Sport Comes Back to Syria

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project goals

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

Project content

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

Key components include:

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

Target Groups

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

Expected Impact

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

Partner

Girls and football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Niamey, Dosso and Tillabéri, Niger
Start date 02/01/2026
End date 12/31/2027
Cost of the project €97,065
Foundation funding €91,943
Project identifier 2025001732
Partners New Challenges
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Young people in Niger, especially in the Niamey, Dosso and Tillabéri regions, face numerous challenges: school dropout, early marriage, social disengagement and limited access to sports facilities. These are exacerbated by poverty, insecurity and restrictive sociocultural norms. For example, football is largely considered a boys’ sport, limiting girls' access to the personal development opportunities it offers.

Project goals

Use football as a tool to empower 90 vulnerable 12 to 18-year-olds.

  • Specific goals
  • Foster inclusivity and the participants' psychosocial development through regular sports activities
  • Develop participants’ leadership skills and independence and encourage them to engage with their community
  • Boost participants’ motivation at school and raise awareness among the community of girls' potential and the importance of letting them play sport

Project content

Girls’ football clubs

Two clubs per region (15 girls per club) offering regular training and educational sessions on topics such as:

  • Girls’ rights and gender equality
  • Sexual and reproductive health
  • Female leadership
  • Peace and social cohesion
  • Preventing violence
  • The importance of education

Personal development workshops

One two-day workshop in each region followed by a panel discussion featuring local female sports leaders to inspire participants through lived experiences.

Interregional tournament

One club match per region, followed by a semi-final in Niamey and a final the following day. The aim of the tournament is to promote social cohesion and solidarity between communities.

Academic support

Supporting 90 participants in their studies for the duration of the project by paying their school fees, providing school supplies and offering individual and group tutoring.

Community awareness-raising

A large-scale community forum in each of the three regions and four radio debates per region on the importance of sport for girls, gender equality and social cohesion.

Partners

Powerchair Football for Kids United

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Groningen, the Netherlands
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 01/01/2031
Cost of the project €46,500
Foundation funding €27,500
Project identifier 2025001169
Partners Kids United
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In the northern Netherlands, disabled children and young adults who are fully dependent on electric wheelchairs have very limited access to structured sport. Powerchair football is not currently available in the region, which means that they are required to travel long distances to participate.

Kids United is a non-profit foundation based in Groningen that has been offering inclusive, free-of-charge football opportunities to children and young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities since 2003. While the organisation supports more than 150 children through weekly training sessions and inclusive sports activities, there remains a clear gap for opportunities for electric wheelchairs users.

 

Project goals

  • Offer powerchair football activities for disabled children and young adults in the northern Netherlands
  • Promote social inclusion, self-confidence and well-being through structured team sport
  • Establish a sustainable powerchair football programme within Kids United
  • Train coaches and volunteers in inclusive sport and safeguarding practices
  • Strengthen partnerships with sports organisations and local stakeholders to ensure long-term impact

Project content

The project focuses on creating a sustainable, inclusive powerchair football programme within Kids United. Activities include acquiring specialised powerchair football equipment, organising weekly training sessions and delivering courses for coaches and volunteers.

Participants will train in a safe and adapted environment under professional supervision. The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Football Association and other partners to ensure quality, continuity and alignment with national powerchair football structures.

Partners

kids 2 sterren conv 1

GoalNation: Build. Play. Belong.

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Chișinău, Moldova
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 01/01/2027
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €48,000
Project identifier 2025001165
Partners CSF SPORTING CHIȘINĂU
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Most refugee children from Ukraine lack access to safe, inclusive and well-equipped football facilities in Moldova. The pitches that do exist are limited in number, poorly maintained or far from the refugee settlements. Clubs and NGOs are overwhelmed and underfunded. This project fills a critical gap by creating child-friendly, accessible and sustainable football spaces that foster integration, well-being and personal development through sport.

Project goals

  • Develop eco-sustainable sports facilities in underserved areas
  • Promote the social inclusion and well-being of young Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan children through football
  • Foster teamwork, resilience, cross-cultural understanding and environmental awareness
  • Support grassroots football and equal access to sport
  • Empower young people through physical activity, education and safe play environments

Project content

GoalNation builds eco-certified football facilities for Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan youngsters, including a new 20m × 32m mini-pitch in Chișinău. Using FIFA-standard turf and local labour, the project will support more than 160 children from ten teams.

Partners

Sports for Resilience and Empowerment

Location and general information

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

Context

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

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

Project goals

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

Project content

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

Partners

Support for children and young people living in extreme poverty

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Toliara, Atsimo-Andrefana, Madagascar
Start date 01/05/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €41,000
Foundation funding €26,900
Project identifier 2025001021
Partners Eau de Coco association
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Thousands of young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Toliara in south-west Madagascar are left to fend for themselves and struggle to survive. Many have stopped attending school, because they have no civil status (their birth was never officially registered), their family has no money or they lack motivation. Unwanted pregnancies are common among girls.

Project goals

Main goal: Promote lifelong learning through sport and ensure a high-quality education for all (SDG 4)

Specific objectives

  • Encourage vulnerable children to participate in sports activities, respecting fundamental freedoms and without discrimination
  • Provide outdoor sports equipment for supervised sports activities aimed at all children and teenagers living in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Toliara
  • Give children and teenagers the chance to play sport and have fun outside school
  • Encourage as many street children as possible to return to school

Project content

The project consists of two main activities:

  • Recreational team sport including football, basketball, handball, volleyball and tchoukball
  • Discussion of issues such as gender, racism, rights and obligations, and human rights

Partners

Karanja Inclusive Multisport Safe Space – Kibera

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 03/01/2027
Cost of the project €70,000
Foundation funding €70,000
Project identifier 2025001764
Partners Gifted Community Center
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Children growing up in Kibera, Nairobi, one of Africa's largest urban slums and among the most densely populated informal settlements in Kenya, face multiple social and economic challenges, including poverty, limited access to safe play spaces and inadequate educational and health services. Due to high levels of ignorance and stigma, disabled children are excluded from society and do not have access to safe, inclusive sports spaces. Among the Nubian community in particular, disabled children are hidden at home, which denies them social interaction with non-disabled children, play and education opportunities. This reinforces negative attitudes and discrimination.

There are very few safe and inclusive recreational spaces where all children can participate together. Existing sports facilities are often inaccessible, not adapted for disabled children and lack structured programmes.

Project goals

  • Create a fully accessible, sustainable and inclusive sports hub for disabled and non-disabled children
  • Reduce stigma and discrimination against children to promote social inclusion
  • Increase access to safe, inclusive recreational sports opportunities and developmental activities for disabled children
  • Build local capacity in inclusive sports coaching
  • Improve the physical, emotional and social well-being of children
  • Strengthen community engagement and partnerships that promote inclusion and child development and support caregivers' well-being and awareness

Project content

  • Renovate an existing court to make it accessible for disabled children, construct a wheelchair-accessible multi-use basketball and tennis court and provide inclusive sports equipment
  • Train a minimum of ten coaches in inclusive methodologies
  • Organise three inclusive tournaments (football, wheelchair basketball, deaf-friendly games)
  • Hold regular sports sessions for over 30 children, at least half of whom are disabled
  • Organise caregiver forums and mental health support for a minimum of 50 parents
  • Set up inclusive football and tennis programmes adapted for different disabilities
  • Use sports-based therapy to support disabled children
  • Hold sessions focusing on confidence building, coordination, communication skills and mental health
  • Strengthen community and caregiver engagement to support children's development
  • Run community sports days, inclusive tournaments and awareness-raising sessions and collaborate with local schools, disability organisations and health partners to combat stigma
  • Implement strong child safeguarding measures and regularly monitor and evaluate participation, participant well-being and social impact

Partners

Sehat & Soul – Transforming children’s well-being through sport in Pakistan

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Karachi, Pakistan
Start date 02/01/2026
End date 01/31/2027
Cost of the project €96,360
Foundation funding €65,000
Project identifier 2025000883
Partners British Asian Trust
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

In Pakistan, millions of girls, disabled children and children from underserved communities face barriers to participating in sport. The country is also experiencing a severe mental health crisis. Around 50 million people are facing mental health challenges, yet there is only one psychiatrist for every 550,000 people, meaning that 90% of those needing treatment are unable to access support. There are no specialist child psychologists, and almost no community-based care.

Project goals

Over the course of the project, Sehat & Soul aims to help underserved children in Karachi access sport and mental health support, promoting their physical health and development inside and outside the classroom and allowing them to thrive.

Sehat & Soul recognises that children and young people are increasingly open to conversations around mental health. This represents an opportunity to nurture the next generation of leaders, emphasise the importance of mental health and build healthier school environments.

The specific project objectives are:

  • to raise awareness of psycho-social well-being among teachers and improve their knowledge in this area;
  • to improve access to high-quality well-being services for children;
  • to deliver sustainable, systemic improvements in the education sector that will secure long-term access to children’s well-being services.

Project content

Sehat & Soul will deliver school-based sports activities in cricket, futsal, rounders and athletics to 39,750 children in 265 schools. Each school will receive bespoke kitbags, enabling all pupils to take part by removing a cost barrier. As well as running inclusive competitions, the project will identify talented athletes and help them to progress, including by offering coaching and mentoring beyond the project.

As well as training 530 educators in sports coaching and how to develop a curriculum, the project will work with senior school staff to embed sport into school timetables and promote healthier lifestyles. As part of this effort, educators will be trained to use the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. This will highlight the concrete benefits of sport for pupils’ mental health, generating data that will encourage staff engagement and strengthen the case to scale the model.

Finally, in 20 pilot schools, the project will train 60 Mental Health Champions to lead mental health awareness sessions, conduct initial screening, and set up a pathway to refer children to mental health services, creating a continuum of care.

Partners

The United for Sport School

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Sala, Bamako region, Mali
Start date 12/01/2025
End date 07/31/2026
Cost of the project €51,919
Foundation funding €41,535
Project identifier 2025000774
Partners Unis Vers le Sport France
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment

Context

The Unis Vers le Sport school in Sala, in Mali’s Bamako region, opened in 2008 with the aim of providing an academic, vocational, cultural and sporting education free of charge to about a hundred children who cannot afford to attend school elsewhere. Daily physical education lessons are integrated into the standard school curriculum and feature a wide range of sports, including football, basketball, handball and volleyball. This supports the pupils’ personal development by teaching them core sporting values such as respect for rules and for other people and the importance of committing to goals and striving to be the best they can be. Learning to play different sports also enables them to look after their physical and mental health and opens up a range of possible career paths, whether as athletes, teachers or coaches. Unfortunately, the school’s facilities are now dilapidated, making it very hard to deliver academic and sporting activities and threatening the future of the programme.

Project goals

The overarching aim of this project is to renovate the school to give pupils and teachers a safe environment, suitable for their academic and sporting activities. This will extend the impact of the original project, ensuring that new generations of children can benefit.

Specific objectives:

  • Renovate all the school’s facilities
  • Install a generator to power the school, which currently has no electricity
  • Drill a well to address the lack of a clean water supply

Project content

The project milestones, in chronological order, are as follows:

  • Refurbish the multi-sports area (concrete pitch/court, goals, basketball hoops, line markings, etc.)
  • Replace all roofs
  • Renovate the school buildings (internal and external walls, floors, stairs, perimeter walls, doors, windows, paintwork, etc.)
  • Install a complete photovoltaic system (solar panels, inverters, batteries, panel supports, protective housing, etc.)
  • Establish a well (borehole, pump, solar panels, water tank holder, water tank, etc.)

The work is expected to take three months to complete.

 

Partners

Green Goals for All

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project goals

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

Project content

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

Partner

Sports4Good

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Chiang Mai, Thailand
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €71,000
Foundation funding €42,500
Project identifier 2025002170
Partners Baan Dek Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

An estimated 60,000 children and young people in Chiang Mai live in temporary camps with their parents, who have come to the area to work on local construction sites. The children face challenging circumstances, such as poor living conditions, lack of social integration, and difficulties in accessing public healthcare, education, and protection services. This greatly reduces their chances of integrating into and developing in wider society, depriving them of the chance to break the cycle of poverty and realise their full potential in life.

Project goals

  • Increase children’s access to sport
  • Encourage active engagement in physical activities
  • Support children’s holistic development and overall well-being
  • Foster social inclusion and integration into the Thai education system and wider society
  • Strengthen children’s sense of belonging
  • Promote gender equality

Project content

The project provides migrant children and young people living in construction site camps with equal opportunities to participate in sports sessions and competitions, including ensuring that they have the necessary sports equipment. It encourages and supports girls to participate equally in all sports activities, and also empowers young people by training them to become peer educators and positive role models within their communities.

Partner

Bringing Communities Together and Empowering Children in Border Areas through Football in Tajikistan

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Gorno-Badakhshan Region and Sughd Province, Tajikistan
Start date 04/01/2026
End date 03/31/2028
Cost of the project €191,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 2025001936
Partners The International Organization for Migration (IOM) country office in Tajikistan / Tajikistan Football Federation
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Children and young people in Tajikistan’s border regions are exposed to the effects of geographic isolation, economic hardship, and limited access to safe, inclusive spaces. They are also vulnerable to criminal activity and political risks, including cross-border trafficking, drug smuggling and the presence of extremist groups. These problems cause social instability, disrupt community life, deepen inter-ethnic divisions and reduce opportunities for personal and economic development. Access to quality education, structured activities and positive role models is also limited, increasing the risk of exclusion and disengagement. In addition, girls face particular cultural and security barriers that restrict their participation in community life and recreational activities, exacerbating gender inequality and social isolation.

Project goals

  • Improve access to safe infrastructure for sport (including football)
  • Provide more opportunities for recreation, social interaction and developing skills
  • Empower vulnerable children in Tajikistan’s border regions
  • Bring children from both sides of the Tajik-Kyrgyz and Tajik-Afghan borders together
  • Foster resilience and inclusion in border communities affected by conflict
  • Provide female role models to encourage girls’ participation
  • Encourage community ownership of inclusive sports initiatives
  • Raise public awareness of these initiatives and make them sustainable
  • Foster cross-community interaction, understanding and peace

Project content

The IOM and the Tajikistan Football Federation will jointly identify target locations in the Tajik-Kyrgyz and Tajik-Afghan border areas to construct or refurbish football pitches. The project will run regular football events, including cross-border tournaments and festivals, to strengthen social cohesion and reduce tensions between ethnic groups. These activities will be complemented by training in life skills and leadership. The project will also provide mental health and psychosocial support for children, especially girls.

In order to foster community ownership, increase public awareness and promote the sustainability of these initiatives, the project will work with local people to draw up and implement community action plans, organise tournaments and deliver national publicity campaigns. Local people will also be involved in maintaining the facilities.

Partner

Play to Excel

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kayonza district, Rwanda
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 06/30/2027
Cost of the project €88,044
Foundation funding €88,044
Project identifier 2025002245
Partners Right to Play
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

In rural Rwanda, many children lack opportunities to play sport. Although part of the school curriculum and essential for developing motor skills, building confidence and interacting with others, physical education is limited by a lack of trained coaches and safe play areas. Without supportive environments, children miss out on the benefits of sport and play.

Project goals

Improve access to sports activities in schools and increase children's participation in physical education by:

  • ensuring children in rural settings have access to safe, child-friendly play areas;
  • providing schools in rural settings with age-appropriate sports equipment;
  • training primary school sports facilitators on effective coaching techniques and supporting them so they can organise regular sports activities and use sport to help develop life skills, social cohesion and the inclusive participation of girls in sport;
  • increasing girls’ participation in sports and play, with a target of at least 50% of girls in the target area participating in sports and play-based activities;
  • leveraging Right to Play's existing programmes and relationships with schools and the government in the Kayonza district to establish new sport-for-development partnerships, including with the Rwanda Schools Sports Federation and the Rwanda Football Federation.

Project content

The Play to Excel project will be implemented in five primary schools in Kayonza, a rural district in Rwanda.

Activities include:

  • renovating play areas and football pitches and giving the entire student population aged 6–12 across the five schools improved access to safe, inclusive sports areas and higher-quality, more frequent sports sessions;
  • giving ten sports coaches and teachers in-depth, practical training on inclusive, child-centred and life skills-oriented coaching;
  • distributing age-appropriate and inclusive sports equipment and training materials;
  • organising tournaments.

Partner

Field of Hope

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Bujumbura, Burundi
Start date 02/01/2026
End date 01/31/2027
Cost of the project €61,000
Foundation funding €48,800
Project identifier 2025000021
Partners Bafashebige
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Many children in Burundi live in poverty. Some are displaced or disabled, and many have nowhere safe to play. Girls are especially disadvantaged and the lack of inclusive sports activities makes them even more isolated.

Project goals

  • Offer vulnerable children safe, inclusive access to sport
  • Foster children’s personal development and well-being
  • Promote gender equality and inclusion of disabled children
  • Raise community awareness
  • Help children feel valued, protected and supported, whatever their background

Project content

  • Creation of inclusive sports clubs in 12 rural schools
  • Organisation of mixed community tournaments
  • Training of 30 local educators in sport, gender and inclusion
  • Distribution of suitable equipment
  • Organisation of awareness-raising workshops for families
  • Production of radio programmes in collaboration with local radio stations to promote children’s rights and change people’s attitudes to disability and gender

Partner

Kick for Hope

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps, Jordan
Start date 01/01/2026
End date 12/31/2026
Cost of the project €400,000
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 2025000713
Partners Association Football Development Programme Global (AFDPG)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Jordan hosts a large number of refugees relative to its total population. According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, approximately 445,000 registered asylum seekers and refugees were living in the country in November 2025, with Syrian nationals making up the vast majority at around 422,000.

While these figures reflect the numbered of registered refugees, the total Syrian refugee population in Jordan, including unregistered individuals, is substantially higher – some estimates place the figure in excess of 1.3 million.

Jordan has hosted large numbers of Syrian refugees in the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps and in urban and peri-urban communities across the country since the start of the crisis in 2011. The protracted nature of displacement means that many Syrian refugee families have been living in Jordan for well over a decade.

Many young refugees live in overcrowded environments with limited access to safe, structured recreational and educational activities. The absence of regular, supportive activities and safe spaces for them to play, socialise and develop skills can lead to stress, boredom and behavioural challenges, which can in turn impact emotional well-being, social integration and long-term development.

Project goals

  • Build the capacity of Syrian coaches and create employment opportunities
  • Provide children and young adults with access to safe spaces to enjoy football and other sports activities
  • Promote life skills through sport
  • Create professional development and competitive opportunities for young refugees
  • Create football clubs in the camps

Project content

  • Select Syrian youth coaches and administrators
  • Deliver in-person training for coaches, coordinators and admin teams
  • Organise ongoing football, judo, table tennis and other sports activities for children and young adults
  • Organise football leagues for all age groups
  • Run Zumba classes for Syrian girls
  • Enter a team of Syrian refugees in the local U13 boys’ grassroots league
  • Enter a team in the Jordan Judo League

Partner

Football for All in Vietnam

Location and general information

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

Context

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

Project goals

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

Project content

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

Partner