Building More Than a Place to Play in the Brazilian Northeast

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Brazil
Start date 06/01/2022
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €165,286
Foundation funding €137,112
Project identifier 20211117
Partners love.fútbol
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to play and recreation. However, the conditions are not met everywhere for children to enjoy their rights. In Brazil, according to the Brazilian institute of geography and statistics, only 27% of public schools (2017) have sports facilities and 78% of children (2019) do less exercise than is recommended by the WHO.

The proposed project will be run in the Córrego da Fortuna community, a low-income settlement in Recife, where poor urban planning mirrors this lack of playgrounds and quality education. The aim is to mitigate this problem by creating opportunities for sport, education, arts, and psychological support. As many as 150 community volunteers between 16 and 60 years old will be recruited. The facility will serve as a community centre and a platform for activities by the university, presentations by local cultural groups, and a sport for education programme for 75 girls between 7 and 17 years old.

Project content

love.fútbol will promote a cross-sector partnership between the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife city hall, local programme partner Instituto Geração 4, and a broader range of community leaders and organisations to plan and build a football pitch that will serve as a sustainable platform for sports and educational sessions, a point of integration between the community and the local university, and a reference for municipal public policy.

The project methodology will follow what we call the ‘hardware x software’ model. At the grassroots level, love.fútbol will form partnerships with the broader target community. We will engage the key stakeholders (local government, parents, teachers, cultural groups and other youth advocates) to plan and develop safe and inclusive sports facilities (the hardware). At the organisational level, we will actively train and oversee a domestic organisation to deliver a sport for development programme (the software) that will focus on gender inclusion, English language classes and psychological support.

Objectives

  • Use love.fútbol's award-winning methodology and its 15 years' experience in developing community-driven sports spaces to establish a football facility in a vulnerable community in the Brazilian Northeast
  • Engage and empower the local community to build and take ownership of this space dedicated to sport and education
  • Once the space is inaugurated, deliver two-weekly sports for education sessions for 75 children
  • Partner with the city hall and the local university to keep the space safe and provide a daily schedule

 

Project activities

  • Joint creation of a community-driven sports facility: love.fútbol will partner with several actors and the broader community through engagement meetings, the creation of a neighbourhood network, and two collective building days to create a facility that will offer children a platform for sports and education. This network will also be trained in the use of management tools to activate and sustain the pitch long-term
  • Weekly sports sessions for 75 girls run by love.fútbol and local organisation Instituto Geração 4
  • Football and Zumba classes run by Recife city hall

Expected results

  • A 48x27m artificial turf sports court, including fences, LED lighting, sports equipment, community garden, and artworks
  • 150 community volunteers recruited and trained who will donate 3,500 hours to the planning, delivery, activation and sustainability of the facility
  • 75 girls taking part in a weekly sports programme, including English language classes, and psychological support, with the aim of doubling this number in the second year
  • 1,500 local children using the space and doing in sports activities

Partner

MINE/ COVID-19 Risk Education

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Cambodia
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €129,520
Foundation funding €129,520
Project identifier 20210613
Partners Spirit of Soccer
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

For over 30 years, Cambodia has suffered from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Children are the most vulnerable and account for over 50% of the casualties.

Survivors are left maimed and traumatised, often removed from school, depriving them of an education, then further stigmatised as a burden to both their family and the broader community.

Since the Spirit of Soccer programme started in Cambodia in 2006, the land mine casualty rate has dropped from 875 to 65 per year in 2020. In simple terms, without our intervention, these and similar tragedies would continue unchecked.

 

Project content

Our mission is to use soccer to educate children living in conflict and post-conflict regions about the dangers of landmines, ERW and COVID-19.

We educate, train and employ local coaches and teachers to use our curriculum. The easy-to-understand football-related lessons teach children how to identify and avoid specific risks and unexploded ordnance. The culturally sensitive, fun and inclusive, approach creates a safe environment that provides healthy physical activity, hope and happiness.

Objectives

  • 14,000 youngsters (60% Male/40% Female) involved in professionally delivered football activities
  • 40,000 indirect beneficiaries of education and coaching workshops, local tournaments, peer-to-peer and multimedia campaigns, kits and outreach materials (posters and notebooks)
  • 60 local coaches trained in COVID-19 and ERW risk education, youth coaching at D licence level
  • Candidates for the workshops will include 25 Khmer United Nations peacekeeping deminers at the request of the ministry of defence

Project activities

  • Running coaching clinics through local schools in mine-impacted communities for 14,000 at-risk children
  • Expansion of field educational materials for ERW accidents and COVID-19 prevention measures to indirectly reach 40,000 youngsters
  • Ongoing liaison with the national Mine Action working group
  • Organising three football tournaments involving 150 players each (60% boys, 40% girls), delivering football coaching, ERW accident and COVID-19 risk reduction education
  • Preparedness training and education materials for players
  • Door-to-door training in the event of school closures

Expected results

  • Distribute 400 footballs and 14,000 ERW notebooks through coaching clinics and tournaments
  • Reach a target of 14,000 direct and 40,000 indirect participants, within a wide demographic of coaches and leaders, local youngsters, adults, educators, ministry officials and ERW working groups

Partner

Football4Good

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Thailand, Chiang Mai
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €30,288
Foundation funding €30,288
Project identifier 20210567
Partners Baan Dek Foundation (BDF)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Tens of thousands of migrant children live in construction site camps throughout Thailand. The Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) supports over 1,650 of these children each year. The children live in slum-like conditions and face difficulties accessing healthcare and education systems. In addition, they have few opportunities to engage socially and connect with their peers, and the restrictions required in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic have left them even more isolated.

Project content

The Football4Good (F4G) project supports children and teenagers living in construction site camps, reaching 600+ children per year through sport sand youth empowerment activities to provide positive social opportunities and physical and mental benefits, promote gender equality, and facilitate integration by teaching youngsters life skills, respect and sporting values.

Objectives

  • Access to sport: F4G provides football sessions and matches, sports equipment and improvements to community.
  • Youth empowerment: Young people are trained as youth peer educators (YPEs), so that they can run football sessions and act as role.
  • Social and life skills: F4G presents an inclusive avenue for children to play an active role in community life and teaches them life.
  • Gender equality: F4G promotes gender equality in sport by eliminating barriers and preventing.

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.
  • 8 youth leadership training / refresher sessions for YPEs.
  • Monthly YPE follow-up meetings with BDF staff.
  • YPEs attend a professional football match with BDF staff.
  • Improvements to community sports spaces.
  • Sports equipment donated to communities.

Expected results

  • 120 F4G sessions delivered.
  • 500 children encouraged to play football.
  • 200 girls encouraged to play football.
  • 5 communities where sports facilities will be improved.
  • 300 people benefiting from improved facilities.
  • 40 YPEs receiving training/refresher courses.
  • 25 YPE follow-up meetings.
  • 4 inter-community matches.

Partner

Empowering children from La Matanza through sport, culture and education

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Argentine, Buenos Aires
Start date 02/28/2022
End date 02/28/2023
Cost of the project €47,645
Foundation funding €10,000
Project identifier 20210704
Partners United Through Sport Argentina
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

La Matanza, 25km south-west of Buenos Aires, is a severely disadvantaged area where poverty levels are higher than the 60% national average. There are also high rates of drug use and related violence, poor infrastructure (access to water, electricity and rubbish disposal), malnutrition and little access to healthcare services.

Project content

The mass participation programme consists of a combination of sports coaching and life-skill lessons. It is currently run daily in four public schools in the city of Buenos Aires. We aim to expand into schools in La Matanza to increase the reach and impact of our work. The programme consists of structured sports coaching, e.g. football, rugby and field hockey, in combination with life-skill sessions on cultural exchange, sustainability, individual and community well-being and gender issues. The sessions will be led by local staff and supported by international volunteers.

Objectives

  • Use our combined sports and life-skill coaching model to improve physical and mental well-being and to develop and sustain life skills (teamwork, leadership, decision-making and communication).
  • Use sport to improve educational engagement and provide pathways to success for talented and dedicated individuals.
  • Develop and establish our sport and life-skill model and methodology for further expansion.

Specific objectives:

  • Partner with at least three more schools to add another 2,000 children and teenagers to the programme
  • Provide workshops for 2,000 children and teenagers and achieve an average academic improvement of 15% per child, as in our programmes in Buenos Aires, and also achieve a 5% improvement in academic attendance per child
  • Use sport to address critical issues, such as crime and drug awareness, in a fun and interactive manner on the sports field

Project activities

January–February 2022 Contact new schools and local authorities to explain and develop the programme

February–March 2022 Purchase private mini-bus

March-April 2022 Hire new staff to work alongside PE teacher in local schools

March–April 2022 Design and coordinate sports and teaching curriculum after consultations with local staff

April 2022 Submit deliverables (curriculum)

May 2022 Programme starts

July 2022 Winter games event

August 2022 - September Interim report and assessments submitted

December 2022 Programme graduation ceremony

February 2023 Final report submitted

Expected results

  • Partnering with at least three and a target of four schools in La Matanza
  • Enrol at least 1,500 and a target of 2,500 youngsters
  • Achieve an average increase of at least 15%, target 25%, in participants’ academic grades
  • Achieve an average increase of at least 5%, target 10%, in participants’ academic attendance

Partner

SMS – Sportsmanship in a Multicultural Society

Location and general information

Closed
Location Israel
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €46,135
Foundation funding €26,529
Project identifier 20210362
Partners A New Way
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Most communities in Israel live in separate towns, experience friction in mixed cities, use separate school systems, and are informed by segregated media channels. This hampers opportunities for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. The absence of social interaction and shared activities leads to prejudice and stereotypes, instilling fear and anger towards the ‘other’ and their culture. A New Way – with its multicultural education programmes – focuses on Jewish-Arab relations as the largest rift within our society, starting from elementary school age.

Project content

The project aims to foster understanding among children so that Jews and Arabs can collaborate and work together.

A New Way (ANW) operates each year, on average, in 22 communities and 50 schools, bringing together 5,000 Jews and Arabs, mostly children and teenagers, but also teachers, school principals, parents, local leaders, and municipal staff.

In the schools where it operates, ANW holds educational programmes and multi-year processes that enable children and their teaching staff to meet and get to know their counterparts from the other community, learn about their neighbours' culture, develop a common dialogue, and work together towards shared goals.

Understanding that sport fosters collaboration between children from different communities, ANW uses tools from the world of sport to lay the foundation for multicultural collaboration.

The SMS project specifically addresses these needs. ANW will hold unique workshops that create teamwork and collaboration using tools and methods developed with our partners. These workshops will create a unique and empowering first experience for the participants, leading to the ability and willingness to work with the other community – developing from fear and antagonism into real, authentic partnership.

Objectives

  • Promote integration and multicultural collaboration;
  • Create a good first experience of multicultural interactions between Arab and Jewish school pupils;
  • Create the ability and desire for Jewish and Arab children to work together, promote shared goals, and benefit Israeli society together;
  • Strengthen Israeli society and promote a new generation that, through collaboration and joint activities, will improve Jewish-Arab relations in Israel.

Project activities

The collaboration phase is built on three different activities:

  • ODT (outdoor training) challenges in nature – in which children are required to work together in mixed groups to solve a variety of tasks that are built on sports and ODT tools;
  • Circus and acro-yoga workshops – a unique activity in which children learn to work together in circus and acro-yoga activities;
  • Football fair play games – a football activity in which mixed multicultural groups create additional fairness rules that they are required to apply during the game in order to win.

ANW will hold 20 workshop days and create teamwork and multicultural collaboration for 1,400 children, from 40 different schools, divided into 20 multicultural pairs. These workshops would be the high point of ANW’s annual educational programme with these schools.

Expected results

1,400 Jewish and Arab pupils from 40 different schools will take part in the project and gain a unique experience of succeeding in a multicultural environment. Their confidence and belief in their ability to collaborate with members of the other community will improve and this will encourage the desire to continue working together in the future.

By the end of the programme, we expect 80% of the participants to express satisfaction at having participated in multicultural collaboration activities.

75% of the participants would express greater trust in the other community, and at least 75% of them would be ready and willing to collaborate with members of the other community.

Partner

Play for Equality

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ukraine
Start date 01/17/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €120,000
Foundation funding €80,000
Project identifier 20210597
Partners Klitschko Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

A disappointing trend can be observed in Ukraine – girls do less sport than boys. According to a ministry of finance report, women make up only 25% of those who play sports. In Ukraine, an average of 20,000 boys attend sports schools, as opposed to only 6,000 girls (Lviv State University of Physical Culture, 2012). This discrepancy is caused by the many stereotypes that girls face when they want to play sports. It is necessary to convey the value of sport to the younger generation of girls and debunk stereotypes about women's sports.

Project content

Play for Equality is a project for physical education teachers designed to increase the involvement of girls in sport. Our main message is to communicate the accessibility of sport for girls and motivate them to get involved. During the project, we want to debunk stereotypes about women's sport and engage PE teachers and teenage girls in discussions about self-determination, the need to fight bullying and stereotypes and the importance of women's leadership, equal access to sport, sports physiology and motivation.

Objectives

The mission is to interest teenage girls in sports and physical activity in general, and to develop women's leadership.

Our objectives are:

  • Debunk stereotypes that suggest some types of sport are ‘not for women’;
  • Motivate girls to play sports and lead an active lifestyle;
  • Educate PE teachers on gender issues in schools;
  • Bring about positive changes in society by promoting sports activities;
  • Create permanent centres for the development of women's sports.

 

Project activities

  • Provide a 10-day online (or offline, if possible) training programme for 100 PE teachers;
  • Deliver sports equipment to 100 schools;
  • Create a five-minute educational video about gender inequality in sport for use throughout Ukraine;
  • Create 100 permanent football teams for girls in schools for a period of at least 6 months;
  • Organise a four-day camp for 10 representatives and trainers from football teams:

Expected results

  • 100 permanent football teams created for at least 1,000 teenage girls;
  • 100 schools provided with equipment for safe football lessons and help them organise football teams;
  • 240 girls involved in a football tournament and training about women's leadership, gender equality, healthy living, and other related topics;
  • 100 PE teachers involved in educational training;
  • 1 educational video on women's sports and debunking associated stereotypes.

Partner

Values on the pitch

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Argentina, Buenos Aires
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 03/01/2023
Cost of the project €97,027
Foundation funding €60,298
Project identifier 20210595
Partners Fundación River Plate
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The socioeconomic situation in Argentina is critical: 54.3% (INDEC) of children live in poverty, only 50% of young people finish high school on time (UNICEF) and literacy and numeracy skills are dropping steadily (UNESCO). The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased these inequalities. This has made it very complicated to continue the projects. Football's popularity in Argentine provides a great opportunity to bring these excluded children back into society. We support four running projects, two located in the less developed areas of Buenos Aires Province, one in Santiago del Estero, the poorest province in Argentina, and the fourth, in an indigenous community in Selva Misionera.

Project content

The Valores a la Cancha programme provides a multi-sports facility that promotes social and personal values with the aim of developing healthy and strong young people whose moral behaviour can help them integrate into society.

We develop our ‘education through sport’ projects in the most socially vulnerable areas of Argentina. We provide an opportunity to foster values such as perseverance, responsibility and respect and develop fundamental socio-emotional skills for their future. We help strengthen local communities, grassroots organisations and beneficiary families since they are all involved in our projects. We promote social cohesion, with a particular focus on the integration of women and indigenous communities. Our mission is to improve the quality of life of children and their families by providing them with tools and skills that prepare them for future challenges.

Objectives

  • Provide a space for social support and healthy relationships through sport.
  • Promote values to boost the comprehensive development of participants.
  • Strengthen and support participants’ families.
  • Improve participants’ sporting ability, specifically football, in a fun environment.
  • Strengthen territorial institutions.
  • Promote the integration of women into football through mixed-gender sport.
  • Promote the integration of indigenous peoples through sport.

Project activities

  • The football schools provide training sessions twice a week for each group of participants along with a monthly.
  • The workshops reinforce values through sport, with all families invited to adopt a holistic approach.
  • Other activities include workshops for parents to strengthen the participants’ educational process, healthy eating classes, planting vegetable gardens and recreational sports events.
  • Two inter-school football tournaments a year.
  • Assessment of the initial situation.
  • Interviews with beneficiary families.
  • Emotional-support workshops.

Expected results

  • 20% increase in the total number of participants.
  • Increasing female participation from 31% to 50%.
  • 140 workshops on social values (one monthly workshop per group).
  • 3,000 training sessions (two training sessions per group per week).
  • 30 workshops for parents.
  • Maintaining 2 community vegetable gardens.

Partner

We Welcome Young Refugees

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Kraainem, Belgium
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €120,125
Foundation funding €60,000
Project identifier 20211034
Partners Royal Europa Kraainem FC
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Royal Europa Kraainem FC are an amateur club that aspires to defend diversity in Belgian football. In September 2015, during the migration crisis in Europe, the club launched a flagship project to promote the social integration of young refugees and asylum-seekers and adapted its structure to host unaccompanied minors with a migrant background.

Project content

Every afternoon during the football season, from September to May, the club welcomes groups of young refugees and asylum-seekers. They take part in round-table discussions and train with the youth teams. Since 2015, the project has become long-term with the aim of helping these youngsters to blend into society in accordance with the club’s conviction that football is a great integration tool.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to support asylum-seekers and refugees by getting them involved in the club. This keeps them active and gives them a sense of belonging in their host community. The club also wants to share its experience and approach with football stakeholders and other organisations and inspire them to set up their own projects.

Project activities

A typical afternoon for the beneficiaries comprises a round-table discussion, football training and a social moment around a group meal. The season ends with the Football and Freedom tournament involving 200 youngsters from football clubs and Fedasil asylum centres all over Belgium. Besides the project, occupational training and internships are organised in cooperation with the club’s partners.

Expected results

Next year, the club ought to be able to host about 500 young migrants, bringing the total number of beneficiaries since the start to 3,000. One objective is to focus more on young women, so the club intends to open its doors to over a hundred female refugees. In addition, the club wants to strengthen its partnership with HUMA, a non-profit that provides expertise in producing editorial projects and documentaries, with the aim of developing the club’s digital platform. Videos and interviews with those involved in the project will be published to reach the broadest possible audience.

Partner

Learning to change

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ghana
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 02/28/2023
Cost of the project €57,149
Foundation funding €18,387
Project identifier 20211184
Partners Play Soccer Ghana
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The education system in Ghana is mainly theory, with little attention paid to practice. Many pupils are therefore unable to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Project content

This programme harnesses the unique appeal of football for community development by creating learning opportunities for children between the ages of 5 and 15 to improve their life skills, health and playing ability. Besides applying the football3 philosophy, the programme collects used plastic bags that are knitted into goal nets. The project will be run in 11 satellite communities in six regions for 12 months, reaching a total of 880 beneficiaries.

Objectives

Children will gain additional learning opportunities through ‘play for fun’ and ‘learn for life’ (PFFLFL) sessions to learn more about good health, develop life skills and apply the knowledge they acquire to real-world problem-solving.

The children will sort plastic bags used in their homes and schools which will then be knitted into goal nets.

The football3 philosophy will be used to teach fair play, equality and participation of girls in soccer.

Project activities

  • Coaches will be trained to use the PFFLFL curriculum to educate the children in life skills, health and football;
  • Beneficiaries will take part in weekly PFFLFL sessions;
  • Youngsters will be trained how to re-use plastic bags to produce goal nets and promote clean cities;
  • football3 matches will teach children about fair play and avoiding discrimination.

Expected results

  • 33 coaches will learn how to use football activities to promote learning;
  • 880 children in six regions throughout Ghana will benefit from PFFLFL activity sessions to improve their life skills, health and football;
  • 200 households will sort their plastic waste and plastic bags will be knitted into goal nets;
  • football3 matches will teach children about the need for inclusion, fair play and gender equality.

Partner

Alakäläwa GOLEES

Location and general information

Closed
Location Costa Rica
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 03/01/2024
Cost of the project €72,304,79
Foundation funding €50,707,71
Project identifier 20211137
Partners Fundación GOLEES
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Many young girls in the Cabécar Tjai indigenous community in Costa Rica want to play football, but the community lacks coaches, training and organisation. Football is an expression of freedom for the girls who live in a context where there is a lack of information regarding the rights of young girls and high levels of teenage pregnancy and unhealthy relationships.

Project content

In alliance with community’s women leaders, this project promotes opportunities for indigenous girls to play football. The GOLEES methodology allows social and gender issues to be addressed, while respecting the community’s worldview. The community football field becomes a space that promotes equality, freedom and female empowerment, turning female players into agents of personal, family and community change defending their right to play football and their right to live a life free from violence.

Objectives

  • Create an educational sports space that promotes female empowerment and reinforces the autonomy, self-esteem and identity of the players;
  • Create a structure of female football teams from various indigenous communities and provide the tools for their gradual self-management;
  • Make girls aware of their human rights in order to reduce the levels of teenage pregnancy and unhealthy relationships.

Project activities

  • Educational sports camps: football fundamentals training, joint creation of monthly training plans, exercises linked to social and gender themes;
  • Intercommunity tournaments: mixed (boys and girls) tournaments based on the football3 methodology Intercultural; tournaments: tournaments  with other GOLEES players from urban areas to facilitate cultural exchange.

Expected results

  • 18 educational sports camps with 40 female players aged 12–19;
  • Two intercommunity tournaments with 120 male and female players;
  • Two intercultural tournaments with 120 female players.

Partner

Generation Sport 2022

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Armenia
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €64,086
Foundation funding €55,162
Project identifier 20210723
Partners Armenian Fund for Sustainable Development
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

This project is a follow-up to Generation Sport in 2021, which was a huge success throughout the country. In August 2021, Armenia had 1,403 schools with 368,184 pupils: 175,359 girls and 192,825 boys.

The lack of suitable equipment and the bad state of repair of the sports facilities hamper the PE classes that the children enjoy so much.

The armed conflict in 2020 took its toll on the children, who now need positive, fun experiences.

Project content

The project will promote sport among young people and encourage physical eduction throughout the country. Twenty-five schools will be selected to receive sports equipment. Events will be organised to promote sport and exercise among the school-age population. Organised meet-and-greets with sports personalities will motivate the youngsters and encourage them to fulfil their potential. The project will help promote the inclusion of disabled children in sporting activities.

Objectives

Overall objective: Promote sport and exercise among young people

Specific objective: Motivate the children and help them to fulfil their potential through the following activities:

  • Providing sports equipment for 25 schools, prioritising schools in remote regions and those with disabled pupils
  • Promoting the inclusion of disabled children through sport
  • Involving the ministry of education, science, culture and sport in organising sports competitions
  • Organising sports events

Project activities

Applications and selection

  • Launch, jury, school selection
  • Equipment purchases
  • Distribution to schools

Sports events

  • Meet-and-greets with sports celebrities
  • Promote the inclusion of disabled children
  • Sports events in schools

National school football competition

  • Promote sport
  • Award prizes

Expected results

  • At least 150 schools (over 40,000 pupils) apply for sports equipment
  • 25 schools (over 7,500 pupils) receive equipment
  • At least 10 motivational meet-and-greets, involving 1,000 youngsters
  • At least 4 sporting inclusion events, involving 200 youngsters
  • 300 brochures on the importance of sport distributed
  • 300 sports awareness posters distributed to schools

Partner

Bijzondere Eredivisie (Special Premier League)

Location and general information

Closed
Location The Netherlands
Start date 03/01/2022
End date 06/30/2023
Cost of the project €175,000
Foundation funding €75,000
Project identifier 20210337
Partners Stichting Het Gehandicapte Kind
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There are currently about 1,500 children practising disabled football in the Netherlands. Just like children without disabilities, they dream of playing for their favourite professional football club. Thanks to the Bijzondere Eredivisie, this dream can become a reality! Children with a disability are placed in the spotlight and everyone can see that it is also possible for every child to play at the highest level. We hope to inspire more children with disabilities to also play football and other sports.

Project content

The Bijzondere Eredivisie is a competition for professional football clubs who participate with their own team of disabled children. Launched in September 2019, this is the first competition in the world in which children with disabilities play for their favourite professional football club. The teams consist of 12 boys and girls of different ages and various disabilities. The teams are carefully selected, according to criteria that ensure a balanced competition.

Objectives

  • Increase the visibility of children with disabilities
  • Inspire disabled children to believe that anything is possible
  • Increase sports participation of disabled children
  • Increase awareness of disabled football in the Netherlands
  • Establish a sustainable competition, including all professional Dutch football clubs.

Project activities

  • Clubs 'scout' their own team
  • 12 clubs and 144 children take part in the competition
  • Teams train once a week at the professional club’s training ground
  • Clubs organise all kind of events for their disabled teams
  • Organisation of the competition (including transport)
  • Competition matches are held twice a month, and every professional football club hosts once per season
  • Activities are communicated on social media platforms: the teams’ own channels and those of the football clubs

Expected results

  • Children socialise and make new friends through their football clubs; especially during the pandemic it is very important for these children to have enough social interaction
  • Notable improvement in terms of the confidence and health of the disabled children
  • The players act as a catalyst for a more positive, inclusive perception of disabled children
  • More disabled children start to play football
  • Minimum of 18 professional clubs are involved in the competition within three years
  • Clubs are 50% self-financing

Partner

Protection and social reintegration for street children

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Burundi
Start date 01/22/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €143,200
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20210444
Partners Terre des Hommes
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

 

Over 5,000 children live in the streets of Bujumbura, including girls under the age of 15, physically and/or mentally disabled children and children with minority backgrounds who are all the more vulnerable because of their ethnic origin. There is only a very limited number of shelters for these children, which deprives them of a secure social environment with recreational activities. Bujumbura only has three shelters, run by GIRIYUJA ASBL, through which more than 3,000 street children pass each year.

Project content

The project will help street children to reintegrate into their communities through socio-educational activities featuring sport in general and football in particular, along with personalised support for individual children. The activities will enable these vulnerable children to develop their self-esteem and their trust in others. They will also be helped to develop plans for their future.

Objectives

  • Raise awareness of street children among the local community
  • Help street children to develop life projects so that they can reintegrate into their communities
  • Strengthen street children’s self-protection skills, psychosocial resilience and well-being through sport

Project activities

  • Organising tournaments for street children and others to strengthen social cohesion
  • Organising socio-educational activities based on sport and football in particular
  • Providing individual support so that the children can develop plans to help them get off the streets
  • Tracing street children’s families to encourage reunification
  • Providing a framework to enable the children to re-enter the school system
  • Creating an environment that encourages exchanges between the organisers and other child protection stakeholders to strengthen their working relationship
  • Referring children with specific needs to competent local partners

Expected results

  • Roughly 600 street children are provided with a socio-educational framework at the Football for Hope centre in Kabondo and the other centres in Buterere and Kanyosha, so that they can develop their self-protection skills
  • Roughly 180 street children are reintegrated into the community thanks to individual support and follow-up
  • Four meetings to strengthen the working relationship between the various child protection organisations to help provide the children with a safe environment

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Partner

Football-based inclusion project for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Seville

Location and general information

Closed
Location Sevilla, Spain
Start date 02/15/2022
End date 02/15/2023
Cost of the project €121,692
Foundation funding €80,000
Project identifier 20210532
Partners Fundación Grandes Valores
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Four of Spain’s ten poorest neighbourhoods are located in Seville, where 38.6% of children are at risk or living in poverty and social exclusion. A large number of migrants also live in these neighbourhoods and are subject to exclusion and segregation. Inequality and a lack of employment opportunities have a significant negative impact on families, child development and education.

The Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR), the Betis Foundation and the Fútbol Más Foundation have joined forces to develop a project that creates community spaces to promote the inclusion and well-being of children and young people.

Project content

Through a socio-sports programme, the project will promote the physical and mental health and inclusion of children at risk of social exclusion in two Seville neighbourhoods. Campaigns will raise awareness of the importance of health in the development and inclusion of migrants and refugees and how football can be a vehicle for achieving this.

Objectives

  • Include migrant children and their families in the community and strengthen their resilience through sports;
  • Improve physical and mental well-being through socio-sports activities;
  • Improve the sustainability of the community by training young people;
  • Reduce social inequalities and prejudices towards the migrant population though socio-sports activities in spaces that are intercultural, equal and safe;
  • Run awareness-raising campaigns on social media and in schools.

Project activities

  • Socio-sports sessions: 90-minute sessions aimed at developing the children’s socio-emotional skills and promoting their well-being, as well as addressing cross-cutting issues of local interest ;
  • Family and community football: Socio-sports sessions focused on families and members of the community with the aim of promoting positive parenting and meaningful community bonds ;
  • Socio-sports events: The two communities participating in the project meet to share their experiences and get to know each other in an atmosphere where coexistence and friendship come before competition ;
  • Training in sport for development: Training in the Fútbol Más and sport for development methodologies will be provided to professionals and leaders of both communities ;
  • Awareness-raising and advocacy activities:
    • Activities and conferences in educational centres in Seville
    • Visibility activities together with football clubs
    • Awareness campaigns on human rights, gender equality and interculturality:
      • #TheBallHasNoGender
      • #TheBallHasNoBorders
      • #DeportePorRefugio

Expected results

  • Improved physical and socio-emotional well-being in children and young people;
  • Existence of inclusive spaces where local and migrant populations interact;
  • Increased number of schools that include non-discrimination and socio-emotional well-being in their activities;
  • Greater sense of belonging in migrant and local children who have access to safe, equal and inclusive spaces;
  • Young people certified in sport for development.

Partner

Live together II

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Turkey and Syria
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 10/30/2022
Cost of the project €200,000
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20210900
Partners Bonyan Organization for Youth and Development
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The Syrian refugee crisis remains the largest humanitarian and development crisis in the world. Across the five main Syrian-refugee hosting countries, over 10 million people need some form of humanitarian and resilience support, the highest number in nearly a decade. This includes 5.5 million Syrian refugees and 4.8 million impacted host community members.

The key underlying issues are large-scale protracted displacement, socio-economic conditions, COVID-19 and demographic pressures. Turkey currently hosts approximately 3.6 million refugees, the majority of whom live out-of-camp, integrated into host (Turkish) communities in cities and villages. Both communities therefore share the same environment and resources.

Project content

The Live Together II project is a continuation of the 2019 Live Together project. Work will be done in schools to disseminate and mainstream football3 culture among teachers, who in turn will pass it on to the children. Capacity-building courses will be held, playgrounds rehabilitated and brochures, guidebooks and sports supplies distributed.

Children with special needs will also be included in the sports activities. Girls’ and boys’ football teams will be set up to involve girls in sports activities, with the hope that this will lead to wider inclusion of girls within the community. The project volunteers will receive training on child protection principles, awareness of child protection issues, the promotion of children’s rights and health tips to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Objectives

The project’s overall goal is to use football as a tool for building peaceful coexistence, as well as to improve the sports infrastructure in schools in the border towns of Akçakale in Turkey and Tal Abyad in Syria.

Project activities

  • Playground rehabilitation: Playgrounds in five schools – in each country - will be rehabilitated so that children attending and living near the school can play sports, which will improve their life skills and promote peaceful coexistence.
  • Teacher capacity-building: The teacher training programme will last four days and focus on mainstreaming the football3 methodology as well as other social cohesion activities that can be integrated into classwork.
  • Capacity-building for youth mediators: Youth mediators will volunteer as coaches in the football3 leagues. They will prepare and facilitate the football3 sessions, mediate any conflicts arising between the teams and act as positive role models for the children.
  • Running football3 leagues: Football3 leagues will be set up: one in Turkey and one in Syria. All teams will include both Turkish and Syrian children. Children will play in a safe environment where they will have fun, learn life skills and build their resilience. The volunteer coaches will discuss well-being with the children to provide them with psychosocial support.

Expected results

  • Playgrounds will be rehabilitated in five schools in Turkey and Syria.
  • 100 teachers will be provided with training on football3 and sports for children.
  • 240 children will take part in football3 games in Turkey and Syria.
  • 80 young people will play an active role in their communities and receive training on football3 methodology, leadership and conflict resolution.

Partner

Positive climate action for the entire ‘sport for development’ sector

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Nairobi, Kenya
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 04/30/2023
Cost of the project €104,735
Foundation funding €66,060
Project identifier 20210472
Partners Coaches Across Continents (CAC)
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Personal development

Context

Climate Change is an existential threat and the number one social issue threatening every continent and culture. The UN’s IPCC report states that humanity is ‘unequivocally’ responsible for climate change. The positive news is that we can take action to reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the climate.

Project content

This initiative will be the first global effort to create a widespread, effective sport for development curriculum to educate individuals and organisations across the world about steps they can take to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

It will be developed by Coaches Across Continents (CAC) – a global leader in sport for development curriculum creation – and then piloted and implemented throughout Nairobi by sport for development climate action leader Green Kenya. Finally, the curriculum will be translated into seven major languages and shared freely and openly to allow individuals and organisations to educate their children, young leaders, coaches and communities.

This free resource will be available electronically and easily accessed through a smart phone anywhere in the world via a link or QR code. As another global first, through CAC’s partnership with Sport Session Planner, the curriculum will be animated and utilise video examples for each activity. This is a game changer in how football and technology can be used to address climate action education.

Objectives

  • Create and distribute a ten-game curriculum for the sport for development community to teach individuals worldwide how to reduce their own personal carbon footprint;
  • Translate, animate and create video clips for the curriculum;
  • Pilot the curriculum in Kenya;
  • Provide the curriculum free of charge via the Sport Session Planner platform to allow coaches, teachers and practitioners around the world to implement it;
  • Campaign the Kenyan ministry of education to implement the curriculum beyond the pilot as part of its national competency-based curriculum;
  • Actively publicise the availability of the curriculum through various networks.

Project activities

Step 1 (March–June 2022): Develop and animate a climate action curriculum based on UN ACT Now – ten steps that individuals can take to reduce their carbon footprint.

Step 2 (July–December 2022): Deliver the curriculum in four Nairobi schools and at weekend youth league training sessions in partnership with Green Kenya, which will report on the curriculum’s impact and create video recordings of the activities to upload to the platform.

Step 3 (January 2023): Translate the curriculum into a minimum of seven global languages: English, Swahili, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Step 4 (February–March 2023): Campaign the Kenyan government to include the curriculum in its national curriculum. Share the curriculum freely across East Africa and globally via the CAC network and other networks such as streetfootballworld, Think Beyond and sportanddev.org.

Expected results

It is expected that the curriculum will:

  • impact 1,000 Kenyan boys and girls, improving their climate action awareness and effecting behavioural change;
  • be adopted by local, regional and national ministries of education as part of their curriculums;
  • be publicised through the coachesacrosscontinents.org website and CAC’s internal platform, reaching organisations in 132 countries;
  • be widely downloaded, adopted and utilised by global sport for development organisations;
  • reach at least 2 million children in over 130 countries.

Partner