aliguma Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

In rural areas of Masindi district, as in other rural areas in Uganda, access to quality education is severely limited. Many children attend overcrowded and under-resourced schools, which presents a significant barrier to learning and development, leaving many children without the skills and knowledge they need for a better future.

The primary challenges include inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of trained teachers and limited access to educational materials. These issues contribute to high dropout rates and poor academic performance. Additionally, the socio-economic conditions in the area often force children to prioritise labour over education, further hindering their opportunities for growth.

Project goals

  • Create opportunities for all children, including those from disadvantaged families or with physical or intellectual disabilities, to receive an education and participate fully in their
  • Enhance the academic performance and overall development of students.
  • Promote physical health, teamwork and life skills.
  • Address factors contributing to high dropout rates by creating a supportive and engaging school environment.
  • Ensure that girls have equal access to education and opportunities, contributing to gender equality and empowerment.
  • Develop strategies for the ongoing sustainability of the school, including through partnerships and community engagement.

Project content

The Aliguma Foundation has already built a well-equipped, safe and modern nursery and primary school, and is now providing educational materials for students as well as training and resources for teachers to help them provide quality instruction and support student learning. The foundation adopts a hands‑on, skill‑based and talent-driven approach to education, with sport and other extracurricular activities integrated into the curriculum. In addition, the local community is engaged in the school’s development and maintenance, which helps to foster a sense of ownership of the facilities and responsibility for the education of younger generations.

Partners

Football Mission Casamance

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Rural villages and the urban area of Ziguinchor, Casamance and Thiès, Senegal
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2027
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €40,000
Project identifier 2025002266
Partners Football Mission
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In Senegal, strong territorial disparities persist between urban and rural areas. In Casamance and in some rural parts of the southern Thiès region, many young people have limited access to structured sport, informal education and economic opportunities. These rural areas lack of suitable sports infrastructure, community-based organisations are fragile and access to qualified supervision is limited. This situation contributes to social disengagement, increased vulnerability among young people and a rural exodus towards major cities or abroad. In addition, these territories face significant environmental challenges, particularly related to plastic waste management. The lack of local systems for awareness-raising, collection, sorting and recycling leads to the degradation of living environments and limited engagement with ecological issues.

Project goals

Overall objective:

Promote social inclusion, empowerment and resilience among young people in rural Senegal through a structured programme using football as an educational, environmental and economic lever

Specific goals:

  • Support ten new rural villages in Casamance and Thiès, while continuing follow-up in the seven villages supported during the previous phase
  • Ensure equitable and structured access to sport for girls and boys
  • Strengthen the skills of local educators, volunteers and community leaders
  • Raise awareness of environmental, health and civic issues
  • Support the structuring of football clubs and schools with educational and social components
  • Encourage the creation of local micro-projects linked to the circular economy
  • Contribute to the creation of sustainable local jobs relating to sport and the environment

Project content

The project is based on comprehensive village support over a two-year period and includes the following actions:

  • Deliver training pathways in club management, sports coaching, communication, the circular economy, environmental awareness and first aid
  • Implement environmental and civic awareness activities adapted to local realities
  • Organise educational and mixed-gender tournaments (FM Cup) in the ten villages, as well as regional tournaments
  • Distribute sports and educational equipment to the supported local structures
  • Provide tailored monitoring and support through Football Mission local coordinators
  • Create a support fund to back community micro-projects that generate income
  • Install and operate two recycled football pitches in Ziguinchor, serving both as a base for activities and logistics and as an economic lever to finance jobs and local actions

Partners

Move the Ball, Change the World

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Madrid and the Valencian Community, Spain
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 03/01/2027
Cost of the project €111,300
Foundation funding €57,500
Project identifier 2025000526
Partners Fundación Red Deporte y Cooperación
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The Valencian Community experienced floods in 2024, and since then around 40% of young people in the areas affected report mental health problems and difficulty concentrating on their studies. Young people in the disadvantaged Fuencarral-El Pardo district of Madrid face similar issues.

Project goals

  • Increase 440 young people’s resilience and personal and social growth
  • Break down cultural and social barriers that often prevent girls and young women from participating in sport
  • Highlight the importance of positive masculinity and boys being allies in achieving gender equality
  • Train 30 coaches in mental health and gender equality through football

Project content

  • Running training sessions, workshops and other football-related activities
  • Training coaches in mental health and gender equality
  • Holding a one-day football festival in Madrid and two festivals in Valencia on gender equality and resilience
  • Holding a two-day tournament in Valencia for participants from both Madrid and Valencia to learn from each other through football and workshops
  • Sharing a manual on football, gender equality and empowerment in Spanish and English with at least 100 social organisations

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

Playing with Corals 2.0: Football as a gateway to climate action and marine awareness

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Faafu Atoll, Maldives
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 02/29/2028
Cost of the project €205,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 2025002042
Partners MaRHE Center of the University of Milano-Bicocca
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Personal development

Context

Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Republic of the Maldives is composed of approximately 1,200 islands – of which only 187 are inhabited – scattered over roughly 90,000m2. Recognised by the UN as a Small Island Developing State, the Maldives are characterised by their limited land area, remoteness, limited and unevenly distributed resources, and heightened vulnerability to global environmental challenges, including the impacts of climate change, and potentially more frequent and intense natural disasters.

Plastic pollution is one of numerous threats to coral reefs. Despite nationwide bans on single-use plastics, washed-ashore debris results in almost 3 items of litter per square metre. Cigarettes and plastic food wrappers are the most commonly found items.

Project goals

Equip local trainers to lead marine conservation and socio-educational football activities that:

  • promote a culture of environmental care and responsible management of natural resources (SDGs 13 and 14);
  • develop children’s personalities through sport and football and encourage healthy lifestyles, good health and well-being (SDG 3);
  • foster early engagement in conservation to help children become environmental ambassadors and the new guardians of the reef, using a experiential, place-based education (SDG 4);
  • address plastic pollution by assigning each child a 25m2 portion of the beach – and later of the reef – that they are responsible for keeping clean.

Project content

A team of researchers from the MaRHE Center of the University of Milano-Bicocca and professionals from Inter Campus, the social arm of FC Internazionale Milano, will organise two five-day clinics for selected trainers. The clinics – a combination of theoretical lectures and practical activities – will equip the trainers for their work with children throughout the year, in relation to both marine conservation (coral reef ecology and biodiversity, climate change, human impacts, threats, plastic pollution and citizen science) and football training (socio-educational approach to build and manage children’s resilience and life skills through sport).

Practical sessions will include training simulations and real sessions with the children, run by trainers and supervised by the organisers. These will include football and beach games and beach clean-ups, slowly moving towards the reef to increase children’s confidence in this marine environment and promote stewardship.

The project will be evaluated on a regular basis, using questionnaires to track effectiveness over time, in terms of the children’s development and their environmental awareness.

Partner

Mighty Members

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Battambang, Cambodia
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €109,450
Foundation funding €15,000
Project identifier 2025000113
Partners SALT Academy
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

The level of poverty in Cambodia traps generation after generation of young people in a vicious cycle of neglect, trafficking and abuse – a cycle that the Mighty Members programme seeks to break through education, football and mentorship.

Project goals

Main goal: Empower young people to be change makers through sport

Other objectives:

  • Empower and build self-efficacy
  • Instil good characters and moral values
  • Promote good health, nutrition and physical activity
  • Educate and ensure future job opportunities

Project content

Mighty Members is an intensive full-time programme designed to empower young men and women in difficult situations as a result of poverty, domestic violence, abandonment, child labour or trafficking. A total of 60 carefully selected members – 30 male and 30 female Mighty Members aged 9 to 20 – are given a private education through to high-school graduation, including English classes, maths tutoring and computing, counselling, football matches (including international travel), meals and training in refereeing and coaching.

As the Mighty Members are raised up, they themselves take what they have learned out into their communities and multiply the effects through coaching, refereeing and teaching life skills to teams of their own.

Partner

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Youth Sports Games 2026

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia
Start date 01/13/2026
End date 09/30/2026
Cost of the project €8,183,513
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 2025000972
Partners Association for Sport, Recreation and Education – Youth Games
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle

Context

The Youth Sports Games – the largest amateur youth sports event in Europe – use sport as a means to connect with children and teens (ages 6 to 18) and promote healthy lifestyles. More than 3.4 million children have competed in the 29 years since the first games were held.

Project goals

Aims of the association

  • Bring together children and teens to actively participate in sport and recreation
  • Educate and encourage children and teens in sport and friendship as an alternative to various forms of addiction and deviant behaviour
  • Provide and promote educational content through all activities, sending modern and up-to-date messages from young people to young people in support of health and social projects and to deter from addictive behaviours

Aims for 2026

  • Involve more than 389,000 participants across all countries
  • Expand our presence to more than 400 cities and 27,000 female football players
  • Gather 8,000 participants in all four national finals and 2,000 at the international finals, for which all accommodation, travel and competition expenses will be covered

 

Project content

Youth Sports Games tournaments will be held in over 400 cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, for school-age children (primary and secondary) to compete in ten sports (football, street basketball, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, chess, dodgeball and athletics). The most successful individuals and teams will enter national finals, through which the best performing will qualify for international finals.

In addition to the Youth Sports Games, other free sports and recreational activities are organised regularly for children to promote health, sustainability, tolerance and ethical values. The association promotes a lifestyle based on understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play.

A special focus is placed on the organisation of football tournaments for girls, which will gather around 27,000 female footballers across the four countries.

Partner

Football for All in Vietnam

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Vietnam, Tuyên Quang province
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €116,661
Foundation funding €97,249
Project identifier 2025002081
Partners Football Association of Norway, Football for All in Vietnam
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Tuyên Quang is a mountainous province in the far north of Vietnam, on the border with China. Few spaces are available here for recreation and sport. The area is also heavily affected by natural disasters such as landslides, monsoons and flash floods. As a result, many of the already limited pitches are either in poor condition or regularly washed out or damaged, making it even more difficult for children to access sports.

Project goals

  • Provide children with equal and sustainable access to football
  • Maximize the power of football to raise awareness of gender rights and foster equitable practices among ethnic minorities groups
  • Increase the participation of women and girls in football and life skills education programmes, empower and equip them with leadership skills based on the Football for All in Vietnam model

Project content

  • Construct three artificial turf football pitches in three schools
  • Organise regular football and life skills activities for children
  • Organise nine Fun Football Festivals focused on gender equity and climate change education
  • Educate teachers, children and local communities on climate change
  • Plant trees for environmental protection
  • Carry out feasibility studies and internal assessments, continue to monitor and evaluate results

Partner

Football4Wildlife Girls Club

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kenya, Maasai Mara, Lemek Conservancy
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €64,791
Foundation funding €51,832
Project identifier 2025000729
Partners Water4Wildlife Maasai Mara
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Girls in the rural Maasai Mara ecosystem face limited opportunities to participate in football due to a lack of infrastructure. Football4Wildlife Girls Club provides a safe and empowering space where girls can play football, build confidence, learn about wildlife conservation and take part in well-being activities. The club also offers mentorship from female conservation rangers, creating a unique environment for personal and community growth.

Project goals

  • Make the Girls Club a sustainable model of girl-led community transformation
  • Provide a safe, inclusive space where girls can play football and build their skills, teamwork and confidence
  • Promote wildlife conservation awareness
  • Strengthen community support for girls’ football and female participation in wildlife conservation
  • Empower girls, reinforce their leadership skills and personal development and inspire them to consider careers in conservation

Project content

Phase 2 of the project involves infrastructure components as well as football activities, teaching girls about wildlife conservation, career-focused female mentorship and community engagement.

  • Completion of essential facilities including a septic tank, drainage system, storage room and dugouts
  • Installation of a solar power system and water tank to support sustainable operations
  • Provision of football kits and a projector for use in training and educational sessions
  • Launch event attended by the football coach, female conservation rangers, club members and other members of the community
  • Regular training sessions and friendly matches for girls
  • Football-themed games and structured classes to teach girls about wildlife conservation
  • Interactive sessions delivered by professional female rangers during training and club activities
  • Career talks and mentoring sessions led by female rangers

Partner

Aktive Jen Yo (Activating young people

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Rural Haiti, including Leogane, Destra, Carrefour Croix and Bossan
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €336,080
Foundation funding €55,657
Project identifier 2025000932
Partners Global Outreach And Love of Soccer (GOALS Haiti)
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Haiti is facing a prolonged, multidimensional crisis marked by widespread insecurity, economic collapse, and the near absence of public services. Gang violence, political instability, inflation exceeding 40%, food insecurity, and recurring health emergencies (including cholera outbreaks) have deeply affected daily life, particularly for children and young adults. While international attention focuses on urban centres, rural communities are often overlooked. In the areas where GOALS Haiti operates, there are no other youth services, access to education and healthcare is limited, and children have very few safe spaces to gather, learn or play.

These conditions place children and adolescents at heightened risk of trauma, poor health, school dropout, gender-based violence, and social isolation. Without positive alternatives, young people are increasingly vulnerable to negative coping mechanisms or forced migration to unsafe urban areas.

Project goals

  • Improve the health and well-being of children and young adults in rural Haiti by ensuring regular access to safe sport, play, health education, and nutrition in communities where no other youth services exist
  • Expand access to education and learning opportunities for underserved young people by reducing barriers to schooling and strengthening literacy, academic skills and life skills through integrated sport-based programming
  • Help young people to develop confidence, leadership skills, and positive life pathways so that they can make informed decisions, contribute to their communities, and shape their own futures
  • Promote gender equality and inclusion through sport and education by ensuring girls and boys participate equally and by creating leadership opportunities for girls and young women
  • Strengthen community cohesion and youth civic engagement by engaging young people in community service and environmental action that improves local conditions, and fosters shared responsibility

 

Project content

Aktive Jen Yo is built around daily football and inclusive purposeful play sessions that provide children and adolescents with safe, consistent spaces where they regain a sense of normalcy and learn teamwork, discipline, communication and respect. The sessions are intentionally designed to include girls and boys equally and to model positive social norms through play.

Alongside sport, the project delivers integrated education and life-skills programming. Young people participate in literacy classes, tutoring and school support to strengthen reading, numeracy and critical thinking skills. Life-skills education – including leadership, problem-solving, conflict resolution, gender equality and decision-making – is embedded within both classroom sessions and on-field activities, reinforcing learning through practical experience.

Health education is a core component: trained staff and partners lead sessions on hygiene, disease prevention, sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence awareness. Participants also receive a daily meal and access to clean drinking water during activities, supporting their physical health and concentration while reinforcing healthy habits.

The project places a strong emphasis on youth leadership, community service and environmental action. Young people take part in leadership workshops and lead community projects addressing local needs, such as tree planting, recycling initiatives and maintaining community gardens. These activities encourage civic responsibility, strengthen community ties and give the youngsters visible roles as contributors and leaders within their villages.

All activities are delivered by a locally led team of trained coaches, educators and community leaders, ensuring cultural relevance and responding to community needs. Regular monitoring, feedback from participants and community involvement guide ongoing adaptations and improvements to the activities provided.

 

Partner

Environmental Youth Ball Games and Community Competitions

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Southeast Lowveld, Zimbabwe
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €20,957,01
Foundation funding €16,767
Project identifier 2025001441
Partners African Wildlife Conservation Fund
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Personal development

Context

Zimbabwe’s young people have borne the brunt of years of economic and political instability. Rural communities, in particular, are marginalised and deprived of educational and extra-curricular activities. This disadvantage is compounded by conflict between humans and the surrounding wildlife and a lack of appreciation for the value of the ecosystem.

These challenges make young people susceptible to environmentally detrimental behaviour such as poaching, deforestation, and overconsumption of natural resources.

Project goals

  1. Engage an at-risk, young demographic in environmentalism and inspire a change of attitude towards wildlife and the conservation sector
  2. Provide a rare opportunity for children and young adults to access sport and the arts
  3. Share proven human-wildlife coexistence strategies with rural communities to support the management of conflict
  4. Share important messaging on the sustainable use of natural resources and build rural resilience to climate challenges

Project content

The following activities will be delivered:

  1. Ten netball and football tournaments

Each tournament takes place over six to eight weeks. The four teams that make the final of each sport compete in front of a large crowd on the morning of the local Community Competition Day.

  1. Ten environmental community competitions

Teams from local schools compete in drama, poetry, model-making, and poster-making, presenting their messages to the community about locally relevant and urgent environmental, climat,e or wildlife needs.

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