BRACE

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Beirut, Lebanon
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 01/31/2023
Cost of the project €183,000
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 20210392
Partners INTERSOS
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

The current deterioration of the economic crisis in Lebanon puts children and teenagers at greater risk of abuse, violence and exploitation. According to the recently published emergency response plan, there is a growing need for protection among Lebanese and migrant children. This creates risks of social tensions among different communities based on their perceptions of access to available services. The child protection sector in Lebanon reports an increased need for psychosocial support services. Additionally, there are growing numbers of children engaged in child labour. Due to the closure of schools due to COVID-19 and the deterioration of the economic crisis, many children in Syrian refugee communities, but also Lebanese and other migrants, are engaged in child labour to support their families. One of the ways humanitarian actors can meet the increasing needs for protection services, including psychosocial support, is by providing safe spaces for children, where they can take part in sports and recreational activities run by child-protection specialists.

Project content

The project BRACE, Beirut Rehabilitation of Recreational Areas for Children and Equality, aims to enhance protection and social cohesion in vulnerable areas of Mount Lebanon governorate, by providing access to a safe and secure playing field for children, where they can have fun, engage in sports activities and interact with members of different communities (refugee, migrant, host). It will be run in partnership with the local municipality and a community-based organisation to ensure its sustainability beyond the project period.

Main communication message - the well-being of vulnerable children can also be protected through access to sport.

Objectives

The overall project objective is to enhance child protection and social cohesion in vulnerable areas of Mount Lebanon governorate in Lebanon.

  • Provide a safe space where children can play and engage in sports and other recreational activities;
  • Help a community-based organisation run sports and recreational activities for children and teenagers.

Project activities

Rehabilitation of an existing playing field

  • Painting, installing walls and roofing;
  • Installing artificial grass, football goals and basketball hoops;
  • Lighting with solar panels to ensure safety and sustainability despite the worsening energy crisis;
  • -Rehabilitating WASH facilities.

Support for a community-based organisation providing

  • Sports, arts, psychosocial activities;
  • Solidarity initiatives for migrants, refugees, host-community children.

Expected results

  • A playing field in Mount Lebanon governorate is rehabilitated and upgraded, providing a safe recreational space for all communities, especially children and teenagers;
  • 200 children and teenagers are engaged in sports and art activities by the local community-based organisation supporting social inclusion and well-being at community level;
  • A community-based organisation is supported and able to provide regular sports and recreational activities for children from different communities.

Partner

Social integration of street children through sport

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Ethiopia
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €98,320
Foundation funding €63,000
Project identifier 20210272
Partners Busajo NGO
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Busajo Campus is a social and educational project aimed at street children living in the Ethiopian city of Sodo and the surrounding rural areas. It is estimated that there are about 3,000 street children in Sodo.

The ultimate goal of Busajo Campus is to reintegrate street children into their families and society. The project focuses on helping the girls and boys to become more autonomous and self-sufficient by investing in their cultural, educational and professional growth – something which in turn favours the social and economic development of the wider community.

Busajo Campus promotes both vocational and psychological support as the best way to guarantee the children a better life of social integration and to fight the poverty in which they live, helping them to regain confidence in their future. Sport is also promoted as an educational activity that supports physical and emotional growth and a social activity that teaches the rules of coexistence and community.

Busajo Campus guides the children through a path of recovery that is initially physical and then psychological, emotional and attitudinal helping them become happy children now and agents of sustainable development in their country in the future. However, the current workshops are no longer sufficient for training needs and to support the economic sustainability of the Campus.

 

Project content

The support of the UEFA foundation will enable Busajo Campus to create two new workshops and enhance its professional courses to increase vocational training and job opportunities for participants.

The new workshops in tailoring/weaving and carpentry will allow the young people to learn indoors during the rainy season. Two new buildings will provide the space and machinery for them to improve their technical skills, giving them the opportunity to start their own businesses with minimal capital and to specialise in quality craftsmanship which is in high demand in Sodo.

The young people’s soft skills will be improved through educational sports activities including an ‘Olympic Games’ for children that will take place on the campus sports field.

Objectives

  • Increase the potential of the campus by expanding the workshops.
  • Enhance young people’s technical skills, in tailoring/weaving and carpentry, giving them an opportunity to start their own business and develop quality craftmanship, which is in high demand locally.
  • Increase the economic sustainability of the campus by enabling the sale of self-produced goods.
  • Increase young people’s soft skills through sports.

Project activities

  • Constructing the buildings for the new workshops.
  • Delivering four professional training courses (in bamboo carpentry, soap-making, bakery and tailoring/weaving).
  • Providing start-up support to help young people set up their own businesses upon completion of their training.
  • Holding ‘Olympic Games’ for children to promote equal opportunities and socialisation.
  • Coordination, monitoring and communication.

Expected results

  • Two new buildings which will improve the professional training offered by Busajo Campus and improve its economic sustainability.
  • Four professional training courses for 20 boys and girls aged 15–20.
  • Start-up assistance for four self-employed businesses for young people who have finished their training.
  • Informal educational sports activities for 60 young people on campus to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys and integration between children residing on the campus and the community.

Partner

Education, empowerment and employability for girls

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Pakistan
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €360,000
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 20210338
Partners Right To Play
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Pakistan is at the bottom of international rankings on quality, equity and access to education. Children and young people living in urban slums are among the most vulnerable, with COVID-19 aggravating the situation, especially for girls.

According to the national 2021 Annual Status of Education Report, as schools reopened after COVID-19 closures, dropout by girls increased by 5% in primary schools and 10% in secondary schools. Additionally, the participation of girls in employability training in technical and vocational institutes fell by 25% in comparison to 2019.

Of the 12 million home-based workers in Pakistan, 80% are estimated to be women – the majority of whom faced pay cuts and layoffs due to a slowdown in economic activity. This illustrates the need for tailored programmes that focus on education and employability skills for girls to help them secure better jobs and retain them in the wake of such crises.

Project content

Education, empowerment and employability are the core objectives of the Goal project, which aims to equip girls with the knowledge and skills they need to build better futures for themselves and their communities.

The project includes:

  • a girls’ education and empowerment module focusing on self-awareness, health and hygiene, girls’ rights, and financial literacy;
  • football, basketball and volleyball sessions carefully designed in line with a sport for development (SFD) approach to teach social, physical, cognitive and emotional life skills alongside athletic skills.

Objectives

The two-year project focuses on empowering 18,000 girls aged 11–16 in 70 public schools in Karachi and Islamabad to exercise agency over their bodies and lives. It aims to achieve this by creating greater access to sport and play opportunities and by teaching financial literacy, employability, leadership and essential life skills.

Project activities

  • Training of volunteer coaches and physical education teachers in the Goal curriculum, football for development, gender equality, inclusion and child protection.
  • Regular sport and play-based sessions in schools conducted by trained coaches and teachers.
  • Sports tournaments, training camps, and thematic ‘play days’ to create awareness and dialogue in the community.
  • Junior leader clubs: select young people are helped to create school clubs and take the initiative to improve their school environment, assist coaches and encourage peer-to-peer learning.
  • Provision of equipment and rehabilitation of play spaces to facilitate safe and inclusive sessions in schools.

Expected results

  • Improved life skills (confidence, communication, leadership, decision-making, etc.) in 70% of girls.
  • Improved knowledge of budgeting, saving and other financial concepts in 70% of girls.
  • Ability to identify career goals and a better understanding of the trajectory towards strengthening their employability skills in 50% of girls.
  • Improved ability to take decisions related to agency over their bodies and lives in 40% of girls.

Partner

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

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

Football for peace

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Colombia
Start date 02/01/2022
End date 01/31/2023
Cost of the project €88,000
Foundation funding €78,000
Project identifier 20211084
Partners Ankla Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Colombia has suffered internal war for more than 50 years. As many as 260,000 people have lost their lives and 7 million citizens have been displaced as internal refugees. After the peace agreement with the FARC guerrilla in 2016, people have returned to their homes. Ex-guerrilla combatants are now in reincorporation spaces, but relations with the local population are difficult. This project uses football as a tool to achieve reconciliation and peace between both groups, focusing on the children.

Project content

The project supports the peace process in Colombia by promoting human rights, coexistence and inclusion among ex-FARC combatants and the local community, while also preventing new violence, through football training and psychosocial interventions with the children. It will run for one year in four territorial spaces for training and reincorporation (TSTR: land given by the government to ex-combatants to help them reintegrate into society), benefiting 615 children of ex-combatants.

Objectives

  • Promote healthy coexistence among ex-combatants and the community using football as a tool for social integration and to prevent the resurgence of violence.
  • Promote the search for talent among the children of ex-combatants to encourage development through self-realization.
  • Provide psychosocial support for the children of ex-combatants, their families and the community, in order to restore their rights, emotional integrity, and productive reintegration into civil and family life.

Project activities

  • Collecting baseline socio-economic information
  • Training and participation in local leagues (10 football training sessions per week in each TSTR)
  • Psychosocial interventions with children and their families (eight psychosocial workshops per week in each TSTR)
  • Meetings between the community and TSTR leaders
  • Competitions and participation in various leagues

 

Expected results

  • The majority of children from the TSTRs attend the training sessions and psychosocial workshops (75%).
  • Civil society that lives around these TSTRs will accept the presence of ex-combatants in their community and are in favour of their reintegration into society (70%).
  • Improved gender equality inside football groups (30% girls at least).
  • Improvements among the children and teenagers diagnosed with various psychosocial issues over the course of 12 months (50% children with psychosocial problems due mostly to the civil war experience an improvement).
  • Through football, the children develop as persons, learn about rules and are kept away from criminal activities; coaches act as mentors. Training is a way to reach the children and their families for psychosocial interventions.

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

Twinned Peace Sport Schools (TPSS)

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Israel
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €97,000
Foundation funding €35,000
Project identifier 20211040
Partners The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Ties between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel are marred by ongoing conflict that has led to discrimination, fear, and distrust of “the other” on both sides. Many of Israel’s municipalities and institutions, including schools and after-school activities, are uni-cultural leaving few opportunities for integration between Jewish and Arab children that would allow them to challenge existing preconceptions and build mutual trust and the foundations for shared living. This has been exacerbated by isolation during COVID-19.

Project content

The Peres Center’s Twinned Peace Sport Schools (TPSS) programme is an extra-curricular football-based peace education programme combining regular football training with Hebrew/Arabic language learning, cross-cultural exchange and peace education activities that promote integration, diversity and inclusion among Jewish and Arab Israeli boys and girls aged 8-12.

Objectives

The overall objective of the TPSS programme is to utilise sport as a tool for facilitating intercultural dialogue and promoting peacebuilding among Jewish and Arab children in Israel. The TPSS programme instils in Jewish and Arab children the values of sportsmanship, teamwork, inclusion and tolerance, establishing a strong foundation for further engagement between Jewish and Arab participants in other contexts throughout the children’s lives.

Project activities

TPSS programme activities include:

  • Training for community coaches: Coaches from participating communities receive training in the Peres Center’s football-based peace education methodologies, as well as in children’s rights and safeguarding, improving their awareness and their ability to provide children with quality extra-curricular educational activities.
  • Uni-cultural activity sessions: Bi-weekly football training sessions are held in the children’s own communities, supplemented with Hebrew/Arabic language learning (including greetings and football-related vocabulary) which allows the children to prepare for and process their experiences when meeting members of the other community.
  • Bicultural activity sessions: Paired groups of Jewish and Arab children meet for four joint peace education sessions. These are a chance for the children to use their new language skills to interact with each other and play football together. The innovative Fairplay method for football is used in which the participants determine the rules of the game, referee themselves and resolve conflicts on the pitch through facilitated dialogue.
  • Year-end activity: All children come together for a full day of peace education activities. This event, bringing participants from across the country together with community and cultural leaders is hugely influential for children who see their participation in the programme as part of a large-scale popular movement for peace.

Expected results

  • Facilitation of intercultural dialogue and engagement among 310 Jewish and Arab children through football.
  • Positive changes in perception, elimination of stereotypes, and the promotion of cooperation, trust and understanding in 310 Jewish and Arab children.
  • Greater access to quality extra-curricular sports and peace education in 16 Jewish and Arab communities across Israel.

Partner

Improving the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Conflict-Affected Displaced Children

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
Start date 02/01/2021
End date 11/30/2021
Cost of the project €45,884
Foundation funding €43,884
Project identifier 20201286
Partners Street Child
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Northern Mozambique has suffered from conflict and insecurity since 2017. Deterioration in the security situation and an increase in attacks has coincided with several emergencies: cyclone Kenneth in 2019, severe flooding in early 2020 and the emergence of COVID-19 in March 2020. Currently, 335,000 people have been displaced by insecurity, with children making up 50%. During this time, children have suffered from a sustained loss of education and exposure to traumatic situations.

Project content

Sport will be used to address the psychosocial needs of children affected by conflict and emergencies, while helping displaced children integrate into their host communities. Street Child will help schools to understand the needs of pupils and facilitate support sessions for them as they return to school post displacement and COVID-19. Community sessions will also be delivered by trained facilitators to out-of-school children.

Objectives

  • Address the psychosocial needs of children who have been affected by conflict, displacement and emergency situations
  • Support retention of children in school through the provision of support services
  • Promote integration between displaced and host communities
  • Promote children’s rights and strengthen protection mechanisms in the wider community

Project activities

  • Delivery of psychosocial support sessions to in-school and out-of-school children, using recreational activities, including sport, to help them deal with trauma and build life skills
  • Providing training workshops for psychosocial support facilitators in the use of play-based activities as a tool for integration and development
  • Providing teacher and school council workshops on the delivery of psychosocial support in schools and creating inclusive environments
  • Holding community awareness-raising campaigns on children’s rights and protection services

Expected results

  • 6,000 children (3,000 girls and 3,000 boys) will receive psychosocial support and integration support through in-school and community-based activities
  • 90 school educational staff will receive training in psychosocial support to promote inclusive environments for all pupils
  • 12 local community facilitators will receive training on the delivery of play-based psychosocial support interventions
  • 6 communities will receive awareness-raising on children’s rights and child protection services

Partner

Lay’s RePlay

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location UK, South Africa, Brazil, Italy, USA, Mexico, Turkey and Egypt
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €tbc
Foundation funding €200,000
Project identifier 20200100
Partners Lay’s, Common Goal
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Sponsors

Context

Lay's RePlay – an innovative global initiative in partnership with the UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld – aims to bring joy to communities around the world by transforming empty crisp packets into sustainable football pitches, leading to positive outcomes for people and the planet.

Eleven community mini pitches composed partially of reused empty crisp packets have been constructed in:

  • Tembisa, South Africa
  • Leicester, UK
  • São Paulo, Brazil
  • Turin, Italy
  • Iztapalapa, Mexico
  • Santa Ana, USA
  • Gaziantep, Turkey
  • Cairo, Egypt
  • Naples, Italy
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Bilbao, Spain

 

Tapping into the global passion for football, these pitches will become sustainable hubs for

positive community transformation.

Project content

Lay’s RePlay provides artificial five-a-side pitches that are ideal for communities with limited access to spaces where they can enjoy the game and develop their skills.

It works with local partners to build spaces and programmes that bring people together and drive positive change for generations to come – it’s much more than just a pitch.

The project’s long-term educational sporting programmes harness the positive power of play and football to address social issues impacting local communities through their four key aims: creating a sense of belonging, increasing engagement, fostering safety, and granting access to sport.

 

Objectives

Lay's RePlay places a strong emphasis on including community members and local organisations throughout the planning, construction and maintenance of each pitch, with a view to developing programmes that can address the specific social issues affecting each community while also fostering safe access to sport. Each pitch is constructed using partially recycled material and the aim is to deliver them with a net-zero carbon footprint.

Project activities

Multiple stakeholders are involved in creating the mini pitches, each of which takes an average of 8 to 12 months to complete. The local partner in each location will lead the process, in close collaboration with streetfootballworld.

Community engagement will be integral; the community is seen not as a recipient, but as part of the decision-making process. It is a participatory project, with an emphasis on talking to community stakeholders, understanding their needs, appreciating their contexts, and collaborating to find optimal solutions. The community is involved in the project before, during and after construction, and preference is given to local sources to ensure capacity development and build trust.

Expected results

  • Eight community football pitches will have been created by the end of 2022.
  • Recycled crisp packets constitute 32% of the material used to construct the pitches, and each community will become more aware of sustainable practices.
  • The artificial turf and the substrate on which it rests (Ecocept™) are 100% recyclable, thanks to the compression of recycled plastic.
  • Local communities in all locations are closely involved in the process.
  • Girls and boys have equal access to a space to play football.
  • Educational sporting programmes provide tailor-made support to the local community and drive positive change for generations to come.

 

First results in the UK, South Africa, Brazil and Italy

  • Local organisations have organised football and other sports sessions as well as educational initiatives to combat the social challenges faced by their communities. Themes tackled include female participation, physical and mental health, education and drugs.
  • Members of the community benefit from a new football pitch that remains open outside of the organised sessions.

Partners

Kurt Landauer Platz

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Münich, Germany
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €666,258
Foundation funding €128,000
Project identifier 20200881
Partners Bellevue di Monaco
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Sport plays a key role in the integration of young refugees into society, with many studies showing that sports programmes can help to strengthen links between migrants and the native population. In Munich, local authorities and NGOs have made considerable efforts to accommodate asylum seekers over the last six years. However, there is a lack of sports programmes, and space for sporting activities is very limited (especially in the city centre). As a result, young refugees have not had enough opportunities to play sport and mix with locals of the same age.

Project content

A multi-sports pitch (named after Kurt Landauer, a former president of FC Bayern München) has been built on the roof of the Bellevue di Monaco intercultural community centre in the heart of Munich. Working in cooperation with its partner Bunt kickt gut, the community centre plans to use that venue to offer a variety of sports programmes (football, basketball, gym sessions, etc.) for young refugees and local children from the neighbourhood (boys and girls alike), with a focus on cultural exchange, personal development and inclusion.

Objectives

The project’s main aim is to foster cultural exchange between young refugees and local children, based on a firm belief that sport is the best way to bring people together and establish bonds. Particular attention will be paid to the issue of gender equality: girls and boys will play together on the pitch, but there will also be special programmes dedicated solely to girls. The activities will focus primarily on sports, but the coaching methodology will also help to strengthen children’s language skills, interpersonal skills and, in some cases, even vocational skills.

Project activities

  • Recruit staff to manage the multi-sports pitch, allocate time slots, supervise training sessions, coach participants and resolve conflicts.
  • Establish sports programmes for young refugees and local children.
  • Organise a variety of sports activities and coaching sessions, fostering personal and professional development.
  • Organise football tournaments and other special sports events on a regular basis.

Expected results

  • It is expected for around 1,200 young refugees and local children to regularly participate in the various sports programmes each year.
  • Refugees at the community centre will get to know more people in the local area.
  • Girls and young women who do not want to play sport in public will have access to special sessions and a protected space on the rooftop.
  • Participants will benefit from personal development (e.g. learning how to manage their frustrations).

Partner

Child Safeguarding Certification Programme for Sport-for-Good Practitioners

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Europe
Start date 03/31/2021
End date 03/31/2022
Cost of the project €207,130
Foundation funding €207,130
Project identifier 20200898
Partners Streetfootballworld
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Employability - Personal development

Context

Sport-for-good (SFG) practitioners work with children on a daily basis. However, according to a streetfootballworld network assessment, only 50% have a basic or intermediate knowledge of safeguarding and only 45% have a basic or intermediate understanding of children’s rights and the rights of child athletes. 85% want to receive proper safeguarding training and with 80,000+ adults working with vulnerable groups in the SFG sector, the need for training on this topic is evident.

Project content

The UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld (sfw) will take the lead in the sector by launching a safeguarding certification and capacity-building programme to ensure children’s fundamental rights across the world are safeguarded. The programme will benefit from regional, contextual, and cultural expertise by engaging five football-for-good (FFG) organisations working closely with children in their communities. Ultimately, the online safeguarding certification programme will be made available, through the UEFA Foundation for Children, to all SFG practitioners around the world.

Objectives

The overall goal of this programme is to minimise intentional and unintentional harm to vulnerable groups. UEFA’s previous safeguarding efforts will be used to develop a certification course for all practitioners working with children and at-risk youth and adults within the sport-for-good sector.

Project activities

  • Implementing an online knowledge/training certification programme for FFG/SFG organisations.
  • Identifying and working with five organisations (diversified globally and UEFA Foundation 2020 grant awardees) to co-create content and review it contextually and culturally.
  • Training 75 staff members (15 per organisation) with the course.
  • Involving 150 local parents in assessment of the contents.
  • Together with the UEFA Foundation for Children, engaging in advocacy for sector-wide policy on training/certification of FFG practitioners.

Expected results

  • One online course on safeguarding for SFG practitioners.
  • 75 coaches and staff members from the five FFG/SFG organisations will gain a qualification in safeguarding in the SFG sector and build knowledge and skills regarding protecting children and at-risk youth.
  • 150 parents will provide feedback to ensure local receptivity to the content.
  • Evidence will be collected from the pilot programme to reflect, adjust, and advocate for a standardised approach at a policy level.

Partner

Promoting inclusion through sport for street children in Pointe-Noire

Location and general information

Closed
Location Republic of Congo, Pointe-Noire
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €792,382
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 20200759
Partners Samusocial International
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

The number of street children in the Republic of Congo is increasing. Homeless, without family for support and stigmatised by others, they are socially excluded and do not have access to basic health and social services. The health, economic and social crisis caused by the global pandemic has had a very significant impact on street children. It has reinforced their situation of extreme vulnerability and made it even harder for them to survive on the streets, as they face more stigmatisation and more violence and it is more difficult to access care. The structures that support street children have also been strongly affected by the health crisis.

Created in 2006 with the support of Samusocial International, Samusocial Pointe-Noire assists street children, offering them holistic care. It has developed various services, including mobile teams who carry out street rounds, an emergency shelter and a day-care centre. Samusocial Pointe-Noire also works with partners to build and strengthen a continuum of care, including assistance for street children and young people in their plans to leave the street.

 

Project content

Samusocial Pointe-Noire aims to strengthen its approach to care by using sport as a means of social integration, enabling children and young people who are lost in life on the streets to find direction. The organisation’s approach consists of medical and psychosocial care reinforced by the practice of sport, helping children to develop the personal and social skills necessary for social integration.

Objectives

The overall objective is to contribute to the social inclusion of street children in Pointe-Noire.

The specific objectives are to ensure street children’s access to medical and psychosocial care and to promote their re-socialisation through the practice of sport.

Project activities

  • Carrying out street rounds to provide medical and psychosocial care to street children.
  • Providing accommodation for street children and supporting them in their plans to leave the streets.
  • Creating a football field at Samusocial Pointe-Noire’s shelter.
  • Organising monthly training sessions and annual competitions for street football and Nzango, a popular local sport.
  • Training sports facilitators.
  • Raising awareness of the problems that street children face.
  • Participating in a consultation taking place between NGOs and public bodies for the promotion of street children’s rights.

Expected results

  • 600 street children per year have access to medical and social assistance, through 300 street rounds.
  • 200 street children per year are accommodated at the shelter.
  • 60 street children per year are supported in leaving the streets.
  • 1 football field is created.
  • 60 street children, including 20 girls, participate in sports activities.
  • 12 street football and Nzango training sessions are carried out per month.
  • 2 street football and Nzango sports competitions are held.
  • 8 sports facilitators are trained.
  • 400 people and 15 professionals are made more aware of the problems that street children face.

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

UP Unity & Peace

Location and general information

Closed
Location Jamaica, Kingston
Start date 01/15/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €77,126
Foundation funding €77,126
Project identifier 20200964
Partners Fight for Peace
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

In 2019, UEFA funded Fight for Peace (FFP) in Jamaica, providing access to sport in six volatile urban communities. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime included this work in a consultation on global best practices in using sport to reduce violence. Locally, FFP was recognised by the National Commission on Violence Prevention. FFP now has the unique opportunity to contribute evidence on the use of sport to reduce violence to the Commission’s ten-year plan on violence prevention. With the UEFA Foundation’s support, FFP will fund sports, training federations and sports NGOs and codify best practices.

There will be three types of beneficiaries, categorised by risk level:

  • Primary risk level: young people aged 7–24, drawn from the six communities, who will be referred to the programme by community members, the police and other concerned parties and will access the programme at their schools and community centres
  • Secondary risk level: young people aged 15–24 involved in state-led interventions, e.g. probation, child drug treatment court
  • Tertiary risk level: where possible, COVID-19 and other restrictions permitting, young people aged 15–24 in juvenile correctional facilities and young people aged 15–24 identified by the Peace Management Initiative as gang-affiliated

Project content

The project will enable stakeholders in sport, community development and violence prevention to improve their understanding of the use of sport for violence prevention through increased access to sport in volatile communities. It will also strengthen the capacity of organisations delivering sports and promote the codification and sharing of best practices.

Objectives

  • Provide access to sport in volatile communities for cohorts of youth at different risk levels so that their progress can be tracked and reported on.
  • Train sports federations and NGOs in using sport to reduce violence.
  • Codify best practices for sharing with sports and violence prevention communities and promotion by social media.
  • Present best practices for integration into the ten-year plan for violence prevention.

Project activities

  • Sport sessions.
  • Sport tournaments.
  • Sports federation training.
  • Development of print and multimedia resources.

Expected results

  • 1,000 young people served by sports programmes (50% female and 60% under the age of 18).
  • 60,000 indirect beneficiaries (total Fight for Peace community footprint).

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