In sport and play; Together Equal and Safe

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project goals

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

Project content

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

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

Partners

Advancing climate action through inclusive sport

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Egypt, Cairo
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €105,847
Foundation funding €105,847
Project identifier 20230440
Partners Terre des Hommes Egypt
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality

Context

Learning from and building on the Football for Climate Change project, Terre des Hommes Egypt initiated focus group discussions to gather young people’s recommendations for this follow-up project, to enhance the involvement and better address the needs of the target groups and optimise the project outcomes. The participants confirmed that sports activities could be used to enhance their understanding of climate change as well as helping them acquire life skills such as how to communicate effectively. They recommended including a wider range of sports and more intensive climate change activities.

Project goals

Overall objective

To use inclusive sports activities at five youth centres in the greater Cairo area to enhance young people's well-being, protection and leadership skills, and empower them to design and implement environmental initiatives with the support of their families, sports coaches and local government.

 Specific goals

  • To provide vulnerable 13 to 18-year-olds from forcibly displaced groups and local communities with a safe environment for sports activities that promote social cohesion.
  • To help youngsters, caregivers, families and local government design and lead positive climate action in the community.

Project content

Sport for protection refresher training for 15 coaches at 5 youth centres

Terre des Hommes’ Football for Protection methodology is used to improve collaboration, communication, emotional management and creative thinking skills, and enhance participants’ sense of responsibility and knowledge of climate issues. The five youth centres will apply this methodology (rebranded ‘sport for protection’) to football and a second sport, selected according to the results of a survey of participants’ interests. Four-day refresher courses for the coaches will include facilitation skills, technical sports skills and soft skills for integrative work with children and adolescents, child protection principles and gender equality in sports participation.

Result: 15 coaches trained to promote a safe and inclusive environment in 5 youth centres

 20 sports coaching sessions organised for 400 children

The 15 coaches will deliver 20 coaching sessions (two different sports) using the sport for protection methodology. Building on the sport for development concept, which uses sport to promote children's social and personal development, the sessions will foster the inclusion of marginalised adolescents of all genders, including refugees, promote access to physically safe and appropriately equipped sports facilities and develop participants’ life skills.

Result: 400 young people participate safely in sports activities that enhance their well-being and develop their life skills

Climate change training for 25 Terre des Hommes staff and sports coaches

In cooperation with the Egyptian ministry for the environment, an awareness programme will be developed with interactive and practical climate change activities designed to involve sports coaches and youngsters. Two days of training will be organised for Terre des Homme staff and sports coaches to build their knowledge of climate change and equip them to implement the programme effectively. The ministry of youth and sports will also be involved to ensure the replicability of the project.

Result: 25 Terre des Hommes staff and sports coaches trained to deliver climate change awareness programme

Climate change awareness sessions for 400 young people

Climate change awareness sessions will be delivered at all five youth centres in cooperation with the ministry for the environment. They will be associated with sports coaching sessions to foster the link between climate change and sport and enhance young people’s global understanding of climate change issues, with specific reference to the Egyptian context. Participants will gain a robust grounding in climate concepts, causes of change, and adaptation and mitigation practices enabling them to design and implement initiatives of their own.

10 environmental initiatives across 5 youth centres

After completing the awareness sessions and with the support of the project team, their sports coaches and their families, the 400 participants will design and lead 10 environmental initiatives (two per centre) that address environmental problems in their communities.

Result: 400 young people design and lead 10 environmental initiatives coordinated by trained sports coaches

Initiatives promoted among families and communities through sports competitions

Two-day sports competitions (involving two different sports) will then be organised by each of the five youth centres, with opportunities to promote the participants’ environmental initiatives and share their experiences with families, communities and peers – promoting positive climate action and youth advocacy, physical health and healthy competition, and encouraging the replication of initiatives within the community.

Result: 3,000 family members and caregivers introduced to the risks of climate change and recommended action at sports competitions

Partners

Life Champions 2.0: We are all champions

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Croatia
Start date 12/01/2023
End date 11/30/2024
Cost of the project €250,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20230315
Partners Development Center for Youth
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

The commercialisation of sport has diminished its pedagogic role: instead of education, healthy lifestyles, and positive social values, it is mostly about top performance. An increase in negative phenomena such as intolerance, discrimination and hate speech also suggests sport is departing from its role as a corrective force in society.

The Creating Life Champions project honed in on sport’s role in education and the promotion of positive values, empowering coaches to act as educators again. Not all young sportspeople will be top athletes, but all should be top people. Children go to school because they must and play sport because they want to: this is an important indication of the role sport plays in every child’s upbringing.

Including different stakeholders in the coordination and implementation of Creating Life Champions helped us to better understand how to spread the concept and what issues need addressing most urgently. Consequently, Life Champions 2.0 focuses on more actively involving girls and young women in football, i.e. creating female ‘life champions’.

Project goals

Overall objective

To continue revitalising the educational and pedagogic role of football, leveraging football coaches’ influence on children and adolescents, their upbringing, education, and self-development, with an emphasis on gender equality in and through sport

Our intention is to promote the active participation, visibility and acceptance of girls and women in particular, encouraging our participants to adopt positive principles of gender equality in sport and in all other areas of life.

 Specific objectives

  • To add 30 new coaches to the Life Champions network, focusing on gender equality and accessibility for all
  • To work towards better ratio of women to men in sport, with a view to achieving genuine gender equality, starting at grassroots level
  • To involve at least 500 parents and caregivers and thereby create a strong base of support to further spread the Life Champions concept.

Project content

The project will involve various activities:

  • initial training for 30 new Life Champion coaches,
  • an online networking event for new and existing Life Champion coaches,
  • 6 regional information days focused on girls in sport and promoting their involvement in the international camps,
  • 5 international educational sports camps for more than 700 participants,
  • online activities introducing parents to the concept and specific topics of the Life Champions programme,
  • an end-of-year conference to present the results of the other activities organised over the course of 2024 and make plans for 2025.

All materials will be shared with national, regional, and European counterparts.

The activities will all be accompanied by the strong promotional campaign ‘We are all champions’, focusing on girls in football. The campaign is expected to reach around 5 million people thanks to an ongoing partnership with Arena Sport, the main regional TV sports network, and a number of other media agreements reached in 2023.

While growing the network of Life Champions coaches from 30 to 60 people overall, our focus is on the gender ratio within the network and in all our activities. This means at least 15 female coaches, and at least 250 girls (out of 700 participants in total) in our international camps. In addition, we will involve an additional 500-600 people (youngsters, coaches, club managers, parents, local government, and media) in the six regional info days, and 40 selected stakeholders in the conference.

This year’s concept should pave the way to more active involvement of girls and young women in football, showing that football truly is a sport for all. In doing so, it should open the concept to other minority groups whose involvement in sport is often restricted, such as young migrants, Roma children and other children and adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing ‘life champions’ for all.

Partners

Life Goals – Future Skills through Football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Austria: Vienna, Graz and Lustenau
Start date 12/01/2023
End date 11/30/2024
Cost of the project €302,000
Foundation funding €40,000
Project identifier 20230453
Partners Breaking Grounds
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Every fifth child in Austria is at risk of poverty and exclusion. These children are at a distinct disadvantage in the development of the psychosocial competencies needed to face a dynamic future full of crises. As a result, they suffer negative effects on their mental and physical well-being, low social participation, a sense of not belonging, and a lack of preparation for the challenges of a changing world.

Project goals

Young people who are normally difficult to reach are motivated by football to take part in educational offers and increase their commitment. Participants develop and strengthen social, mental and emotional competencies that are central for everyday life, for school and for applications and vocational success. Participants have stronger personalities and their life prospects have improved. Their socio-economic situation improves, promoting long-term and equal participation in society.

Project content

Life Goals is an extensively tested and evaluated approach to teaching future skills through football. In specially developed sports modules, situations are simulated that require and train specific competencies. After each sports module, a reflection guide is used to reflect on what was experienced on the sports field and to transfer what was learned to the children's everyday lives. Since 2021, more than 2000 underprivileged kids have taken part and have demonstrably increased their self-efficacy.

Partners

VillaGol: Football for Life

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Peru
Start date 01/01/2023
End date 06/30/2024
Cost of the project €97,915
Foundation funding €47,128
Project identifier 20220801
Partners Fundación Athletic Club
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The project is based on one of the world’s greatest success stories in building a local caring community: Villa El Salvador in Lima, Peru. Following the Shining Path Communist party’s violent insurgency, the military government worked directly with the community to develop an alternative to eviction for 4,000 homeless families in Lima. The government surveyed and divided up a large piece of vacant land south of the city, offering lots to any family in Lima that needed housing. These lots were organised into residential units: groups of several blocks each featuring a central plaza as a natural space for community organisation. The resulting town, Villa El Salvador, was awarded various distinctions, including the title of Messenger City of Peace by UNESCO and the Príncipe de Asturias Prize by Spain the same year, both in 1987. It is probably the most famous shanty town in Peru.

Unity and strength have always been part and parcel of Villa El Salvador. Inspired by and modelled on this, the VillaGol: Football for Life project is essentially a preventive project that aims to ensure that children spend their free time on appropriate sports and recreational activities, thus reducing the risk of them engaging in dangerous risky behaviour.

Project goals

The project's objectives are to reinforce cohabitation values among this very diverse population through football, using the sport as a tool to bring communities together and tackle social problems; to prevent violence among young people by promoting peace and coexistence, and to promote women's sports. The aim is to promote the integration of children and adolescents through recreational activities to prevent them from engaging in risky behaviour.

Project content

  1. Planning the VillaGol programme in sports schools
  2. Coordinating and implementing security measures
  3. Training coaches holding a C license awarded by the Peruvian Football Federation
  4. Providing educational and sports equipment for annual competitions
  5. Repairing and refurbishing the clubhouse (painting and lighting fixtures)
  6. Paying administrative staff

Partner

Football for Unity 2.0

Location and general information

En cours
Location Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Spain
Start date 09/01/2023
End date 08/31/2025
Cost of the project €833,223,98
Foundation funding €83,322,39
Project identifier 20232024
Partners European Commission (DG HOME); Common Goal
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Strengthening partnerships

Context

EC-UEFA Arrangement for Cooperation

The EC-UEFA Arrangement for Cooperation that was signed in October 2022 by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and Margaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission and the commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life, follows two other cooperation agreements signed in 2014 and 2018. This third EC-UEFA Arrangement for Cooperation refers specifically to Football for Unity as an example of how the agreement can be successfully implemented by the two parties.

Football for Unity 1.0

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first UEFA European Football Championship, the European Commission's DG HOME, UEFA, the UEFA Foundation for Children and Common Goal joined forces through the EU's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to implement the Football for Unity project during UEFA EURO 2020. In response to its success, the European Commission, UEFA, the UEFA Foundation for Children and Common Goal have decided to expand their collaboration, with Football for Unity 2.0 including activities outside the framework of the European Football Championship.

 

Project goals

A multi-stakeholder collaboration spearheaded by the UEFA Foundation for Children and Common Goal will foster pan-European exchange and networking, cross-sectoral collaboration, capacity development and peer-to-peer learning with a view to raising awareness, inspiring desired behaviour and leading thinking on how sport can enable and accelerate the empowerment of young refugees/migrants and vulnerable young people in host communities in Europe.

Football for Unity 2.0 seeks to fundamentally transform the way sports clubs, grassroots organisations and national football associations work with young refugees and migrants. The project will offer a systemic approach to the scaling-up and dissemination of impact-proven, innovative sport‑based social inclusion practices, working with 190 coaches, educators and youth/social workers at organisational, local, regional, national and European level.

Those actors, in turn, will seek to engage with 2,900 of the hardest-to-reach young Europeans, refugees and migrants through structured sport-based integration initiatives and non-formal education programmes. That strengthening of cooperation, capacity and professionalism at transnational level will help sports clubs, national football associations and grassroots organisations to foster social inclusion and equal opportunities, especially by setting quality standards for innovative practices.

A consortium of 14 project partners in 11 EU Member States (Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Romania, Spain, Latvia, the Netherlands and Italy) will establish expertise and a common understanding in the areas of social inclusion/integration, anti-racism and the tackling of discrimination through sport. Each of those partners has great experience because of many years of successful work at local and regional level, ensuring sustainability, ownership and societal transformation both on and off the pitch.

Football for Unity 2.0 will be guided by the following objectives over the two-year project period:

  1. Tackle racial discrimination against young migrants and refugees in European football – on the field, on the side lines, in the stands and across our communities
    1. Development and launch of an online curriculum for Switch the Pitch in German and English
    2. Use of the Switch the Pitch online platform and in-person workshops for 40 coaches working with three to six local football teams in Germany and 20 coaches working with four organisations in four other EU Member States (Austria, Latvia, Italy and Spain) to increase their knowledge and awareness of inclusive coaching and the fight against discrimination and xenophobia in football
    3. Training for four European grassroots football organisations, a number of NGOs and the national football associations of four EU Member States (Austria, Latvia, Italy and Spain) to increase their knowledge of Common Goal’s anti-racism methodology and prepare them for pan-European dissemination
    4. Three training sessions for 30 fan group leaders (e.g. Football Supporters Europe) and 100 fan zone volunteers (in Berlin) to increase their awareness of diversity, equality and inclusion and give them practical tools to address discrimination at fan events.
  2. Improve the safety, protection and well-being of young migrants/refugees and young people in host communities, helping them to cope with crises and supporting their recovery
    1. Implementation of sport-based integration sessions (using methodologies such as football3) in seven EU Member States (Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Romania and Spain) in order to build trust, dialogue and understanding between young migrants/refugees and young people in host communities, seeking to foster sensitivity to the needs of other people (respect, empathy, cooperation, equality, etc.)
    2. Implementation of a ‘train the trainer’ programme, helping 130 coaches, teachers and young leaders to deliver training independently and pass knowledge and skills on to young refugees/migrants and young people in host communities in two EU Member States (Poland and the Czech Republic)
  3. Make the European public aware of the diversity that exists within Europe and the contribution that successful integration makes to the well-being, prosperity and cohesion of European societies
    1. Raising awareness of issues surrounding the integration of refugees and migrants across Europe and promoting a positive image of migration

In addition, UEFA, as a formal supporter of this project, will promote knowledge generated by the project within the wider football ecosystem in the hope that European football will continue to increase its inclusion of and support for refugees and migrants.

Project content

.

Football for Unity 2.0 will enable the implementation of (i) Switch the Pitch and (ii) Team Up for Solidarity.

Switch the Pitch

Our Switch the Pitch curriculum unites the football community behind anti-racism education and action; it aims to create a more inclusive and anti-racist environment for coaches and players of all ages. Its comprehensive action-oriented approach to educating players and coaches across the youth game is a revolutionary way of combating racism in the sport. One of the central components of Switch the Pitch, an ‘inclusive coach’ training programme, revolves around six topics – empathy, safety, vulnerability, appreciation, awareness and authenticity. For every topic, expert trainers explain three essential skills in a video, giving coaches tools that can immediately be incorporated into their training plans. In addition, an anti-racism curriculum consisting of 36 team activities enables youth coaches to engage their teams in a series of on-field team challenges that are designed to educate, activate and facilitate conversations around key topics such as racial identity, allyship, activism and leadership. We are launching a full European pilot for Switch the Pitch, and Germany – the host of EURO 2024 – has been chosen owing to the potential to activate Switch the Pitch as part of that tournament. In addition, a European scaling plan for Switch the Pitch will be developed and implemented.

Switch the Pitch Europe

We believe that the Switch the Pitch methodology should be utilised across Europe. As part of the Football for Unity 2.0 programme, we will therefore host a cohort of European grassroots organisations and national football associations to develop a European scaling strategy for Switch the Pitch. That cohort (comprising organisations from Italy, Austria, Latvia and Spain) will participate in two three-day events (one in the summer of 2024 and one in early 2025), which will be hosted by a German football club (Fortuna Düsseldorf). At the first of those workshops, they will receive training on the Switch the Pitch methodology, and our curriculum experts will help them to develop an implementation plan for Switch the Pitch in their community. Over a period of six to eight months, each cohort member will implement its version of Switch the Pitch in its community, and there will be regular online check-ins and further learning opportunities across this period. The cohort will then reconvene at the second workshop in early 2025 to discuss their experiences with implementing Switch the Pitch and develop a sustainable scaling plan for the methodology.

Expert partners: RheinFlanke (Germany), Fare (pan-European) and Breaking Grounds (Austria)

Implementation partners: Latvian Football Federation (Latvia), Balon Mundial (Italy), Dragones de Lavapiés (Spain) and Breaking Grounds (Austria)

Team Up for Solidarity

Team Up for Solidarity involves active collaboration with local organisations, using sport as an impactful, cost-effective, and low-threshold methodology in a structured and systemic way. Our project creates inclusive spaces that improve the safety, protection and well-being of young migrants and refugees across Europe, facilitate emotional and social stabilisation, foster the acquisition of new skills and abilities, strengthen resilience and create short to long-term opportunities in the areas of health, education and training. Sport-based integration/inclusion methodologies create a dynamic informal learning environment for young people, reinforcing formal educational curricula. They promote confidence, trust and safety, enabling players to put values they learn into action and become engaged in their communities. Engaging with those methodologies encourages informed decision-making and stimulates interest in how social challenges can be overcome. An emphasis on dialogue and conflict resolution enables players to grasp the power of consensual decision-making, allowing them to bridge cultural differences in a social environment marked by a constant inflow and outflow of community members. Furthermore, individuals who have been involved in sport-based integration/inclusion programmes also show greater dedication and responsibility and are more accountable to themselves and their communities.

Implementation partners: Trenuj Bycie Dobrym (Poland), Fundación Fútbol Más (Spain), Breaking Grounds (Austria), INEX – Sdruženi Dobrovolných Aktivit, Z.S. (Czech Republic), Oltalom Sport Association (Hungary), Organization Earth (Greece) and Romanian Football Federation (Romania)

 

Leveraging EURO 2024 to increase visibility and impact

Leveraging UEFA’s strong footprint across the continent in order to maximise visibility and impact, EURO 2024 will (i) harness football’s potential as a catalyst with a view to improving the social, mental, emotional and physical well-being of young refugees and migrants, and (ii) generate awareness and knowledge of sport’s potential to be an effective driver of integration, gender equality, anti-racism, fairness, respect, inclusion and youth empowerment.

EURO 2024 will provide an opportunity for people from diverse backgrounds across the EU to come together and celebrate their love of the sport, promoting understanding and respect between cultures. Additionally, the project will also provide a platform for players, officials and clubs to speak out against racism and discrimination, which will help to raise awareness of the issue and encourage others to act.

EURO 2024 will serve as a platform to make European citizens aware of how sport can enable young migrants/refugees and young people from host communities to acquire transferable skills, supporting their integration into society and strengthening their ability to make conscious decisions about their livelihoods. The tournament will have a profound impact on global and European audiences through its visibility and the media, allowing us to target the European public, policy-makers, media representatives and stakeholders in the fields of sport, education, gender equality, youth empowerment and social inclusion/integration. By mobilising global and European influencers, relevant agencies, and local or thematic influencers, the objectives of the programme will be communicated widely across Europe and around the world.

Partners

Kick for Trade Festival

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Basra, Iraq
Start date 12/01/2022
End date 06/30/2023
Cost of the project €110’814
Foundation funding €110’814
Project identifier 20220939
Partners Palestine: Sports for Life
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Iraqi children have limited opportunities to take part in projects that support individual development and foster employability. This hinders them from becoming successful and engaged individuals and citizens. 

Project goals

  • Increase employment rates among young people in Basra. 
  • Promote young people’s life skills, personal development, employment opportunities and entrepreneurship 
  • Increase the leadership skills of young leaders 
  • Improve the coaching skills of coaches 
  • Provide an inclusive environment and access to sports for ethnic minorities 

Project content

The Kick for Trade Festival is an expression of the successes of the K4T programme and has sport at its heart. 

The K4T project applies a unique approach to tackling youth unemployment by engaging young people through football. Sport acts as an entry point, offering a safe space for learning and personal development, leading on to further engagement in vocational programmes and entrepreneurship opportunities. Young people are linked to potential investors and employers from the Iraqi private sector through entrepreneurial and employability activities using Kick for Trade teams and tools.  

Football3 and the Kick for Trade curriculum sessions include adapted-rules football matches that enable the youngsters to develop and implement transferable skills that are relevant for employment, such as teamwork, leadership, communication, self-discipline and resilience. The sessions are for children and young people from ethnic minorities and from marginalised rural areas and disadvantaged districts of Basra. 

Partners

GOAL 4 ALL

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Şanlıurfa (Türkiye)
Start date 01/01/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €264,316
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20220781
Partners Bonyan Organization
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

The crisis in Syria began more than 10 years ago and represents the most challenging humanitarian situation of the century anywhere in the world. According to the UNHCR and the Turkish government, Türkiye hosts 3.69 million Syrian refugees.

Syrian migration to Türkiye began in 2011 and continued to increase exponentially until the summer of 2015. The Turkish authorities adopted an ‘open door’ policy, constructed camps in the southern provinces of Hatay, Kilis, Gaziantep, and Şanlıurfa, and referred to Syrian refugees as ‘guests’.

An average of over 20,000 refugees arrived in Türkiye every month in 2012 as a result of the conflict in Syria; this increased to nearly 40,000 per month in 2013 and some 55,000 per month in 2014. The chart below shows how the number of Syrian refugees in Türkiye has grown since 2011.

Refugees and affected host community members are becoming increasingly vulnerable owing to large-scale protracted displacement, macroeconomic forecasts, the socioeconomic conditions, the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and demographic pressures. These interlinked factors exacerbate existing issues within communities, such as gender inequality and discrimination against refugees.

The city of Şanlıurfa hosts about 430,000 Syrian refugees, of which 70.9% are women and children, and ranks as the fourth city in Türkiye by the number of refugees. The city’s sports infrastructure capacity is low compared to the number of children, which means that many children miss out on opportunities to take part in sports in safe environments such as their schools or local sports centres. As a result, they end up finding ways to play sports in non-protected environments without any guidance or supervision. This comes with many hazards, including discrimination against refugee children, psychological distress, exploitation and abuse, the development of bad habits and even dropping out of school – which in turn can lead to other dangers such as child labour and child marriage.

Project goals

The project’s main aim is to use football, and sports in general, as a tool for promoting the peaceful coexistence of children from different communities. It does this by providing Turkish and Syrian children with regular access to sports facilities; establishing opportunities for the integration of Turkish and Syrian children – particularly girls and children with special needs – through sports; encouraging schools and physical education teachers to adopt a football3 mindset; and enhancing children’s life skills such as leadership and conflict resolution skills.

Project content

1. Establishing one A-5 mini-pitch (50m x 30m) and all related facilities, including toilets, showers, changing rooms, an office, a warehouse and lighting fixtures.

2. Training five coaches and 50 youth volunteers to teach children football skills and raise awareness of gender inequality, child protection, human rights, health, education and social cohesion.

3. Distributing 75 sports kits containing balls, ball bags, t-shirts, mobile goals, vests, etc. to sports centres in three municipalities of Şanlıurfa.

4. Setting up girls and boys football teams for children aged between 7 and 16 years old, ensuring that each team of 11 contains a mix of Syrian refugees and members of the host community.

5. Delivering football training and awareness-raising sessions to the participating 500 children.

6. Organising 150 matches supervised by coaches and youth volunteers in accordance with the football3 method.

7. Nominating members of the most successful teams to compete for national team selection, especially for the national women’s youth teams.

Partners

Play to prevent

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Oruro, Bolivia
Start date 01/15/2023
End date 01/15/2024
Cost of the project €97,192,00
Foundation funding €80,000
Project identifier 20221105
Partners ChildFund Bolivia
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Oruro in Bolivia has a population of over half a million, mainly in its eponymous capital city. Bolivia is one of South America's poorest countries and, as the urban population of Oruro has grown due to internal migration, there has not been universal access to basic services such as health, education and decent housing. The city also suffers from distressing levels of domestic violence.

The children who take part in the project are highly vulnerable and come from deprived backgrounds. Many are from single-parent families and are often subject to physical, psychological and sexual abuse. In general, there are few opportunities for young people to do sport and engage in personal development.

Project goals

  1. Improve life skills and enhance violence prevention for 1,000 girls and 500 boys
  2. Train female and male teachers and coaches to promote violence prevention and gender equality through sport
  3. Introduce the Jugar para Prevenir methodology that offers a clear gender focus
  4. Support the city of Oruro’s football schools for both girls and boys through inclusion and equity methodologies

Project content

The project promotes ChildFund’s Jugar para Prevenir (Play to Prevent) method to improve the violence prevention skills of girls and boys and their coaches and teachers through sports. The project is introducing the methodology to ten schools including the Quirquincho Feliz football school for boys. The project also partners with the first football school for girls in Bolivia, Las Super Poderosas, implementing the Jugar para Prevenir methodology through specific activities for girls and female sports teachers.

The project will reach 1,000 girls, 500 boys and 20 football coaches in 10 schools.

Partners

Facing crisis through football in Colombia & Venezuela

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Colombia (Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Vichada) and Venezuela (Caracas)
Start date 01/31/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €212,864
Foundation funding €99,864
Project identifier 20220558
Partners Inter Campus
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Colombia and Venezuela are experiencing unprecedented economic crises, affecting in particular the most vulnerable: children, women and minorities. Thousands of young people and their families are facing food shortages, resulting in limited physical development and possibly also irreversible mental damage. This economic and social crisis is linked to acute political disorder, giving rise to insecurity, violence and corruption.

Project goals

The objective is to support children’s physical, mental and social health, providing them with cultural elements and a psychological structure to face threats prevalent in their communities.

Two main priorities have been identified:

1. Bridging a nutritional gap affecting children’s development

2. Countering a wave of violence caused by the socio-economic crisis, mainly as a result of drug production, distribution and consumption

Project content

There are three approaches:

1. Teach local coaches how to teach children team values: respect for the coaches, rules and referees; seeing opponents not as enemies but as partners; cooperating with other children; learning to make the most of their time in training and school activities; growing their skills and gaining self-confidence; getting stronger against adversities by learning how to deal with winning and losing; and how to fulfil their dreams by working hard; training even in bad weather; and learning how to overcome stress or aggressive instincts in a positive way.

2. Promote integration among people with different languages, cultures, and religions; reducing violence; gender equality and confidence-building.

3. The mere presence of the Inter brand will attract attention from volunteers, sponsors, local authorities, other social offices or NGOs and inspire them to help.

The project will last 24 months, based on weekly training sessions and periodical weekend matches, and involve 530 vulnerable children from 6 to 13 years old living in 11 different rural and urban contexts in Colombia and Venezuela.

The training will be run by local educators applying an innovative socio-sports methodology according to local needs. Weekly nutritional support will be given, by providing healthy, good-quality food normally not available to these children.

Local partners, the Fundación Crecer Jugando in Colombia and the Fundación Magallanes in Venezuela, will select and run the activities.

Twelve coaches will take part in a working group and learn to use the scientific tools used to asses children’s personality, as well as basic sports-related skills on social, emotional, cognitive issues.

Partners

Festival 23

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Sydney, Australia
Start date 01/15/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €600,000
Foundation funding €80,000
Project identifier 20220520
Partners University of New South Wales, Football United programme
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Football United is a member of the Common Goal movement that unites 200 grassroots organisations that use football to promote social change, in areas such as gender equity, climate action, social inclusion and poverty reduction. An essential part of these organisations’ sustainability efforts is training and empowering youth to become leaders in the football for good (F4G) space, providing organisational sustainability, enabling the global movement to further develop and improving the impact of the F4G sector. F4G festivals enable such training opportunities.

Project goals

Festival 23 will build youth leader capacity to create positive social change in 25 communities throughout Australia with immediate practical engagement during the festival. Training from global experts will focus on the UN’s Global Goals to enhance the capacity of F4G organisations to achieve the objectives in health; education; access to sport; personal development; integration of minorities; and the protection of children’s rights.

Project content

Festival 23 will provide the social legacy for the upcoming 2023 Women’s World Cup. F4G festivals have been a way to build youth leadership capacity at every FIFA World Cup since 2006. Evaluations indicate participants increased their capacity to take on leadership roles in their respective communities after the event.

Festival 23 will bring up to 120 youth leaders from around the world together for ten days of capacity-building through F4G themed training alongside community engagement mechanisms and activities. Festival 23 is therefore a catalyst for progressive leadership development in F4G organisations, leveraging the immense power of mass football events.

1. Four days of capacity-building workshops by global experts in F4G, Global Goals themes relating to climate action, gender empowerment, health, education, employability, advocacy

2. Application of training as youth leaders will engage with 25 diverse, low socio-economic communities in football gala days

3. Fair-play tournament between teams comprising the youth leaders and Common Goal footballers

4. Increased engagement and application of acquired competencies in the participants’ home countries following Festival 23

Partners

Sports for Resilience and Empowerment Project, phase 2

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Acholi neighbourhood, Kinuuma Masindi district, Kampala city, Uganda
Start date 12/01/2022
End date 12/01/2024
Cost of the project €350000
Foundation funding €200000
Project identifier 20220122
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 - Strengthening partnerships

Context

The Aliguma Foundation is a charitable organisation that helps marginalised communities access the basic requirements of life. The organisation aims to improve the living standards of mothers and children. The foundation currently operates in Acholi, a slum neighbourhood on the outskirts of Kampala, mostly inhabited by refugees from northern Uganda.

Project goals

1. Identify and develop the career goals of individuals through sport

2. Enhance education and literacy among children to promote holistic development

3. Provide decent housing and a safe environment in which women from deprived backgrounds can raise their children

4. Create income-generating alternatives for mothers who are suffering severe hardships

5. Consolidate the progress made by the project by using sport and businesses as catalysts to allow 1,500 women and 5,000 children and young people to move out of social and economic exclusion

6. Extend the Sports for Resilience and Empowerment Project to refugee communities in the West Nile region and parts of western Uganda by organising football tournaments for refugee and host communities

7. Establish a football tournament for primary schools as a means to campaign for the protection of children, and girls in particular

8. Use football matches as a vehicle to offer more educational scholarships

9. Continue the construction of the Sports and Empowerment Centre, including two football pitches, volleyball and basketball courts and dormitories at the Women and Child Empowerment Centre in Masindi

10. Establish a practical skills unit at the Sports and Empowerment Centre in Masindi

 

Project content

- Girl child campaign in schools and communities

- Slum Soccer tournament

- UEFA Foundation ball project in schools

- Education

- Infrastructure development

- Income-generating activities at the empowerment centre

Partners

Mpira Fursa: grassroots football for girls and child safeguarding

Location and general information

Closed
Location Nationwide, Tanzania
Start date 05/01/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €55,000
Foundation funding €55,000
Project identifier 20221136
Partners Karibu Tanzania Organization
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Tanzanian society suffers from considerable gender disparities that restrict girls’ and women’s access to basic services. The country has some of the highest rates of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy in the world (MoEVT, 2008; BEST, 2010), with the consequent adverse effect on school dropout rates for girls. Incidents of child violence and abuse are also increasing throughout the country. Violence against children is a serious problem, with the 2019 Violence Against Children report stating that nearly three in ten girls and approximately one in seven boys experience sexual violence before the age of 18. Almost three-quarters of both girls and boys experience physical violence before they are 18 (NICEF, 2019).

There are many talented girls in Tanzania who could be great football players, coaches, referees, administrators and sports medicine practitioners. The challenge is the lack of organisation and infrastructure to encourage women to become involved in football, combined with the negative cultural norms that restrict the participation of girls and women in sports activities.

Project goals

  • Promote girls’ football in primary schools through folk development colleges (FDCs)
  • Empower girls to become skilled, confident football players with knowledge of football and economic opportunities
  • Promote girls’ engagement and strengthen girls’ self-esteem, self-confidence and knowledge about their rights
  • Reduce school dropout rates in primary schools
  • Raise awareness of children’s rights and the importance of child safeguarding
  • Promote sports for child development and learning at daycare centres and in children’s homes

Project content

The Mpira Fursa project offers girls the opportunity to immerse themselves in football. It introduced football activities to 86 primary schools in collaboration with 43 FDCs in 23 regions during 2022. The project will be scaled up to involve 108 primary school in 54 FDC catchment areas in 24 regions in 2023. The initiative has increased the proportion of girls playing football at different levels.

Project activities

1) Conducting stakeholder orientation and project review meetings; providing training in children’s rights and safeguarding

2) Supporting the primary schools involved in the project, providing football training and supplying educational materials including football equipment (shirts, footballs and bibs)

3) Organising football matches and tournaments for girls’ primary school teams

4) Improving primary school PE teachers’ understanding of children’s rights and safeguarding

5) Engaging communities in a dialogue on gender equality, girls’ participation in football, children’s rights and safeguarding

6) Media engagement to improve public awareness and promote the project

7) Project monitoring

Partners

FOOTBALL4WILDLIFE

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Maasai Mara ecosystem, Narok County, Kenya
Start date 01/01/2023
End date 06/30/2023
Cost of the project €51,568
Foundation funding €3,000
Project identifier 20220309
Partners Water4Wildlife Maasai Mara Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The Maasai Mara national reserve is a wildlife conservation area in Kenya that is also home to human settlements.

Project goals

1. Increase children's access to football training sessions and matches to promote the social integration and cohesion of communities in Maasai Mara

2. Encourage girls' involvement through training and coaching

3. Educate children on wildlife conservation and life and social skills while countering adverse behaviour such as drug abuse and negative peer pressure

Project content

The Football4Wildlife programme promotes conservation awareness and encourages positive relationships in the community. The beneficiaries are children from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds in state primary schools in Maasai Mara. They are given access to sports and football in particular, while encouraging their commitment to wildlife conservation through fun activities. Information sessions and guidance on conservation will be provided alongside the sports activities. Girls are encouraged to take part in football training, to enhance gender equality. Schools will be supplied with football equipment, such as playing kits and footballs, as well as educational materials, i.e. books and marker pens, for wildlife conservation training.

Partners

Football for Climate Change

Location and general information

Closed
Location Cairo, Egypt
Start date 02/01/2023
End date 05/31/2024
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20220602
Partners Terre des Hommes Egypt
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Egypt currently hosts nearly 290,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers. Children and young people from these communities report high levels of discrimination, exploitation and insecurity, among other protection issues.

Programmes based around sports, playing and art are important for the physical health and social, psychological and developmental needs of young people who have experienced the stress and anxiety of forced displacement.            

Project goals

Football for Climate Change promotes sport as a way to improve social cohesion among vulnerable young Egyptians and refugees living in Egypt and offers them the opportunity to take action on climate change. It does this by:

  1. Implementing and maintaining a sustainable, safe environment for youth participation through football in 20 schools in the El-Obour district;
  2. Organising a Climate Change Football tournament in El-Obour to promote behaviour to address climate change among local students, caregivers and families.

Project content

The project leverages the potential of Terre des Hommes’s Football for Protection (F4P) methodology to develop young people’s skills and well-being. This interactive approach consists of four interrelated programmes:

1. F4P Training of Trainers for staff and teachers in 20 schools in El-Obour district

Five-day training programmes are provided for 20 sports teachers and ten community facilitators on F4P methodology and using football to enhance knowledge of climate change issues. The programme includes technical sport skills and soft skills for children and young people, focusing on child protection, intercultural education, leadership, conflict management, community engagement, experiential learning, etc.

2. Technical and financial support to enable schools to implement an F4P programme for 400 students (at least 25% of whom are girls and 5% are disabled students)

Trained facilitators and teachers carry out weekly F4P coaching sessions to enhance the well-being and inclusion of the participating students. The project team sets up the groups, some of which are girls-only groups to encourage participation, and provides the necessary sports equipment. Safeguarding procedures monitored by the project team ensure protective, gender-sensitive environments and climate change awareness is integrated into the coaching sessions.

3. Supporting social sports initiatives

The 400 participating children, supported by the project team, facilitators and teachers, work in groups to coordinate three social sports initiatives per school. These initiatives use sport to raise awareness of climate change, reaching at least 2,000 fellow students.

4. A football tournament for the 20 participating schools in the El-Obour district

The project team organises a district football tournament between the participating schools. The students of each school design their own kit, which should promote climate change messages.

Terre des Hommes Egypt posts short videos, testimonies and success stories on social media to promote the project.

Partners

Score without barriers

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Brovary, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Smila (Ukraine)
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 03/31/2024
Cost of the project €43,124
Foundation funding €35,640
Project identifier 20210735
Partners Shakhtar Social
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle

Context

Research by the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports suggests that only 6,000 disabled children took part in sports in 2019. According to a report published that year by the country’s state statistics committee, this figure represents just 3.7% of the disabled children in Ukraine.

Project goals

The project, which works in close cooperation with Special Olympics Ukraine and local partner the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine, aims to improve access to sports, and football in particular, for 180 disabled children aged between 7 and 16 years old. Some 50 coaches will be taught about disability sports and the project will promote social inclusion and protect children's rights. The children will benefit from free football sessions and masterclasses over the year, delivered by the foundation's coaches and FC Shakhtar players. At least 10% of participants will be girls.

Project content

The primary focus of the project is to provide 50 grassroots football coaches from all around Ukraine, as well as the foundation’s coaches, with training in disability football. The sessions will be delivered by local experts in grassroots and disability football. The methodology will include the major topics of grassroots football, inclusive football, football for disabled children, and tolerance and respect in football (preventing violence and bullying).

The project’s second strand is free football sessions under the ‘Score without barriers’ label. These are led twice a week by a coach and two volunteers in six locations covering almost all of Ukraine: Brovary, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Smila. Each coach trains 30 children, at least 10% of whom are girls. The one-hour football sessions include physical exercises, games, personal training and a football match, all adapted to be suitable for disabled children. All the necessary equipment will be provided: training kits, balls, disc cones, bibs, a whistle, football nets, first-aid kits, football pumps, freeze sprays and coordination ladders. Each location has an artificial pitch and sports gym.

The project’s third activity consists of six football masterclasses, one in each target location, delivered by FC Shakhtar representatives. A first-team or academy player or coach from FC Shakhtar will visit each project location to teach children basic football skills and join in fun activities and games in the two-hour event. The children will have the opportunity to chat to the players and receive gifts and autographs from the club. The local media will be invited to cover the event to boost the project’s profile. The staff of Shakhtar Social will be in charge of preparing and running the events and taking care of the associated logistics. The masterclasses aim to enhance the impact of the project, offer the children the chance to meet FC Shakhtar players and unite the participants in each location. Thirty children will take part in each event.

Partners