Positive Futures

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
Start date 12/01/2021
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20210469
Partners Rio Ferdinand Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Inequality & hate crime are rising issues in Northern Ireland & Ireland, with border towns between the two particularly at risk with relocation of migrant communities & refugees into small towns adding to existing tensions following the exit of the UK from the EU. Young people are particularly vulnerable, with tensions between communities over national identity coupled with organised criminality operating cross border leaving them at risk of participating in/being victims of negative behaviours.

Project content

This project will build community cohesion and tackle racism and xenophobia through the empowerment of young people from disadvantaged and vulnerable communities in Ireland / Northern Ireland – including those suffering economic disadvantage, racism and prejudice. We will use our project to enhance the skills, confidence and opportunities available to young people and drive a message of respect, inclusion and working together to create safer, stronger and more inclusive communities.

Objectives

This project will create an environment for young people to work together to:

  • Create spaces & opportunities for enhanced cultural understanding & to tackle the negativity of racism & xenophobia.
  • Improve the confidence, skills & experiences of young people to enable & empower them to take a lead role in delivering a message of inclusion, equality & respect in their communities.
  • Create long lasting friendships and networks across communities and cultures to tackle social exclusion and prejudice.

 

Project activities

  • Football coaching/games/tournaments bringing people together across communities/borders.
  • Workshops improving confidence, mental health/wellbeing, addressing issues of prejudice/racism/hate crime, including current/former players sharing lived experience.
  • Accredited training building skills, opportunities & networks.
  • Youth led social action projects promoting cohesion & inclusion.
  • Pathways into further education, training & employment for young people from vulnerable & excluded communities.

 

Expected results

The Positive Futures project will:

  • Engage 250 young people from disadvantaged and vulnerable communities in regular sporting activity.
  • Support 150 young people in personal development workshops and mentoring.
  • Train 100 young people in accredited vocational qualifications.
  • Deliver 4 youth led community cohesion events to bring communities together.

Partner

Football in Rissani

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Morocco, Rissani
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €30,000
Project identifier 20210570
Partners Association Enfants du Désert
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

The population of Rissani, a town in the Moroccan desert, has risen enormously over the past ten years; however, the town’s infrastructure has not kept pace. While there are some dynamic clubs that try to provide underprivileged youngsters with access to sport, the lack of funding and decent equipment means that they do not have the facilities they need. The Football in Rissani project was launched to overcome this issue and enable all youngsters, both girls and boys, to enjoy the advantages of sport.

Project content

The Football in Rissani project will build a dedicated sports area in two locations in the town, consisting of an enclosed football pitch, equipped changing rooms, toilets and running water. Playing equipment (balls, bibs, cones, etc.) will also also provided. The facilities will be built by a team of local builders that Enfants du Désert has been working with for 17 years.

Objectives

  • Give youngsters from underprivileged families access to sport.
  • Encourage boys and girls to mix while enabling girls to enjoy sport in a suitable, safe environment.
  • Provide extracurricular activities for young people.
  • Promote education through sport by exposing young people to values such as team spirit and tolerance while. promoting trust and self-confidence.
  • Support the activities of sports clubs.
  • Encourage socialisation among young people.

Project activities

  • Building infrastructure (pitches, changing rooms, toilets, enclosure).
  • Providing two local clubs with equipment.
  • Weekly training sessions in partnership with two local sports clubs.
  • Organising friendly tournaments and open days to encourage more youngsters to discover and take up sport.

Expected results

  • Reduced inequalities through extracurricular activities.
  • Reduction in inappropriate behaviour among teenagers due to their enthusiastic participation in the activities giving. them a sense of belonging and achievement.
  • More youngsters regularly taking part in local life and sport thanks to the new facilities.
  • More girls taking part in sport.

Partner

My time, my future

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ecuador, Yacuambi
Start date 01/10/2022
End date 01/10/2023
Cost of the project €33,804
Foundation funding €33,804
Project identifier 20210800
Partners Fundación Humana Pueblo a Pueblo
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

FHPP-E helps children and young people play an active role in society through cultural, sporting and educational activities. Children and young people in the Yacuambi municipality in the Ecuadorian Amazon do not have adequate recreational spaces to have fun and develop their motor skills, often leaving them exposed to drugs and child labour. Child labour has a negative impact on children’s cognitive, emotional and social development, affecting their quality of life and mental health, and leaving them vulnerable without the tools they need for the future.

Project content

Regularly playing a group sport has been shown to promote social development and good health, as well as build character, discipline, decision-making skills and rule compliance, benefiting all areas of daily life. To counteract the lack of emphasis placed on extracurricular activities at school, the project seeks to get local actors involved in developing sports and football training activities for children aged 8–18 in Yacuambi municipality. The aim of the project is to provide an environment that allows the children to develop both physically and psychologically, as well as improve their social skills.

Objectives

  • To develop the motor, sports and life skills of 100 children and teenagers through the promotion of education and physical activity as a universal right.
  • To promote the practice of football as an inclusive and effective tool in improving physical and mental health.

Project activities

  • Technical and tactical football training and practical and audiovisual workshops.
  • Training in leadership, self-esteem, values, conflict resolution, a culture of peace and teamwork.
  • Creation of murals on caring for the environment and the rights of children and teenagers.
  • Improvement of sports spaces through community action.
  • Selection of the best participants through micro-cycles.
  • Technical and tactical macrocycles and physical preparation.
  • Organising and participating in local (intercommunity), national (indigenous league) and international (binational Ecuador-Peru tournament) tournaments.

Expected results

  • At least 80% of the children are technically, physically and tactically trained in football.
  • At least 80% of the children are trained in leadership, self-esteem, values, conflict resolution, a culture of peace and teamwork.
  • At least 60% of the children participate in creating murals about the environment and children’s rights.
  • At least 80% of the children participate in physical activities and education.
  • At least 40% of the children are selected for teams.
  • At least 60% of the children participate in technical and tactical macrocycles, physical preparation and goalkeeping.
  • At least 40% of the children participate in local, national and international tournaments.
  • 100% of the children participate in the opening and closing events of the project.

 

Partner

Youth Sports Games 2022

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €5,035,000
Foundation funding €250,000
Project identifier 20210447
Partners Association for Sport, Recreation and Education – Youth Games
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality

Context

The Youth Sports Games started in 1996 in Split, Croatia. The primary motive was to enable children to participate in organised sporting events and other free activities. The Youth Sports Games have become the largest amateur sports event for children and young people in Europe. More than 2 million children have competed in the 25 years since they began.

The games are held in three countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. Primary and secondary-school children compete in ten sports disciplines free of charge, and the most successful individuals and teams get to travel to Split to take part in the international finals.

In addition to the games, the association organises regular sports and recreational activities for children, to promote health, tolerance and ethical values. The association promotes a lifestyle based on understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play as an alternative to addiction and deviant behaviour.

Project content

Sport is used as a medium to connect with the participants aged 7–18 through tournaments held in over 300 cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The Youth Sports Games promote a healthy lifestyle and help to increase the popularity of all ten sports (football, street basketball, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, chess, dodgeball and athletics), as well as educating the children about sustainability.

Objectives

In 2021, a total of 214,852 children took part. The objective for 2022 is to have 220,000 children compete: 80,000 in Croatia, 50,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 90,000 in Serbia, and for 30% of the participants to be girls. The association also aims to develop football tournaments for girls and to be a preferred choice for young girls aged 12–15 years.

Project activities

From January to August 2022, local tournaments will be held in the three countries, then national finals followed by the international finals in Split, Croatia. There will also be marketing activities, such as promotional campaigns, digital media activities, PR activities, live TV broadcasts and a TV show in each country.

Expected results

  • Football tournaments with a total of 110,000 participants.
  • 35 girls' football tournaments for a total of 11,000 young players aged 12–15.
  • Tournaments in the nine other sports (street basketball, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, chess, dodgeball and athletics) with a total of 110,000 participants.

Partner

Together we live, learn and play

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Spain
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €144,468
Foundation funding €18,805
Project identifier 20211045
Partners Asociación Alacrán 1997
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The Asociación Alacrán 1997 works in the Hortaleza district of Madrid. There is significant inequality between neighbourhoods in the Hortaleza district. Around 2,500 households live below the poverty line and struggle with housing, employment or resources. Children and teenagers living in these families face serious challenges that affect their personal and social development.

Project content

The project helps children in vulnerable situations acquire skills and positive values as a protective factor against risky behaviours and habits. The core activity is the football programme, which has a strong focus on the inclusion of girls. This gives children access to a free sports activity. The programme is complemented with socio-educational support and healthy leisure options.

Objectives

  • Protect children’s rights and alleviate the effects of poverty on girls and boys in the Hortaleza district.
  • Promote the personal and social development of girls and boys in the Hortaleza district, especially those at greatest risk and the most socially vulnerable.
  • Encourage girls to play football – a traditionally masculine space – as a way to combat prejudices and stereotypes.

Project activities

  • Football training focused on individual technical improvement and learning basic team play concepts, as well as the development of abilities, skills, attitudes and values.
  • Awareness and recruitment campaigns for girls.
  • Football tournaments.
  • Coach training.
  • Classes to help with school and teach study techniques.
  • Activities to promote group cohesion and conflict resolution.
  • Workshops to promote healthy habits and on specific topics such as sexuality, drugs and emotions.
  • Individualised follow-up.

Expected results

  • Girls and boys are encouraged to play sports
  • Girls and boys acquire or improve their abilities, skills and fundamental values
  • Increased school attendance among girls
  • Creation of an educational, protective and caring space for the participants
  • Upholding the participants’ right to equal opportunities in education by supporting them and counteracting their educational difficulties
  • Providing individual support to protect the participants and ensure their optimal development

Partner

Playing for Equality: Making Equality a Reality

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Cambodia, Phnom Penh
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 03/31/2022
Cost of the project €23,450
Foundation funding €23,000
Project identifier 20201165
Partners Indochina Starfish Foundation (ISF)
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

As Cambodia continues to recover from the impact of the Khmer Rouge’s destructive regime, corruption and inequality remain prevalent. 44% of children in Cambodia live in multidimensional poverty, experiencing barriers to childhood development such as malnutrition and poor sanitation. As a result, access to education and organised sports in disadvantaged communities is limited. This is especially the case for vulnerable groups such as girls and disabled children, who experience pervasive discrimination that often prohibits them from accessing their right to attend school and practice sports in safe environments. ISF Cambodia believes every child has the right to education, healthcare and play.

Project content

To challenge discrimination and promote the inclusion of minorities in sport, ISF Cambodia will partner with 15 schools and NGOs to provide football-for-good lessons to 300 children, including deaf and HIV-positive players. ISF’s experienced coaches will deliver ISF’s social outreach curriculum by using football-based activities to educate young players on gender equality, disability rights, and children’s rights. The project will culminate in a football festival that celebrates diversity and inclusion in sport.

Objectives

  • Increase youth access to sport across all genders and abilities.
  • Improve attitudes towards equal societies and inclusion in sport.
  • Provide a safe space for young people to explore social issues such as children’s rights, gender equality, disability and inclusion.
  • Empower girls and people with disabilities and HIV.

Project activities

  • Training ISF’s experienced coaches in ISF’s adapted social outreach curriculum, covering gender equality, disability rights, and children’s rights.
  • Delivering three sessions to 15 groups of 20 players – one group from each of the nine schools and six NGOs ISF will partner with.
  • Assessing changes in knowledge and attitude using comprehensive monitoring and evaluation tools.
  • Hosting a fun and celebratory football festival for all 300 players.

Expected results

  • 15 coaches will increase their capacity to deliver football-for-good sessions to players with a range of abilities.
  • 300 players will have greater access to organised sport activities.
  • 300 players will have a better understanding of minority rights and improved attitudes towards the inclusion of minorities in society and in sport.

Partner

Fun, Friends, Football camps

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Peru, Ayacucho, Quinua
Start date 01/04/2021
End date 05/30/2021
Cost of the project €81,322
Foundation funding €39,444
Project identifier 20201609
Partners Mama Alice
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Mama Alice works with refugee children from Venezuela and Peruvian children growing up in extreme poverty.

There is little support or understanding among the Peruvian population for Venezuelan refugee children. Most Venezuelan children in Peru live in extreme poverty, which causes them a great deal of stress, which is then exacerbated by the discrimination they experience.

At Mama Alice, a professional and highly experienced multidisciplinary team guides both Venezuelan and Peruvian children towards a positive self-image and better social skills. All children participating in Mama Alice activities come from homes experiencing poverty, often accompanied by domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse, poor hygiene and malnutrition. These problems have a major impact on educational performance and general well-being. When a child is never told that they are wanted and loved, the effect is devastating. Not only do they have poor self-esteem, but they also lack confidence in a better future. For some this leads to serious emotional or behavioural problems.

Mama Alice trainers and teachers are trained to recognise problems and refer children to social workers, nurses or psychologists. They see that their approach has a positive impact: children become happier, more confident and have better social skills. They also achieve better school results, make friends more easily and increase their problem-solving skills.

Project content

Mama Alice organises football camps for children living in extreme poverty and who are often from families with high levels of domestic violence, whether physical, psychological or sexual. Each camp is for 30 participants, divided into 3 groups of 10 (due to COVID-19 restrictions).

During the football camp, the children will not only improve their football skills, but they will also learn many new personal skills that should lead to significant personal growth.

A participation certificate and a photo book are given to the children at the end of the camp to ensure that they have lasting and proud memories. They may also share them via social media and with their friends and family.

Objectives

Overall objectives:

  • Peruvian and Venezuelan children develop more understanding and friendship.
  • They learn about nature and sustainability.
  • They learn about Peru’s history and culture.
  • They learn more about healthy food.
  • They have fun.
  • They have an unforgettable experience.

Specific objectives:

  • 90% of all participants show improved football skills.
  • 80% have improved self-esteem.
  • 90% show improved social skills.

Project activities

  • Football training : All trainers are trained in the Total Soccer Method by Igor Hameleers, the founder of several football schools in the Netherlands. Children take part in daily training, games and relaxation, which are adjusted depending on their level and motivation.
  • Creative activities: The Mama Alice teachers all have over ten years of experience in offering creative activities, especially for target groups with a negative self-image and no strong social skills. Through creativity and art, children also learn to express their feelings.
  • Wari cultural visit: Wari is an archaeological site in Ayacucho. The excavations show how the Waris (a people before the Incas) lived. Yasser, an archaeologist, guide and history teacher, tells interesting stories at the children’s level.
  • Quinua cultural visit: The last struggle for independence in all of Latin America was fought on the pampas of Quinua. The children visit an independence monument and a small museum at the site.
  • Psychosocial workshop: Mama Alice has been working with Peruvian children since 2005 and has developed a method that works well specifically for this target group. Interactive and playful workshops using this method create a safe environment in which children can express their feelings, gain a more positive self-image, understand themselves and others better, work together better and become stronger.
  • Health workshop: Activities are aimed at better personal hygiene, in order to prevent a number of diseases that are common in Ayacucho. Since 2020, prevention of COVID-19 has been added.
  • Musical games: Music therapist Frederique organises games to connect and relax the children and help those who cannot express their feelings easily.
  • Football match: At the end of each day a small 5 v 5 football match is played within the subgroups of 10 on small football pitches. On the last day, Saturday, there are three big matches between the different subgroups.
  • Presentation of the participation certificate: Every child receives a participation certificate and a printed photo book containing 20 photos of the camp, giving them wonderful memories of perhaps the best week of their lives so far.

Expected results

90% of all participants show improved football skills:

  • 90% know most rules.
  • 90% have a understandings of the game during a match.
  • 80% are able to receive a ball, pass it on and shoot at the goal.

80% have improved self-esteem:

  • 90% have more confidence in themselves, others and the future.
  • 90% are able to ask for help when they need it.
  • 90% are able to participate in all the different activities.
  • 80% are able to form their own opinions.

90% of participants show improved social skills:

  • 80% are more able to express their feelings.
  • 90% have learned to push their own boundaries.
  • 90% have learned to work and play together and to make friends.
  • 90% have increased their understanding of other cultures and backgrounds.
  • 90% have better personal hygiene.

Partner

Sports for Resilience and Empowerment Project (SREP)

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Uganda , Kampala
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 03/01/2022
Cost of the project €193,215
Foundation funding €144,911
Project identifier 20200410
Partners Aliguma Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Children make up 60% of the Ugandan population, and 55% of them are experiencing child poverty. Of the 270 million people in Africa living in slums, 2.4 million are in Uganda and 60% of them reside in Kampala. Acholi Quarters is one of the biggest slums in Kampala and is home to over 20,000 people. Children living in slums face deprivation, exclusion, vulnerability and lifelong difficulties linked to limited physical, psychological and intellectual development. They are exposed to violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect, child labour, trafficking, sexual exploitation and child marriage.

Project content

The Sports for Resilience and Empowerment Project (SREP) aims to transform the vulnerable Acholi Quarters community through sports and was a result of consultations between the Aliguma Foundation, the children’s families and caregivers and community leaders. The project targets girls, boys, women and other caregivers (including refugees and those with disabilities) living in Acholi Quarters. A sports facility equipped with basic training facilities will enable 850 women and other caregivers to gain skills to start and manage their own businesses, allowing them to take care of themselves and their families sustainably. The goal is to protect over 2,500 children from exploitation and enable them to go to school and delay marriage until the right time.

Objectives

  • Develop a sports training facility to develop the talent of children in Acholi Quarters slums.
  • Use sport and trade skills to empower 2,500 children and 850 caregivers to escape social and economic exclusion by 2021.
  • Improve the capacity of 200 trainers and coaches to manage and improve the talent and social behaviour of the children.
  • Create access to social and economic opportunities for women and their children.
  • Raise awareness about child protection and gender equality.

Project activities

  • Training and mentoring community-based volunteers, informal community trainers and coaches, linking them to schools and churches in the community and establishing a ‘children- to-coaches’ support network.
  • Community sports activities and events involving all demographics of the community for social, health and wellness as well as talent development purposes.
  • Installing and erecting goal posts and nets, fencing the sports facility, building toilets and changing rooms, and procuring balls and other training equipment.
  • Training caregivers in practical skills such as shoe making, jewellery, tailoring, fashion and design, cookery, house-keeping, child care, nutrition, phone repair, computer literacy, finance, business plans and business development.
  • Drafting user manuals, best practice briefs and articles and conducting research studies and project evaluation.

Expected results

  • A sports facility in Acholi Quarters equipped with decent basic training facilities, toilets and changing rooms.
  • 200 trainers and coaches able to manage the holistic development of children.
  • At least 700 women and other caregivers possessing skills needed to start and manage their own businesses and take care of themselves and their families.
  • 2,500 children aged 6–17 (1,800 girls and 700 boys) protected from exploitation and able to go to school and delay marriage.
  • Gender equality in Acholi Quarters promoted and improved through equal opportunities.

Partner

Blind Solidarity

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project content

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

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

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

Expected results

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

Partner

The Gazelles of Teranga

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Senegal, Gandon
Start date 04/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €61,000
Foundation funding €30,000
Project identifier 20200894
Partners Unis Vers le Sport
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The Unis Vers le Sport (UVS) street children’s reception centre was opened in October 2019 in the Senegalese municipality of Gandon. Equipped with sports facilities and employing qualified sports coaches, the centre, which is in a rural location, is surrounded by numerous public schools. For cultural reasons, most girls in the region do not participate in any sports activities, which leads to physical and mental health problems in adulthood.

Project content

The ‘Gazelles of Teranga’ project aims to invite 2,500 schoolgirls from the surrounding rural districts to take part in regular sports activities and fun, educational workshops designed to teach them about the health benefits of regular participation in appropriate sports activities. Their teachers also receive training in sports coaching and first aid so they can continue running these activities after the end of the project.

Objectives

  • Participation of around 2,500 schoolgirls in regular sports activities.
  • Participation of around 2,500 schoolgirls in workshops designed to raise awareness of issues relating to health, hygiene, diet and sport relevant to the local context.
  • Training of teachers in sports coaching and first aid to give them the tools they need to continue running sports activities after the end of the project.
  • Distribution of sports clothing as well as sports and first aid equipment to schools in the region.

Project activities

  • Each day, 50 girls are taken from nearby schools to the UVS centre by coach.
  • Between 08:00 and 10:00, the girls participate in a session comprising gymnastics and fun sports activities.
  • They are given a snack between 10:00 and 10:30.
  • Between 10:30 and 12:00, the girls attend workshops designed to raise their awareness of issues relating to health, hygiene, diet and sport.
  • Meanwhile, from 08:00 until 12:00, teachers receive training in sports coaching and first aid, with 12 sessions spread over a three-month period.

Expected results

  • Regular participation in sport becomes the norm for girls in the region.
  • The physical and mental health of the 2,500 or so schoolgirls participating in the project is improved.
  • The women in the region suffer from fewer health problems resulting from a lack of participation in appropriate sports activities.
  • Basic knowledge of issues relating to health, hygiene, diet and sport is acquired.
  • The teachers gain the knowledge and skills needed to continue running the sports activities after the project is over.

Partner

Refugee-led Sport and Early Childhood Education Programmes Launch in Chad

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Chad
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 03/31/2022
Cost of the project €165,253
Foundation funding €77,145
Project identifier 20201117
Partners iACT
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Eastern Chad hosts 360,000 refugees, with numbers increasing due to violence in Sudan. Highlighted in the 2020 SDG report, refugees and those fleeing armed conflict, particularly women and children, face even greater risk to their health, education, and livelihoods due to COVID-19.

iACT is a groundbreaking international action organisation with a mission to inspire a more mindful humanitarian system. It works to ensure conflict-affected children and young people are able to exercise their rights to education and healthy development. iACT’s refugee-led, gender equity-focused early childhood education and football programmes meet immediate needs and have the ability to expand during and beyond the global pandemic to support communities long-term.

iACT’s Little Ripples and its Refugees United Soccer Academy (Academy) are the only programmes in eastern Chad that address gaps in preschool education and sport, providing refugee children aged 3–13 with comprehensive social-educational opportunities that will have a life-long impact. Little Ripples is an early childhood education programme that empowers refugees and communities affected by humanitarian crises to implement child-centred, quality, and comprehensive pre-primary education that supports the social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children aged 3–5. The Academy is a place for refugee girls and boys aged 6–13 to learn about teamwork, leadership, and peacebuilding, all while improving their football skills.

Project content

iACT’s Little Ripples and its Refugees United Soccer Academy (Academy) are the only programmes in eastern Chad that address gaps in preschool education and sport, providing refugee children aged 3–13 with comprehensive social-educational opportunities that will have a life-long impact. Little Ripples is an early childhood education programme that empowers refugees and communities affected by humanitarian crises to implement child-centred, quality, and comprehensive pre-primary education that supports the social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children aged 3–5. The Academy is a place for refugee girls and boys aged 6–13 to learn about teamwork, leadership, and peacebuilding, all while improving their football skills.

Objectives

  • Provide children with opportunities to heal from trauma and develop leadership skills through refugee-led early childhood education and sports programmes in all 12 refugee camps in eastern Chad.
  • Document the refugee-led process, particularly the expansion of programmes, and extract lessons learned to share with the humanitarian community, partners and supporters of refugee-led work, and sports and early childhood education leaders.

Project activities

  • Six days a week, children aged 3–13 will participate in Little Ripples and the Academy.
  • iACT’s refugee staff will lead the expansion of Little Ripples to one new camp (Amnabak) and the Academy to four new camps (Amnabak, Gaga, Oure Cassoni, and Treguine):A team of experienced staff members will travel to new programme
  • locations, engage the community leaders and members in dialogue, and train and hire coaches, teachers, cooks, and programme coordinators.Little Ripples teachers and Academy coaches will complete three training sessions over the course of 2021.
  • All new iACT teachers and coaches will participate in LEAD with EMPATHY, a leadership development and human rights curriculum that provides the tools and guidance for refugees to learn and practise community organising and programme management skills.
  • iACT staff will share insights and lessons learned from the entire refugee-led expansion process with UEFA and the humanitarian community.

Expected results

  • 80 coaches trained in iACT’s Academy curricula (50% male and 50% female).
  • 30 female teachers receive iACT’s Little Ripples teacher training.
  • 16 coaches hired (50% male and 50% female).
  • One camp coordinator hired.
  • Eight teachers hired.
  • 34 refugee staff trained in iACT’s LEAD with EMPATHY leadership development curriculum.
  • Three iACT refugee staff leading programme expansion in four camps.
  • 8,000 children enrolled in four new Academy programmes.
  • 180 children enrolled in four new Little Ripples preschool centres where they will receive nutritious daily meals.

Partner

Football Foundation Programme

Location and general information

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

Context

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

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

Project content

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

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

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

Expected results

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

Partner

Urban Football for Hopes and Dreams

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Canada, Montreal
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €86,000
Foundation funding €15,000
Project identifier 20201599
Partners Rêves Passion Montréal
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Almost 70% of Montreal’s population are immigrants. Dreams Passion Montreal works in areas where low-income immigrants are concentrated, offering team sports in partnership with local community centres. Football is used not only as a form of physical activity but also as a tool for integration, especially the integration of girls.

Dreams Passion Montreal helps Montreal’s community centres provide inclusive and equitable mixed football activities. When girls and women come into their own through sports, they can thrive in their private and professional lives and bring positive change to society.

Gender diversity is as much a fact of team sports as it is of daily life, so it is essential for young boys to be educated about tolerance and respect. It is equally important to build girls’ confidence to take part in mixed activities.

Project content

The aim of the project is to create an environment that enables the personal development of vulnerable young people whose parents cannot afford to enrol them in extracurricular activities. The goal is to help young people integrate into their community and educate boys about respecting and including girls.

Objectives

  • Use sports as a tool for integration and social development.
  • Promote equitable and equal participation in sports and combat all forms of discrimination, including gender-based discrimination.
  • Develop the self-esteem and self-confidence of girls through mixed sports.
  • Foster positive attitudes and behaviours in young people and improve their team working skills.

Project activities

  • Supporting community centres in their weekly mixed football activities, by providing a structure, coach, fair play-based methodology and equipment if needed.
  • Providing a series of No Girls Offside football workshops, usually combined with other activities (Zumba, basketball, singing), to promote leadership, self-confidence and a sense of belonging in girls.
  • Organising a yearly Urban Football Festival bringing together all the participants, their families and the project partners to celebrate everyone’s involvement.

Expected results

  • 100 girls will have taken part in activities that are 100% female or led by women by the end of 2021.
  • At least 150 children (minimum 25% girls) will have participated in mixed football activities at community centres.
  • More than 150 young people will have learned about group dynamics, including how to work as a team, respecting diversity and other people’s ideas, accepting criticism, making constructive comments based on mutual respect, peacefully. managing and resolving conflict, and following rules.
  • More than 150 young people will have adopted positive attitudes and behaviours, including honesty, integrity and working together.

Partner

Senior Leaders Programme

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location USA, Philadelphia
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €235,107
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20201322
Partners Starfinder Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Philadelphia’s poverty rate is the highest among the US’s largest cities. Nearly 40% of the city’s youth live below the poverty line and face barriers to success: under-resourced schools, limited access to healthy foods, a lack of safe places to play, neighbourhoods with high rates of drug use and gang activity, exposure to violence, and high rates of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Only one in five gets the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity daily, and one in five gets none at all.

Project content

The intensive Senior Leaders after-school programme combines football with health and fitness, academic support, and leadership training to help low-income and immigrant youth achieve success on and off the field. A positive, intentional culture honours youth voice and promotes accountability. The teens learn to apply mental toughness and lessons from the field to other parts of their lives. 99% graduated high school, and 91% continued to university, far outperforming their peers (69% and 55%).

Objectives

Disadvantaged youth gain:

  • skills, confidence and resilience to overcome challenges and achieve their goals
  • long-term good health and physical fitness by establishing healthy lifestyles
  • social and emotional well-being through healthy, positive connections
  • post-secondary success
  • a future as resilient, empathetic adults and engaged, productive citizens

Project activities

The intensive after-school programme for 100-120 low-income teens requires them to attend two-hour sessions three days per week from November to March. They participate in football, mentoring, leadership, and fitness training. At the weekends they take part in university visits, post-secondary and professionalism workshops, community service projects, leagues, open play, tournaments and social events. Activities then continue from April to August, keeping the teens involved throughout the year.

Expected results

  • 100% of the participants will increase their engagement in physical activity and 100% will increase their knowledge and practice of healthy habits and behaviours.
  • 100% will learn and practice key life/social-emotional skills to support long-term success and 100% will be matched with a mentor.
  • 100% will graduate from high school and 95% will attain post-secondary education or training.

Partner

Football4Good

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Thailand, Chiang Mai
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €29,914
Foundation funding €29,914
Project identifier 20200779
Partners Baan Dek Foundation (BDF)
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Tens of thousands of migrant children live in construction site camps throughout Thailand. They live in slum-like conditions and face difficulties accessing healthcare and education. In addition, they have few opportunities to engage and connect with their peers, and the lockdown during the COVID‑19 pandemic has left them even more isolated. Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) supports over 2,000 of these children each year.

Project content

The Football4Good (F4G) project delivers sports education to children living in construction site camps, reaching 600+ children per year. Through access to sport and youth empowerment activities, the project provides positive social opportunities as well as physical and mental benefits. It also promotes gender equality and integration by teaching life skills, respect, and sportsmanship.

Objectives

  • Access to sport: F4G provides football sessions and matches, sports equipment, and improvements to community spaces.
  • Youth empowerment: Young people are trained as Youth Peer Educators (YPEs), equipping them to lead football sessions and act as role models.
  • Social and life skills: F4G provides an inclusive avenue for children to participate in community life and teaches them life skills.
  • Gender equality: F4G promotes gender equality in sport by eliminating barriers and preventing discrimination.

Project activities

  • Monthly after-school football sessions in priority construction site camp communities.
  • Weekly after-school football sessions in schools and a government institution.
  • Quarterly inter-community football matches.
  • Four-day youth leadership training for YPEs.
  • Four-day refresher leadership training for YPEs.
  • Monthly YPE meetings with BDF staff in the communities.
  • YPEs attend a professional football match with BDF staff.
  • Improvements to community sports spaces.
  • Donations of sports equipment to communities.

Expected results

  • Number of F4G sessions delivered – 120+
  • Number of F4G sessions in communities – 50
  • Number of F4G sessions at schools – 70+
  • Number of children attending F4G sessions/matches – 500+
  • Number of girls attending F4G sessions – 200+
  • Number of communities where sports facilities will be improved – 5
  • Number of children benefiting from improved facilities – 300+
  • Number of YPEs receiving training – 40+
  • Number of YPE meetings in communities – 10+
  • Number of inter-community matches – 4

Partner

Just Play

Location and general information

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

Context

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

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

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

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

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

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

Project content

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

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

Objectives

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

Project activities

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

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

Expected results

Since 2009:

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

After participating in Just Play:

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

Partner