Hapoel Katamon’s Neighbourhoods League

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Israel, Jerusalem
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €304,000
Foundation funding €100,000
Project identifier 20200349
Partners Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem FC
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The poorest city in Israel, Jerusalem is a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with hardly any positive contact between the two populations. Arab children in Jerusalem desperately need improved formal and informal education, including leisure time and proper facilities. Most Jewish children taking part in the programme also come from poor neighbourhoods. Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem FC (HKJFC) shows the marginalised Jewish and Arab children from the east and west of the city a different reality that radiates potency, professionalism, optimism, joy and hope.

Project content

The Neighbourhoods League consists of football teams in schools across Jerusalem. HKJFC strongly emphases the inclusion of all children from all backgrounds and the creation of equal opportunity for all. Any school wishing to enrol its boys' team in the Neighbourhoods League is required to set up a girls' team as well.

Objectives

  • Bring children from different religions, nationalities and backgrounds together.
    in order to break down walls and stigmas.
  • Use football to promote values such as tolerance, anti-violence, anti-racism and female empowerment.
  • Give children from underprivileged backgrounds a better education and high-quality sports activities.
  • Promote women’s football in Jerusalem.

Project activities

Learning centres in schools: The Neighbourhood League holds learning sessions each week before practice. The learning centre staff and volunteers help the children with their studies. The centre also provides social activities so the children can learn to work better as a group, become friends and overcome problems that occur during practice.

Football training: Two football practices for children aged 9–14 are held each week during the school year. Here the children can play organised football, learn skills, improve their fitness and develop their social skills. There are no try-outs: all children are welcome to take part.

Tournaments: All the girls' teams and all the boys’ teams take part in monthly tournaments in mixed teams, bringing children together from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and religions. Games are played simultaneously and have no referees – it is up to the players to solve their arguments and differences by themselves.

Expected results

  • 750 children, 30 coaches, 20 volunteers and 10 tutors trained in conflict mitigation and management.
  • Creation of a ‘bubble’ of non-conflict that will radiate out to the community at large.
  • Enabling young people to take part in a positive and meaningful activity, regardless of their ability to pay.
  • Increased dialogue through football and education.
  • Girls in Jerusalem empowered to play football.

Partner

Youth Sports Games 2021

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia
Start date 02/02/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €4,634,393
Foundation funding €150,000
Project identifier 20200528
Partners Association for Sport, Recreation and Education – Youth Games
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

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

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

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

Project content

Sport is used as a medium to connect with the participants aged 7–18 through tournaments held in over 280 cities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. The Youth Sports Games promote a healthy lifestyle and popularise all ten sports (football, street basketball, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, chess, dodgeball and athletics), as well as educating about sustainability.

Objectives

In 2020, 186,474 children competed. The objective for 2021 is to have 220,000 participants: 80,000 in Croatia, 50,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 90,000 in Serbia, and for 30% of the participants to be female. The association also aims to further develop football tournaments for girls and to be a preferred choice for young girls aged 12–15 years.

Project activities

From January to August 2021, there will be local tournaments held in the three countries, followed by national finals and then the international finals in Split, Croatia. There will also be marketing activities such as promotional campaigns, digital media activities, PR activities, live TV broadcasts and a TV show in each country.

Expected results

  • 35 girls football tournaments with a total of 11,000 participants in the three countries and young girl players aged 12–15 recruited.
  • Youth Sports Games football tournaments with a total of 110,000 participants in the three countries.
  • Youth Sports Games tournaments in the nine other sports (street basketball, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, chess, dodgeball and athletics) with a total of 110,000 participants in the three countries.

 

Partner

Football for Unity

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Denmark; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Ireland; Netherlands, United Kingdom
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 08/31/2021
Cost of the project €669,092
Foundation funding €69,100
Project identifier EURO2020_1
Partners European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund; streetfootballworld gGmbH; European Football for Development Network
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development - Sponsors

Context

Factors such as cultural differences, language barriers and social stigmas can make it difficult for third-country nationals (migrants from non-EU countries) to integrate into their new European societies.

Over the past decade, the potential of sport has become increasingly recognised by the EU, with the Council of the European Union observing that “sport is a powerful social tool in many areas such as addressing increasing migrant populations, combating social exclusion or increasing solidarity between generations”. Sporting values, such as teamwork, respect, diversity, equality of opportunity and fair play, are equally European values.

UEFA EURO 2020 is the ideal opportunity to educate the European public about the social inclusion of third-country nationals. It is an occasion to celebrate unity in diversity, break down barriers to social inclusion, transform lives and inspire communities. Co-funded by the European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and coordinated by streetfootballworld, the Football for Unity project will utilise the tournament to promote a positive image of migration and help create strong incentives that will lead to a more constructive discourse on migration within European host communities.

Project content

Football for Unity will enable pan-European collaboration, cross-border exchange and peer-to-peer learning to help unite and develop the capacities of relevant European stakeholders, eager to improve their sport-based social inclusion programmes to produce more positive outcomes for third-country nationals in their local communities.

The aim is to unite and capacitate local stakeholder groups to plan, organise and implement their own local legacy sport programmes and impactful events in the context of UEFA EURO 2020. The project will bring together young third-country nationals and young Europeans in seven European capital cities in a series of local football-based programmes, youth forums, integration activities and football for inclusion tournaments (utilising methodologies such as football3) that will demonstrate football’s unique ability to promote equality and social inclusion. The young participants will be able to interact, learn from one another, acquire life skills and become agents of change and community building.

Objectives

  • Use UEFA EURO 2020 to bring football as a powerful tool for the social inclusion of third-country nationals to the attention of the wider European public
  • Build the capacity of local stakeholder groups to collaboratively organise seven awareness-raising festivals (five larger festivals and two smaller festivals) during UEFA EURO 2020 in seven strategic locations:
    1. Netherlands, Amsterdam with Johan Cruyff Foundation
    2. Germany, Munich with KICKFAIR
    3. Hungary, Budapest with Oltalom Sports Association
    4. Ireland, Dublin with Sports Against Racism Ireland
    5. United Kingdom, London with Street Child United
    6. Italy, Rome with Liberi Nantes ASD
    7. Denmark, Copenhagen with FC Nordsjælland
  • Sustainably improve the social inclusion outcomes of young third-country nationals in UEFA EURO 2020 host cities via opportunities for active participation, exchange and non-formal learning
  • Ensure maximum impact and sustainability of the multi-stakeholder collaborative approach beyond UEFA EURO 2020

Project activities

Local stakeholder groups will be created in each of the seven UEFA EURO 2020 host cities to organise the festivals. Each group will be comprised of local partners, such as civil society organisations, public authorities, football industry actors and local social inclusion experts.

The groups will organise legacy sports programmes with low barriers to entry to ensure sports activities aimed at the social inclusion of young third-country nationals continue after the UEFA EURO 2020 awareness-raising festivals.

They will also create action plans to ensure joint integration activities continue so that third-country nationals are actively given the opportunity to participate in society.

They will create an action plan for the continuation and sustainability of the multi-stakeholder cooperation and continue to implement integration activities, actively supporting their participation in society and aiding community building on the local level.

Expected results

  • Festivals will raise awareness about social inclusion of third-country nationals in seven EURO 2020 host countries
  • Local stakeholder groups (comprised of civil society organisations, public authorities, football industry actors, local experts on the topic of social inclusion) develop and implement joint activities at a local or regional level
  • Third-country nationals will take part in integration activities through which they will acquire life skills (communication, conflict resolution, leadership and intercultural knowledge) and become promoters of European values on and off the pitch
  • Local stakeholder groups will develop and implement joint activities and create action plans for utilising football as a tool for social inclusion

Partners

Empate for Argentina

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Córdoba, Argentina
Start date 02/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €54,000
Project identifier 20200136
Partners Fundación Empate
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Fundación Empate is an Argentinean NGO that provides free, non-profit spaces and activities for people with Down syndrome to promote their holistic development and social growth. Since 2016, the foundation has offered activities such as football, tennis, music, art and job training workshops.

The activities promote encounters between people with and without different types of disability. The aim is to foster inclusion in all social, cultural and sports contexts, with an emphasis on psychomotor and cognitive development. In this continuous learning environment, people with Down syndrome develop in terms of sports, culture and play, helping them to improve their quality of life and find their place in society. The goal is for them to learn about themselves to better understand the world around them.

Project content

Across Argentina there is a shortage of places where people with Down syndrome can learn to play sports, have fun and develop. Empate for Argentina seeks to fill this gap by offering quality inclusive sports spaces with fewer barriers. To help achieve this, Fundación Empate is developing a scheme of free social franchises to share its experience, methodology, guidelines and success with other locations.

 

Objectives

  • Improve the health of the participants
  • Develop learning skills through sports practice
  • Promote personal and social recognition through sports activities as a framework for social inclusion
  • Encourage socialisation so participants can establish new bonds and create friendships
  • Promote self-esteem, individual growth, self-control, courtesy, social skills, respect and cooperation with others
  • Encourage recreational and sports meetings with other schools and institutions
  • Generate exchanges with society to facilitate the active participation of all those who wish to collaborate

Project activities

  • Developing a franchise model in three Argentinian provinces (Buenos Aires, Tucumán and Mendoza)
  • Developing training programmes to share the knowledge and experience gained by Fundación Empate over the last four years
  • Identifying three institutions to become franchises
  • Supporting and mentoring the franchises in the first few years of development
  • Gathering experiences to provide feedback and improve the methodology so that the franchise can be expanded to more provinces in the future

Expected results

  • Reach 500 people with Down syndrome (110 in Cordoba and 100 per province)
  • Develop free quality sport spaces for people with Down Syndrome
  • Promote the values ​​of Fundación Empate in the three social franchises: respect, empathy, equality and equity, commitment and confidence
  • Develop tools to facilitate the integration of people with Down syndrome into different social environments, such as school, local community, family and work

Partner

Cup of Trust

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Ukraine
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €235,799
Foundation funding €199,870
Project identifier 20200601
Partners Development of Football in Ukraine
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

In 2019–2020, the charitable foundation Development of Football in Ukraine developed the Cup of Trust project in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Football and the Ministry of Education and Science. The crime prevention outreach project, funded through a grant from UNICEF, was designed to engage police officers in sport for development activities with children.

In 2020, the project was supported by a grant agreement with the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with the financial support of the governments of Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden. The project is continuing in 2021 in cooperation with the Luhansk Region National Police Headquarters, the Ukrainian Association of Football, and the Luhansk Region State Administration.

Project content

In 2021 and 2022, 100 police officers and 100 physical education teachers will take part in a sport for development workshop. They will be taught how to use sports, including football, to build trusting relationships, prevent teenagers from breaking the law, create healthy habits and introduce teenagers to ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Sport for development is a global UNICEF initiative that aims to help children develop the values of team effort, trust, mutual respect, and participation over victory, so that they can fully realise their potential.

Objectives

  • Teach police officers and physical education teachers how to use sport as a child safeguarding tool
  • Promote friendly and trusting relationships between children and law enforcement officials
  • Encourage girls to play football
  • Create a safe environment in the community through public awareness lectures on:
    • leading a healthy lifestyle
    • street safety and traffic rules
    • preventing internet and phone fraud
    • preventing and counteracting domestic violence and child abuse
    • environmental awareness (recycling and reduced consumption)

Project activities

  • Increasing the educational capabilities of police officers and physical education teachers through five two-day workshops on the sport for development methodology and the UEFA online course on child safeguarding
  • Facilitating the creation and training of mixed teams of children by the police officers in collaboration with the physical education teachers
  • Organising public awareness activities for the participating children and other schoolchildren led by police officers
  • Organising regional matches and tournaments, a press conference, a final match and a final survey

Expected results

  • 100 police officers and 100 physical education teachers will complete the sport for development workshop and the online child safeguarding course
  • 202 sets of sports and football equipment will be distributed among the police officers, physical education teachers and workshop trainers
  • 100 mixed teams of children aged 13 to 14 will be created by the police officers in collaboration with the physical education teachers – a total of 1,200 children (600 girls and 600 boys) will be involved
  • The public awareness activities will reach 60,000 children
  • Each year, 50 teams will take part in regional competitions and the five best teams will take part in the finals

Partner

A Safe Space to Play for Children in Cabreùva

Location and general information

En cours
Location Cabreùva, Brazil
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 03/01/2022
Cost of the project €271,950
Foundation funding €177,950
Project identifier 20200768
Partners Cruyff Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The community of Novo Bonfim in Cabreúva, Brazil is the most vulnerable in the region. Children and young people are affected by high levels of poverty, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and drug trade. There are no safe public sports facilities in the community for children.

Project content

The Cruyff Foundation will build a Cruyff Court for this community to give children a safe space to play football and other sports. It will be built next to the school cluster, including a high school, primary school and daycare centre. The Cruyff Foundation’s local partner, the Instituto Plataforma Brasil (IPB), will run daily football sessions based on the 14 rules of Johan Cruyff.

Objectives

  • Use the Cruyff Foundation’s 20 years’ experience developing sports projects for children and the IPB’s 10 years’ experience running activities on a Cruyff Court in São Paolo to create a great facility for the children
  • Have expert IPB coaches running daily sessions and making sure the space stays safe
  • Educate local teachers and coaches in the philosophy and vision of the Cruyff Foundation
  • Engage local youth in the activities, making them role models for their peers and next generations

Project activities

  • Daily football sessions by the IPB’s professional coaches
  • Three-day coach course provided by the Cruyff Foundation
  • The young people (‘heroes’) will organise at least one big event per year through a two-month project helping them develop skills and act as role models
  • School PE classes on the Cruyff Court
  • (Virtual) exchange between Cruyff Courts in Brazil
  • Community events involving the local community/parents

Expected results

  • One safe place for children to play
  • 15-20 coaches trained as Cruyff Foundation coaches
  • 300 children per week engaged in football sessions on the Cruyff Court – more than 4,000 children over a five to ten-year period
  • 1,250 children from the schools also using the Cruyff Court
  • 30% of participants are girls

Partners

Adopt a Ball for All

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Greece and more than 170 countries across five continents
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 01/01/2021
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €95,000
Project identifier 20200573
Partners Youthorama
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There is a challenge globally to include pupils with visual impairment in physical education (PE) in general primary schools. There is generally only one type of PE class for all pupils and there are limited inclusive sports tools. As a result, pupils with visual impairment do not participate in PE at the same level as their sighted classmates. This project meets this global need and provides a sustainable solution. It supports children’s right to education and their right to play as well as Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education) and 10 (reduced inequality).

Project content

Youthorama’s founder invented an innovative lightweight sound ball. The unique mini ball for all children is not for sale – it is only donated. In Greece, an educational programme using the mini ball was approved by the ministry of education for all schools – both general and special – and all grades. This project aims to establish a network of schools across the world that will promote inclusive sports through this new educational package.

         

Sierra Leon                                                              India

Objectives

  • Produce and donate up to 2,000 mini blind footballs for children
  • Create a more inclusive society through the use of these balls as a non-formal learning tool
  • Educate mainstream nursery and primary schools, NGOs and public structures on inclusive sport
  • Create a manual of up to 40 good practices
  • Launch an Adopt a Ball pilot initiative for schools to raise awareness of sports for all
  • Establish an Inclusive Football Network across the world (currently spanning 172 countries)

Project activities

  • Donation of the innovative mini blind footballs – the only ones available on a global level and not for sale – to children in need and their schools across 5 continents
  • Designing an inclusive educational package
  • Delivering up to 200 sports workshops in general and special nursery and primary schools to promote personal development, empathy and inclusion
  • Evaluation of the project’s success in achieving its aims
  • Launching the Adopt a Ball campaign and promoting open four-a-side events

Expected results

  • 100 schools in disadvantaged areas across the network delivering the educational programme
  • 25,000 sighted and visually impaired pupils in mixed classes
  • 500 schools registered in the Adopt a Ball network
  • 2,500 questionnaires
  • 500 PE teachers and volunteers using the accessible e-learning platform
  • 3,000 participants in the open four-a-side events
  • 2,000 mini blind footballs donated
  • 1 social message documentary for TV

Our vision is for the ball to be heard in every visually impaired child’s home and school around the world!

Partner

Sport for inclusion: football against racism

Location and general information

En cours
Location Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Start date 11/06/2020
End date 11/06/2022
Cost of the project € 199,662
Foundation funding €more than 50% financed by the Foundation for Children
Project identifier 2019519
Partners International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

In 2020, it was estimated that 60,145 people had migrated to Tunisia for a broad variety of reasons. Some of them are faced with racial discrimination from the local populations. Fuelled by prejudice and stereotypes about the migrants’ origins and status, this discrimination aggravates various types of social exclusion that can have a serious impact on their lives, such as ghettoisation, physical violence and human rights violations. The social exclusion of migrants also has a negative effect on host societies, in that it breaks down social cohesion, increases violence, gives rise to political and social instability, and results in the underemployment of migrant workers.

 

Project content

The IOM’s project is intended to resolve or alleviate various harmful effects of a lack of social cohesion between migrant groups and the host community. These effects are easy to spot: tensions between the communities, a lack of migrant access to grassroots or professional sport, no sports opportunities for migrant women, a lack of sports activities for children in vulnerable neighbourhoods, and discriminatory practices in both grassroots and professional football.

Rather than restricting the project to isolated events aimed at encouraging a collective spirit, the intention is to emphasise the need for sports programmes that involve both target groups and establish a feeling of integration (familiarity) beyond mere tolerance (forced acceptance).

Objectives

The IOM will run sports activities aimed at bringing the public and private sectors together to fight against the discrimination and marginalisation of migrants and ultimately  integrate them into Tunisian society.

The project comprises four parts: (1) creating or renovating football pitches or sports grounds; (2) sports equipment for vulnerable communities; (3) coach education in inclusion and non-discrimination; (4) encouragement to include migrants in leagues and tournaments.

Project activities

The following activities are to be carried out from August 2021 to November 2022:

  • Training for football instructors
  • Seminar on social inclusion and anti-racism for coaches, referees and sports journalists
  • Women’s football tournament
  • Men’s football tournament
  • Children’s sports days
  • Women’s sports days
  • Sports equipment supplied to amateur football clubs

Expected results

The following results are expected:

  • Four equipped sports grounds for use by migrants and locals
  • 60 instructors trained to teach football to 400 Tunisian and migrant children
  • Introductory sports activities for more than 100 Tunisian and migrant women
  • Support for four grassroots tournaments involving more than 400 Tunisians and migrants
  • Educating more than 80 coaches, referees and sports journalists in anti-racism
  • Two grassroots football tournaments (one men’s and one women’s) involving Tunisians and migrants, to promote social cohesion

Partner

Health Goals Liverpool

Location and general information

to be started
Location United Kingdom
Start date 11/06/2020
End date 11/06/2021
Cost of the project € 211,428
Foundation funding € 80,000
Project identifier 2019708
Partners Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Football is often used to promote sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries. In fact, the Liverpool Football Club Foundation (LFC Foundation) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) are in the second year of their 2.5-year Health Goals Malawi project. The project’s initial goal was to reduce the incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) among teenage boys and young men in Malawi.

They have decided to run a similar project in disadvantaged areas of Liverpool because the city has the second-highest rate of new STI diagnoses in northwest England. Rates of early pregnancy are also higher than the national average. There is a strong correlation between early pregnancy and socio‑economic deprivation. Teenage pregnancy can be both a cause and a consequence of health and education inequalities. High-quality relationship and sex education is therefore crucial to address such inequalities.

The main drivers of these inequalities are:

  • Persistent school absence before year 9 (pupils aged 13 and 14)
  • Relatively slow academic progress
  • Poverty

Football is used for three reasons:

  • The strength of the Liverpool FC brand in the city engages these socially vulnerable children aged 11 to 16.
  • As football is the most popular sport in Liverpool, participants will be highly motivated to attend in order to develop their skills.
  • Football drills and games can lead to discussions about key topics.

Project content

The project will focus on:

  • relationship and sex education programmes in schools and colleges, with targeted prevention for at-risk youngsters of both sexes
  • training on relationships and sexual health for health and non-health professionals, e.g. sports coaches
  • using the influence of community sports coaches and the LFC Foundation brand to engage young people, emphasising the importance of positive male and female role models
  • developing an innovative method of delivering relationship and sex education, with a particular emphasis on overcoming health and educational inequalities by reaching out to the most at-risk young people

Objectives

A clear and comprehensive curriculum will be developed with coaching materials and resources. If this project is successful, the curriculum will be integrated into the day-to-day work of the LFC Foundation with schools throughout Liverpool.

If this approach proves to be effective, the teen pregnancy rate could be reduced.

Project activities

  • Six weeks of football training and coaching provided in different schools
  • Football tournaments
  • Project evaluation with the children and coaches involved
  • Annual survey of participants

Expected results

Some 300 children aged 11 to 16 years, 50% of whom are to be girls, are to take part in project activities. The participants will include children with disabilities and poor mental health.

Partner

Score For Education

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Albania
Start date 10/01/2020
End date 09/30/2022
Cost of the project € 268,883
Foundation funding € 225,588
Project identifier 2019623
Partners Save the Children
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

School children in Albania face complex challenges reflecting the country’s long and difficult political transition in the early 1990s. In conjunction with Save the Children’s existing programmes, this project aims to tackle two main issues:

  • unhealthy lifestyles and exclusion;
  • discrimination against the most deprived children, including children with disabilities, girls, minorities and those experiencing

Many schoolchildren in Albania have health risk factors due to poor nutritional status, unhealthy diet, poor eating habits and inadequate physical activity. Some schools still fail to meet the obligatory three hours of physical exercise a week, mainly due to lack of infrastructure. Only one third of the 37 schools surveyed have teachers trained in physical education, and 60% do not assess children’s physical abilities.

Bullying is common among schoolchildren and is one of the most overt forms of violence against them. Teachers reported that about 70% of schoolchildren and teens were bullied by their peers because of their physical appearance, weight or clothes (National Survey on Bullying and Violent Extremism in the Education System of Albania, Council of Europe 2017).

A strategy for the development and promotion of teaching – School as a Community Centre – was introduced for the period 2014–2020. The aim is to achieve friendly schools for all. Schools should be transformed into places where partnerships are created between families, schools and communities to develop the full potential of each pupil.

However, the concept is difficult to put into practice, as teachers and administrators admit that the lack of equipment and infrastructure is often an obstacle to performing their work and turning their schools into community centres.

Project content

The project aims to contribute to a better school environment that promotes and supports healthy lifestyles to enable children to develop their full potential. It is based on the idea that sports, and especially football, play a crucial role in helping people develop healthy practices and attitudes and in improving treatment of the most deprived children.

 

 

Objectives

The overall aim of the project is to promote and support healthy lifestyles in school environments in Albania. Its objective is to provide children aged 6 to 14 in three regions of Albania with equal access to sports facilities and a healthy childhood.

 

Project activities

The support of the UEFA Foundation for Children will help to improve the accessibility and quality of sport facilities for children in Albania. Additionally, training sessions on healthy practices, diets and physical activity will improve teachers and educators' skills and their teaching methodologies. The project will also focus on the involvement of children in sport activities and on the promotion of inclusiveness and social acceptance in communities through sport. Other components of the project include:

  • support for mini sports clubs that offer children activities in a variety of disciplines;
  • capacity building to give sports teachers ways to nurture life skills through sports;
  • workshops with parents and children on the benefits of sports for a healthy lifestyle.

Expected results

Improvements in the health, academic and social outcomes of school-aged children are expected. Other expected outcomes include:

  • a one-week event to promote the importance of sports for child wellbeing;
  • parent information sessions to raise awareness of the importance of education and physical activity;
  • improved playgrounds, gyms and sport facilities;
  • a football championship.

Partner

Wash and Learn Initiative

Location and general information

Closed
Location Texas (United States)
Start date 08/01/2019
End date 06/01/2021
Cost of the project € 225,000
Foundation funding € 100,000
Project identifier 2019999
Partners Libraries Without Borders United States (BSF-US)
Categories Personal development

Context

Libraries Without Borders (Bibliothèques Sans Frontières - BSF) is a non-profit organisation committed to increasing access to information for those in need by meeting people where they are—whether in a launderette in the Bronx or a refugee camp in Jordan. BSF-United States (BSF-US) partners with local organisations to transform launderettes, residential lobbies, parks and recreation centres into spaces for children’s education and community development. Internationally, BSF has worked in more than 30 countries, running innovative library programmes to serve refugees, remote villages and disaster relief zones since 2007.

Project content

The average launderette customer spends up to two and a half hours a week there. By meeting families where they are, when they are available, the Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) makes literacy education accessible for low-income families who may not have the time or money to access other services. Now in eight states, WALI equips launderettes with computers, specialized software, Wi-Fi hotspots, books, specially designed furniture and other educational resources designed to create playful, literacy-rich spaces for young children and families. BSF-US works with libraries and local organisations to align their needs and interests with those of launderette customers. Together with its partners, BSF-US offers bilingual story times for children, workshops on nutrition or maternal health and games and activities to promote parent-child interactions. Researchers at New York University found that children engage in significantly more sustained literacy-related activities (compared to children at non-WALI launderettes) when a librarian is present in the launderette.

WALI San Antonio focuses specifically on the city’s low-income Hispanic migrants. One-third of the population in San Antonio is foreign-born, and as many as 100,000 are undocumented. Thanks to the support of Google Fiber and local organisations and libraries, BSF-US has piloted WALI in two launderettes in the city, delivering dynamic opportunities for early childhood education, digital literacy and community development.

Objectives

With the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, BSF-US is expanding WALI San Antonio to better support newly arrived migrants. Our goals include:

  • Bringing knowledge and information to those who are most in need. Libraries are excellent places for both personal growth and collective development.
  • Reaching people where they are. Librarians and early-childhood professionals offer in-person classes and opportunities at the launderette, making these services accessible for all.
  • Ensuring equal access to information, which is important to achieve equity. WALI launderettes equip residents with technology and help to spread information about important issues like education, health, employment, citizenship, environment, sustainability and technology.

Project activities

To reach this goal, the following activities are being undertaken:

  • Expanding the Wash and Learn Initiative in San Antonio from two to four launderettes.
  • Collaborating with local non-profits and government agencies to add new services to existing literacy programmes. These new services will include immigration legal services, culturally relevant health information and English language education—all at the launderette.
  • Collecting and disseminating a set of curricula and case-studies so that other non-profits and public agencies can independently scale the work of WALI in San Antonio and across the US.
  • Providing opportunities for parents to observe ideal models of interactive reading and language-rich activities.

Expected results

From October 2019 to February 2020, the San Antonio Wash and Learn Initiative:

  • Oversaw over 100 hours of programming from partners, ranging from story time to voter registration;
  • Engaged with 252 people, from toddlers to seniors;
  • Partnered with 6 different organisations to better serve the community;
  • Delivered 29 library programmes, where library staff at the launderette helped participants download e-books, use their mobile devices and find online resources.

Looking forward, we aim to:

  • Operate four WALI launderettes that serve as community-driven hubs for learning and digital equity.
  • Provide over 300 hours of programming from partners who engage with over 1,000 people of all ages and backgrounds.
  • Partner with a total of 10 different organisations to better serve the communities we are in, especially around issues of legal access and social support for newly arrived migrants.
  • Support the Digital Inclusion Alliance of San Antonio and other digital literacy providers to meet people where they are, when they are available, and create a more equitable San Antonio.

Partner

Play Proud

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Europe, Asia, Africa
Start date 03/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project €100 463
Foundation funding €100 463
Project identifier 2019524
Partners streetfootballworld
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Sports environments are often settings where discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community is magnified, whether involuntarily or voluntarily. As a result, the unparalleled power of sport to engage youngsters and create mutual understanding can be inaccessible to children and teenagers who identify as LGBTQ+ – those who need these spaces the most.

In one study, 63% of LGBTQ+-identified respondents had experienced homophobia in sports environments, and 57% said that they would be more likely to take part in sports activities if they were more LGBTQ+-friendly. LGBTQ+-identified youngsters are twice as likely to be bullied and/or physically assaulted. The continual threat for their mental and physical safety means that the majority of LGBTQ+ youth do not openly disclose their gender and sexual identities. Unfortunately, many coaches struggle to cope with the challenge of including these children and teenagers and their needs, mainly due to a lack of skills, training, and knowledge.

Project content

Play Proud is a coach-centred exchange programme with the objective of making grassroots sport more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc.) community, especially children and teenagers that have previously been excluded from such programmes. The direct beneficiaries of Play Proud activities are coaches who work with community organisations around the world. These coaches engage with disadvantaged children and teenagers, offering them a safe place on the football pitch to form friendships, develop life skills, and feel a sense of acceptance.

Play Proud targets both organisation and programme levels, recommending explicit policies and sports activities that foster more inclusive processes by identifying and training coaches who will push the gender-sensitive approach forward, reaching thousands of youngsters.

This year the programme is made up of organisations from Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and India. Two representatives from each organization will engage in virtual exchanges, a 5-day in-person residency in South Africa and a 5-day in-person residency in India, as well as receiving ongoing mentorship and support.

 

Objectives

Play Proud can save lives. In 2020 and beyond, Play Proud will continue to pursue its objective to train more coaches using evidence-based methodology. This will enable us to strategically advance Play Proud around the world. We aim to create a global network of grassroots sports and LGBTQ+ organisations that apply the Play Proud methodology, reaching more coaches and youngsters every year.

We believe that we can make Play Proud the leading programme for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the sports sector. We will train more coaches and organisations to implement and share Play Proud so that we can continue to create a movement in local communities worldwide and ensure LGBTQ+ youth are safe, represented, and included, on and off the field.

Project activities

  • Football coaches receive 100+ hours of training from experts in the field, take part in capacity-building workshops and virtual mentoring, and visit the sports programmes run by local organisations.
  • Football coaches develop action plans on the topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion in their own organisations and communities.
  • Football coaches run LGBTQ+-inclusive programmes for children and teenagers and work with their organisations to improve internal and external safeguarding policies.
  • Grassroots sports organisations improve their inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth and their internal and external safeguarding policies.

 

Expected results

  • Three grassroots sports organisations in Europe and Asia join the Play Proud network.
  • Coaches in the participating organisations receive 100+ hours of training from experts in the field, take part in capacity-building workshops and virtual mentoring.
  • The project impacts the lives of over 250 disadvantaged children and teenagers in marginalised communities across Europe and Asia.

Partners

A safe space for displaced Yazidi youth

Location and general information

Closed
Location Sharya, Duhok Governorate, Iraq
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project €619,085
Foundation funding €120,000
Project identifier 2019558
Partners Jesuit Refugee Service Iraq
Categories Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Over 4 million people in Iraq are in need of humanitarian assistance due to decades of conflict, widespread violence and displacement brought about by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), endemic corruption, and ongoing political instability. According to the United Nations, 1.46 million people – 46% children under the age of 18 – are in acute need and face “critical problems related to their physical or mental wellbeing”. Although more than four million of the six million displaced by post-2014 conflict have been able to return to their areas of origin, families returning to conflict-affected areas face restricted access to basic services and security risks. They must contend with destroyed properties and critical infrastructure, as well as a lack of livelihood opportunities and financial resources. In some instances, this has led to secondary displacement.

Over 1.4 million people continue to be displaced, including hundreds of thousands of Ezidi (commonly referred to as Yazidi) survivors of the August 2014 genocide in Sinjar in their sixth year of displacement in the Duhok governorate of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. At the end of 2019, the displaced population in Duhok stood at 319,584, the highest number in Iraq after Ninewa[1]. In addition, the governorate hosts upward of 80,000 Syrian refugees.[2] Fewer than half of Duhok’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) live in one of the seventeen IDP camps in the governorate.[3] The majority live in a variety of out-of-camp settings, ranging from rented accommodation to unfinished buildings and  improvised dwellings, such as tents. Out-of-camp IDPs living in critical shelter are the most numerous vulnerable group.[4]

Although urban centres such as Duhok city and Zakho have a greater mix of ethnic and religious groups all fleeing conflict, the vast majority of remaining in-camp and out-of-camp IDPs in the Duhok governorate are Ezidi genocide survivors from the Sinjar district of Ninewa governorate. To date, Sharya town (also referred to as Sharya Collective) and the surrounding villages hold the largest out-of-camp population of IDPs (23,940) anywhere in Duhok governorate and one of the highest concentrations nationwide.[5]

[1] International Organization for Migration (IOM), Data Tracking Matrix DTM) Iraq, 31 December 2019, available at http://iraqdtm.iom.int.

[2] See Registered IDPs and Refugees in Kurdistan Region – Iraq for January 2019, available at http://jcc.gov.krd/contents/reports/19-02-2019/1550569468.Total%20No.%20IDPs%20%20Refugees%20for%20January%20in%20Kurdistan%20Region.pdf.

[3] See Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Ministry of Interior, Humanitarian Situational Report (SitRep), No. (2-20) for February 2020. Available at:  http://jcc.gov.krd/contents/files/25-02-2020/1582612800.Humanitarian%20Situational%20Report%20(2-20)%20for%20February%20%20Kurdistan%20Region%20of%20Iraq.pdf.

[4] See UN-OCHA, Iraq Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) 2020, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/iraq-humanitarian-needs-overview-2020-november-2019-enarku

[5] International Organization for Migration (IOM), Data Tracking Matrix DTM) Iraq, 31 December 2019. Available at http://iraqdtm.iom.int/

Project content

In addition to its specific programme activities, the Jesuit Refugee Service Iraq adopts a multi-layered unified project model that promotes mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace.

The various project modules and programmes will be complemented by the construction of a fenced multi-purpose sports ground and an annex with facilities and equipment. The complex will provide safe and supervised sports and recreational activities for children, teenagers and young adults from both IDP and host communities. It will promote integration and enable young people from this minority population to develop social skills, fundamental personal and community values, and team spirit. Sports will promote the physical and mental wellbeing of young people in protracted displacement, improve social cohesion, and facilitate conflict management. The sports ground will provide a much-needed facility and safe space to help them engage in positive, healthy activities and boost their overall wellbeing, as well as prevent self-harm linked to a sense of no future prospects.

The Jesuit Refugee Service Iraq’s educational activities, community outreach, and MHPSS services will dovetail with targeted awareness sessions and the thorough work of Jesuit Refugee Service family visitors. The sports ground and adjoining facilities represent a combined response to the need to heal the deeply embedded trauma in both the personal and collective psyche of the Ezidi population.

Objectives

  1. To enhance the psychosocial wellbeing of IDPs facing protracted displacement and improve their access to services, emergency assistance, and protection networks
  2. To support the right to education of children and young people in protracted displacement by providing access to quality education and psychosocial support
  3. To enhance the resilience of IDPs and improve knowledge through access to safe spaces, adult education, and awareness activities

Project activities

JRS projects and programmes in Sharya pay special attention to the well-being of traumatised child, teenage, and young adult genocide survivors as an at-risk category of IDPs. The proposed sports ground and ancillary facilities will enhance JRS’ capacity to serve the affected population proactively and holistically. Out-of-camp IDP children, teenagers, and young adults will benefit from access to a sports ground that better enables them to engage in positive and healthy recreational activities. JRS’ multi-layered intervention includes:

  • Systematic support for genocide survivors in protracted displacement from the family visit teams; provision of core assistance, including cash-based and in-kind assistance, food and non-food items; specialised psychological and psychiatric care, as well as psychiatric medication, for the most vulnerable families and individuals
  • A multi-sectoral education programme consisting of tutoring classes for 540 young people aged 12, 15, and 18 years during the school year; a summer programme for 140 children and teenagers, which includes drama, handicrafts, awareness sessions on relevant topics, and recreational activities; a licenced kindergarten for 220 children aged 4–5 years, in two shifts; training for teachers, including intensive training leading to a university diploma, as well as seminars on child safeguarding and psychological first aid
  • Adult education and skills training courses that enhance IDPs’ income generation and employment opportunities and complementary protection activities to contribute to an improved sense of well-being; awareness sessions on topics such as health, hygiene, stress management, and parenting skills, which enable IDPs to better cope with the experience of protracted displacement
  • A legal service to enable undocumented genocide survivors to obtain civil documentation
  • A twice-weekly primary healthcare service hosted by the JRS Community Centre in Sharya in collaboration with a partner organisation
  • Protection, mainstreamed in all programmes
  • A range of transportation solutions to enable the population served to access the various services listed above

Expected results

The proposed multi-purpose sports ground and facilities build on best practice and lessons learned from an earlier JRS project in Ozal City, Kasnazan (2015–2018). The JRS Community Centre in Ozal City comprised a sports ground that became a magnet for hundreds of children and young people from over 2,000 displaced families of diverse ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds. During school hours, the sports ground was an integral part of an organised education programme (for children aged 4–18 years) that supplemented the scant delivery in the public schools for IDPs. Beyond that, the sports ground was a place of socialisation among people from different areas of origin and an effective instrument in peacebuilding and social cohesion.

The immediate and quantifiable beneficiaries of the proposed multi-purpose sports ground include:

  • 220 preschool children (4–5 years old) during school hours
  • 540 children in the youth education programme (aged 12, 15 and 18)
  • 140 children in the three-month long summer programme
  • Other children and young people participating in one-off or recurring activities laid on by JRS

At other times, the facility will be open (under supervision) to children, teenagers, and young adults from the IDP and host community. Users will be primarily out-of-camp IDPs and members of the host community.

The adjoining multi-purpose hall will host a range of activities, from indoor sports and fitness, to drama, film screenings, awareness workshops, and community-building events. It will constitute a safe and protective alcohol-free environment. The combination of indoor and outdoor areas will enable use during different weather conditions and – more importantly – will enable equal access for females and males.

Partner

A goal for gender equality

Location and general information

Closed
Location Santa Cruz Department (Municipality: El Torno), La Paz Department (Municipality: Pucarani) and Chuquisaca Department (Municipalities: Incahuasi, Culpina and Villa Charcas), Bolivia
Start date 02/01/2020
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €106,060
Foundation funding €87,380
Project identifier 2019984
Partners Plan International Belgium
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Bolivia has ratified numerous international human rights treaties, of which the following are particularly relevant to Plan International’s work: the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women. However, despite progress in legislation promoting the rights of children and young people, violations still occur, especially in rural and indigenous populations. Girls in particular face specific barriers to exercising their rights, especially in the three following areas:

Education:

According to the Ministry of Education, only 11% of young people aged 18 to 24 attend university or a technical training centre. Young women are more affected than young men, mainly due to limited access to alternative or post-secondary education in rural areas and limited support from the family and community environment.

Sexual and reproductive rights:

A large proportion of Bolivia’s population is under 18 years, some of whom are sexually active. Despite this, their sexual and reproductive rights are not recognised, nor is their right to protection against sexual violence. In addition, 25% of teenage girls are already mothers at the age 19 (National Plan to Prevent Teen Pregnancy), and this figure is often higher in rural areas. Furthermore, unwanted pregnancy is an important factor in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Gender-based violence:

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2014 Bolivia ranked among the countries where girls and women are most exposed to violence.

Project content

The project’s main component is its social football methodology, divided into three stages:

  • During the first stage, the mixed teams are formed and the girls and boys agree on the rules and how long they will play for. This stage allows the participants to engage in dialogue and reach agreements and compromises.
  • During the second stage, the game is played respecting the previously agreed rules.

The third stage is a time for participants to reflect on their in-game behaviour and the behaviour of their teammates. In social football, sticking to the previously agreed rules is more important than competitiveness.

Objectives

  • Change behaviour towards girls and women and put an end to all types of violence, including sexual violence
  • Support gender equality
  • Ensure children and teenagers can exercise their sexual and reproductive rights

Project activities

  • Work plans for student governments (40) and the community social education councils (40) incorporating the social football methodology
  • Training workshops on the football social methodology for students and student governments (3), community social education councils (2), district directors, unit directors and secondary level teachers (3)
  • Social football cards and audiovisual products (600)
  • 80 student sports meetings applying the social football methodology with a focus on gender equality, violence prevention and the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights
  • Assessments of the educational units’ sports fields
  • 40 refurbished and improved sports fields (one for each educational unit)
  • 80 awards for winners of sports events

Expected results

  • Student government organisations strengthen their organisational capacity and representativeness through the social football methodology; they value the participation of women and positively influence their sexual and reproductive rights, gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence.
  • Community social education councils increase their participation and support for the development of social football with a focus on gender equality, prevention of gender-based violence and the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights of girls, boys and teenagers, especially women in the municipalities where the project is developed.
  • District directors, directors of educational units and secondary level teachers improve the management of sports in the educational units by promoting gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Partner

Exercising change in Palabek refugee settlement

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Uganda
Start date 02/01/2020
End date 04/01/2021
Cost of the project € 34,168
Foundation funding € 34,168
Project identifier 20199933
Partners Street Child
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Palabek is one of the newest refugee settlements in Uganda, hosting over 50,000 refugees primarily from South Sudan. According to the 2019 United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report, 85% of arrivals are women and children. Due to the conflict, many children in the camp have been traumatised by violence, exploited as child soldiers and lost loved ones. Women and girls in particular face gender-based violence and discrimination. In 2018, the UNHCR reported 4,822 incidents of sexual gender-based violence. The cultural taboo around menstruation also makes girls skip school or even drop out entirely. Limiting their educational and economic opportunities, they increase their risk of child marriage, abuse and teen pregnancy.

The situation has worsened further with the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure of schools for more than 9 months and the 3 months shutdown had devastating effect on the most vulnerable families.

Project content

As repatriation is unlikely to occur soon and the refugee settlements welcome more and more people every day, there is a need to strengthen social cohesion and forge closer ties between the communities. Street Child and its partner African Women and Youth for Action Development (AWYAD) use sports and educational workshops to promote well-being, community engagement, child protection and social cohesion, and combat gender stereotypes. They provide the opportunity for children to escape from traumatic experiences and provide safe spaces where they can flourish. Sport will not be limited to school times, but also held during after school clubs, thereby creating a greater educational environment.

Objectives

  • Inspire both refugee and host children through sport
  • Address the disparity in girls’ active participation in sports
  • Provide safe spaces for marginalised children
  • Increase opportunities for schools to take part in inter/intra-class and regional competitions
  • Provide an inclusive sport offer for girls, boys and children with disabilities
  • Train local coaches to ensure the longevity of the project
  • Introduce and develop four sports across the settlement: football, netball, volleyball and athletics
  • Build infrastructure for sports

Project activities

  • Train community coaches to recognise psychosocial risks in children and understand referral pathways at settlement level
  • Train community coaches on the importance of inclusivity, with particular reference to girls and children with disabilities
  • Train community coaches to promote fair play, cooperation, sharing and respect in sport
  • Dialogue with communities at 10 schools, on health, education and inclusivity, in conjunction with sports sessions
  • Provide 10 schools with the necessary sports equipment to enable children to pratice netball, football and volleyball.
  • Organise weekly sports sessions in 10 schools across Palabek refugee settlement to promote wellbeing for 8000 refugee and host community children

Expected results

  • Target 11,000 beneficiaries – 8,000 children between the ages of 6 and 13, of whom 60% are girls and 40% boys, and 3,000 community members
  • 10% of the beneficiaries will be children with disabilities
  • As Palabek is facing extreme levels of poverty and in need of support similar to the refugees, 30% of the children will be from host communities.

 

intermediate outcome:

  • 10 schools have been supplied with sports equipment
  • 1050 children have been enrolled into the sports clubs
  • 6 community coaches have been recruited and trained

Partner

Living Together Greece

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Greece
Start date 09/16/2019
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 467,500
Foundation funding € 300,000
Project identifier 2019023
Partners Aiolikos FC, Cosmos FC, the Barça Foundation, Movement on the Ground, Iliaktida, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Over 45% of the refugees and migrants who arrived in Greece in 2019 landed on the Greek island of Lesbos, which is separated from Türkiye by a 10km channel and is home to 88,000 people. In winter, incidents at sea are an almost daily occurrence. Many lives are lost as a result of shipwrecks off the coast of Lesbos.

The increasing influx of arrivals has put extreme pressure on the island, where there are more than 40,000 refugees and migrants, despite the official reception capacity being limited to 2,800. Some 18,000 are staying in Mória (capacity of 2,300) and 2,500 in Kara Tepe. There is no longer space in these official reception and registration sites, so makeshift shelters have been built in a rubbish-filled olive grove around the camp.

The number of refugees and migrants on the islands is extremely high and there is a severe lack of adequate shelter, sanitation and site management, which exposes refugees and migrants to severe risks. The majority of refugees and migrants are families and a third of the population are children, most below the age of 12. Thousands of women, men and children are currently living in small tents, exposed to cold and rain with little or no access to heating, electricity or hot water.

Hygiene and sanitation conditions are unsafe. On top of that, registration backlogs in Mória and Kara Tepe and the overcrowding of reception facilities have led to tensions among refugee groups and between refugees and the police. Towards the end of 2019, local communities also started protesting and demanding urgent action to alleviate the pressure on the island. Friction is growing between local people and asylum seekers landing in boats from Türkiye. Anti-immigrant sentiment has increased with non-governmental organisations also being targeted.

https://uefafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cosmos-fc-minors-year-2020-5fce51c762a86.mp4

 

The Live Together project is made up of three sub-projects

1) Two teams, one world

  • Cost of the sub-project: €119,000
  • Foundation funding: €119,000
  • Partners: Aiolikos FC and Cosmos FC

Context

Cosmos FC, a refugees’ football club, was founded in September 2016 on the initiative of a Lesbos native and ex-footballer who saw the potential for sports to alleviate the tensions caused by the refugee crisis on the island. Football can be more than just a game. Since 2016, the club has involved over 400 adults and minors – including girls, and regardless of religion and race – from 17 different countries.

Over the last two and a half years, Cosmos FC has been a sanctuary for people arriving on Lesbos (the island with the largest refugee population in Greece) on their way to the so-called ‘promised land’. Regular training and friendly matches against local clubs provide people with a sense of normality. At the same time, the club has gained the appreciation and respect of the local population of Lesbos.

In January 2019, Francis Kalombo, a 15-year-old Congolese boy and member of Cosmos FC became the first refugee to obtain an official licence to play in a European club, Aiolikos FC. His story instantly went viral, spreading throughout Greece and beyond and helping locals and refugees together raise awareness about refugees’ limited or non-existent access to sport. Subsequently, the Greek parliament passed legislation granting the right to participate in the amateur league and amateur cup matches not only to recognised refugees, but also to asylum-seekers, stateless persons and migrants who have a residence permit or have applied for a residence permit.

Project content

With the Two teams, one world project, Aiolikos FC and Cosmos FC are working together with the UEFA foundation to support more young refugees, including unaccompanied minors, teenagers and young adults.

The project will give 250 to 300 unaccompanied minors and other refugees aged 13 to 18 the opportunity to learn more about football through regular training. Regular exercise will help improve their physical and mental health, and football, as a team sport, will help them gain a sense of belonging, learn about teamwork and improve their self-confidence.

Friendly matches with local clubs will be combined with educational field trips to teach refugees about Greek and European societies and lifestyles, with a view to helping them adapt and integrate more easily. Refugees and Greek people from all backgrounds will play together, regardless of politics, religion or ethnicity, thus bridging possible divides between refugees and locals and creating the ideal opportunity to get to know one another.

An annual tournament (Cosmos Cup) will also be organised, involving either national or local clubs depending on the funding available, with the aim of combatting social exclusion and negative perceptions about refugees in society.

 

 

Objectives

  • Improve refugees’ living conditions and securing their fundamental right to personal development through sports and social interaction
  • Build a stable environment in which young refugees can overcome psychological disorders and build self-confidence
  • Cultivate a spirit of teamwork and solidarity
  • Integrate refugees into a European society and mainstream football
  • Reach female refugees, most of whom did not have the chance to play football or any other sport in their country of origin, because of the cultural and/or religious context
  • Combat social exclusion and negative sentiments about refugees in society
  • Use regular training and tournaments to create opportunities for refugees and locals to play together
  • Act as a pilot programme, raising awareness and encouraging and supporting other clubs to launch similar programmes, particularly on the other North Aegean islands (Samos, Chíos) that accommodate large number of refugees

Project activities

  • Knowledge-sharing between Cosmos FC and Aiolikos FC, the only professional football club on Lesbos
  • Regular football training for 300 unaccompanied minors and teenage refugees aged 13 to 18
  • Educational field trips combined with friendly games with local teams
  • Cosmos Cup tournament
  • Encouraging other clubs and refugee camps to launch similar projects, especially on the other North Aegean islands (Samos, Chíos), which also accommodate a large number of refugees

Expected results

  • Regular football training held for at least 300 unaccompanied minors and teenage refugees aged 13 to 18
  • One annual Cosmos Cup tournament
  • At least four educational field trips combined with friendly games with local teams each year
  • Increased participation of girls
  • Development of similar programmes at other football clubs

2) FutbolNet: Sports, life skills and values for unaccompanied refugee minors

  • Cost of the sub-project: €167,500
  • Foundation funding: €45,400
  • Partners: the Barça Foundation, Movement on the Ground and Iliaktida

Context

In the context of refugees, unaccompanied minors are children and young people under the age of 18 who make the journey to Europe without family or social support networks. In 2019, there were an estimated 21,000 refugee children in Greek reception and identification centres and accommodation sites, of whom an estimated 3,500 were unaccompanied minors. These children languish in reception and identification centres, protective custody or detention, in shelters for unaccompanied minors or on the waiting list for a shelter. They face a unique set of challenges and are considered to be the most vulnerable of all refugees.

This FutbolNet project proposes to work with unaccompanied minors on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Project content

With support from the UEFA foundation, the Barça Foundation will provide a year-long, socio-educational sports programme for unaccompanied refugee minors on the island of Lesbos. The aim of the programme is to create safe spaces to improve the physical and emotional well-being of unaccompanied minors, as well as fostering their social interaction and inclusion. At the heart of the programme is the FutbolNet curriculum, which imparts the FC Barcelona values and life skills through sports and cooperative games.

This project builds on an existing project through which Movement on the Ground provides daily FutbolNet training to children from the Kara Tepe refugee camp and a local school. The UEFA foundation will support Movement on the Ground to enrol 150 unaccompanied minors from Mória in its programme. The UEFA foundation will also support a new NGO, Iliaktida, to start delivering the FutbolNet programme to 45 unaccompanied minors from their centres. To this end, 40 Greek and refugee coaches and educators will be trained in the methodology to equip them with the knowledge, skills and tools to deliver the full curriculum.

Objectives

  • Create safe and appropriate spaces for 195 unaccompanied minors to learn, play and exchange experiences
  • Improve the physical and emotional well-being of unaccompanied minors, through improved confidence and self-esteem, and reduced fear and stress
  • Foster positive social interactions and social inclusion among unaccompanied minors

Project activities

  • FutbolNet training seminars with Movement on the Ground and Iliaktida staff and volunteers to equip them with the knowledge, skills and tools to deliver the FutbolNet methodology
  • FutbolNet programme delivered to unaccompanied minors from Mória at Spanos Academy (Movement on the Ground)
  • FutbolNet programme delivered to unaccompanied minors residing in Iliaktida shelters in Mytilíni and at Spanos Academy (Iliaktida)

Expected results

  • Safe, accessible and regularly available spaces to learn, play and exchange
  • Strengthened capacity of staff and coaches working with unaccompanied minors
  • Communication skills, self-esteem, confidence and values learnt and developed by unaccompanied minors
  • Unaccompanied minors participate and feel comfortable in their communities

3) Support for schools: refurbishment of sport facilities

  • Cost of the sub-project: €73,000
  • Foundation funding: €73,000
  • Partners: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

 The UEFA Foundation for Children has also decided to support the host country, which is overstretched by the situation, and to support its schools by:

  • providing sports equipment and other materials for football and other activities, including balls, bibs, cones, whistles, stopwatches, pumps and foldable goals.
  • restoring sport facilities, offering reliable infrastructure and safe facilities for children to play in.

The schools targeted by this last component of the project are primary schools hosting local and refugee children, in order to help build social cohesion among the youngsters.

Partners

aio