Football versus Discrimination

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ireland
Start date 01/01/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €108,000,00
Foundation funding €54,000,00
Project identifier 20221197
Partners Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Ireland has been under international scrutiny as a country that is failing to meet its international human rights obligations to tackle racism and discrimination. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Council of Europe and the Irish Network Against Racism have all highlighted Ireland’s shortcomings: the country has an above-average number of incidents of discrimination and racist violence.

Project goals

  • Increase mutual understanding between children and young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds
  • Help combat racism and xenophobia
  • Promote the integration of immigrants into Irish schools and society
  • Promote gender equality in sport and society
  • Introduce children to the concept of human rights

Project content

Football versus Discrimination is a 75-minute interactive workshop using football as a tool to address issues of discrimination such as racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia.

  • Children learn about forms of discrimination by playing football.
  • Role-playing games are used to identify and experience how it feels to discriminate and to be discriminated against.
  • Games of fair play football (football3) are played in which participants take responsibility for their own actions. There are no referees and players are encouraged to set their own rules and resolve disagreements through dialogue.
  • In the days following the workshop, participants complete an in-class questionnaire reflecting on what they have learned.

Partner

League of Fair-Play Football

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Prague, Usti nad Labem, Pilsen, Olomouc, Karlovy Vary, Brno, Liberec - Czechia
Start date 12/01/2022
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €236,164
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20220231
Partners INEX association for voluntary activities
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Recent reports have shown that there are significant inequalities in access to a decent education in Czechia. These inequalities only grew during the COVID-19 pandemic as the result of extended school closures and a lack of support and access to online technologies at home, e.g. parental illiteracy, lack of access to computers and a reliable internet connection. The region of Czechia where a child is born plays a major role in their future success. In regions with a high poverty rate, children are less likely to receive a good education and enrol on after-school programmes. They often have to deal with youth and parental violence, petty crime, addiction, poor health, mental stress, discrimination and financial pressure. Our project targets children in these regions with an approach that combines the health benefits of football with educational added value.

Project goals

  1. Increase free, meaningful, healthy access to sports activities and facilities for children who can’t afford it
  2. Increase social cohesion among young people who face social isolation
  3. Improve the sense of achievement and success among children who are discriminated against and who are accustomed to experiencing failure
  4. Address deficiencies in the quality of education of children living in disadvantaged regions of Czechia
  5. Provide vulnerable children with a meaningful after-school programme focused on their development

Project content

This project introduces the League of Fair-Play Football (LFF) to various regions of Czechia. The league offers a platform for positive socialisation through a year of activities for children who lack access to quality education and sports activities. LFF uses football to attract, motivate, empower and develop young people who are exposed to social failure due to their economic status, family situation, social environment or ethnic background. LFF provides children with an opportunity for constructive emancipation in an inclusive, safe, mentored environment, free of any charge.

Partners

Youth Sports Games 2023

Location and general information

Closed
Location Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia
Start date 01/01/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €6,328,380,00
Foundation funding €100,000,00
Project identifier 20220707
Partners Association for Sport, Recreation and Education – Youth Games
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality

Context

The Youth Sports Games were launched in Split, Croatia, in 1996. The primary motive was to enable children to take part in organised sporting events and other free activities. The Youth Sports Games have since become the largest amateur sports event for children and young people in Europe. More than 2.5 million children have competed in the 26 years since they began.

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

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

Project goals

The association aims to:

- Bring children and young people together for sport and recreation

- Cultivate a positive atmosphere among children and young people;

- Encourage sport and friendship as an alternative to addiction and delinquency, thereby rationalising health and social programmes

- Promote educational activities and deliver a modern, up-to-date message to, and by, young people

In 2023, 220,000 participants are expected from the three countries. Football will have 110,000 players.

The goals for 2023 include the expansion of activities to over 300 municipalities with 15,000 female footballers. National finals in the three countries will be attended by 6,000 participants each, while 1,500 young people will compete in the international finals for which all expenses are covered – accommodation, travel and competition costs.

Project content

Sport is used as a medium to connect the participants, aged 7–18, through tournaments held in over 300 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The Youth Sports Games advocate a healthy lifestyle and promote all ten sports (football, street basketball, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, chess, dodgeball and athletics), as well as educating the children about sustainability. Emphasis is placed on organising football tournaments for girls with a participation target of 15,000 young female footballers in the three countries.

Partner

Deporte por Refugio – Sport as Shelter

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Sevilla, Spain
Start date 02/15/2023
End date 02/15/2024
Cost of the project €300,177,08
Foundation funding €203,165,00
Project identifier 20220760
Partners Fundación Grande Valores
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Personal development

Context

Four of the ten poorest districts in Spain are located in the city of Seville, with 38.6% of the children at risk or enduring alarming levels of poverty and social exclusion. In addition, a significant migrant population is concentrated in these districts and faces problems of exclusion and segregation. This situation, along with inequality and unemployment, causes various family problems that have a major impact on childhood education and development.

Project goals

  1. Promote the inclusion, education and well-being of children and young people from refugee backgrounds and local communities in Seville.
  • Increase children's sense of belonging and participation in the community
  • Reduce children's gender and intercultural prejudices
  • Train young refugees in Sport for Development methodology
  • Build resilience by teaching children about life skills
  1. Raise awareness about the inclusion of people in vulnerable situations through sports in schools.

Project content

The Deporte por Refugio project had a great impact in its first year. Now, in this second year, the mission is to promote the well-being and inclusion of children, young people and families in vulnerable communities and with migrant and refugee backgrounds in Seville. The message that we want to deliver to society through this project is that football can transform the lives and prospects of children and refugees. The project is supported by UNCHR, UNICEF, the Spanish Government and the Seville city authorities.

Partner

Sports facilities for children and young people

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Switzerland
Start date 01/01/2023
End date Ongoing
Cost of the project €6,489,800
Foundation funding €60,000
Project identifier 20220216
Partners Fondation IdéeSport
Categories Access to Sport - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The projects promoted by Fondation IdéeSport respond to three alarming realities of modern life experienced by children, teenagers and families: physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles, the excessive use of social media, and the difficulty and expense of accessing sports facilities. The healthy development of young people is dependent on opportunities to play sport. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its lockdowns and closures of sports facilities, has heightened the urgency of the situation.

Project goals

The project focuses on children and teenagers from all social backgrounds, irrespective of their gender, social status, ethnic origin or sporting skills. The programmes are offered free of charge and actively contribute to integrating children and young people, especially those who have experienced migration. Sport is used as a way to promote health and an active lifestyle and also prevent addiction while working towards set objectives.

Project content

Fondation IdéeSport promotes healthy lifestyles for children and teenagers through its three programmes, offering places to socialise and weekend activities at community sports facilities. The foundation’s projects are aimed at all ages, with MidnightSports and EverFresh programmes for teenagers, OpenSunday for primary-age children and MiniMove for young children accompanied by their parents.

Partners

Score for Education Phase 2

Location and general information

Closed
Location Albania
Start date 01/01/2023
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €201,141
Foundation funding €129,931
Project identifier 20220339
Partners Save the Children
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Many schools in Albania are not able to implement the official physical education curriculum due to a lack of facilities and materials. Only 8% of girls and 22% of boys aged 15 are involved in daily physical activities. Gender norms prevent girls from participating in sport. Furthermore, bullying, harassment and abuse are outstanding challenges. Together with the foundation, Save the Children is tackling these issues by scaling up the Score for Education project.

Project goals

The overall goal is for schools and communities to promote healthy lifestyles and holistic development through sports activities, leaving no child behind. The approaches to achieving this goal include:

    1. Providing quality sports facilities and activities for the children of five schools
    2. Encouraging teachers to use sport to promote respect, equality and inclusion
    3. Supporting children, parents and communities to show increased awareness of inclusion, social acceptance and equality

Project content

Score for Education phase 2 contributes to better school environments, in this way promoting healthy lifestyles and allowing children to achieve their full potential. While continuing its activities in the three urban schools supported in phase 1, the project will be extended to two rural schools. This second phase integrates the lessons learned from previous projects, such as introducing activities that tackle bullying. It will also add other sports (e.g. volleyball) based on feedback received from girls. In total, 1,104 children will be reached directly. Activities will include:

  • Establishing and supporting mini sports clubs for girls and boys offering a variety of sports activities
  • Organising a football championship
  • Renovating and improving the sports facilities at two rural schools
  • Building the capacity of PE teachers with regard to techniques to nurture life skills through sport

Workshops with parents and children on the benefits of sport for a healthy lifestyle.

Partner

Football for Gender Equality India

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location India
Start date 01/01/2022
End date Ongoing
Cost of the project €100000
Foundation funding €30000
Project identifier 20210418
Partners Asian Football Confederation and All India Football Federation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Girls in India face a number of significant challenges including discrimination, exclusion and inequalities in education, health care and access to sport. According to UNICEF over 20% of girls aged 15-19 experience physical violence. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues for girls. Sport is a powerful vehicle to promote inclusion and meaningful participation from both genders. There is, however, limited knowledge among instructors around gender equality and safeguarding practices.

Project goals

  • Promote girls’ participation in football to alter stereotypes and social roles
  • Provide education, motivating the children to continue to study
  • Protect the children’s rights and integrate them into society
  • Empower young people from disadvantaged communities to use football as a tool for progress

Project content

As future community leaders, children and youth are critical to building stronger healthier communities and nations. This program aims to change the attitudes and perceptions among over 10,000 children and young people in India to ensure gender equality and reduce violence against girls. Along with the direct beneficiaries our programmes have shown that these children become advocates and leaders in their families and communities, promoting broader social change. This program will also deliver training and coaching to over 1,000 youth instructors and develop enduring support structures to ensure that football is accessible and safely delivered now and for generations to come.

Partners

Action and Fun!

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Minsk and Mogilev regions, Belarus
Start date 06/01/2022
End date 04/30/2023
Cost of the project €169,050,00
Foundation funding €152,000,00
Project identifier 20210627
Partners Caritas Oberösterreich
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

In addition to the difficult political situation, people in Belarus are severely affected by economic hardships and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to official data and research by UNICEF Belarus, about 30,000 children live in out-of-home care, 30% of whom in state-run boarding houses, mainly for reasons of disability (46 %). State-run institutions lack the funds to make their premises accessible, invest in the surroundings or provide occupational training. Two-thirds of families with three or more children live below the poverty line, most in rural areas. More than one million people live in areas still affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe.

Project content

The aim is to improve the psychosocial well-being of vulnerable children in Belarus by means of inclusive activities (contribution to SDG 3: improved well-being; UNCRC: right to play and exercise; UNCRPD: right to inclusion).

Partly, activities will take place in the Caritas Centre St Lucas in Borovlyany (near Minsk), a centre for children suffering from cancer and their caregivers, children’s holiday recreational activities, activities for children with disabilities and others living in the surrounding area. Other activities will be held in state-run schools, boarding houses, foster families and in parishes in the Minsk and Mogilev regions.

Objectives

Objective 1: 420 youngsters: (children suffering from cancer, children of all abilities and children of vulnerable families staying in the Caritas Centre St Lucas) can use a new, inclusive playground

Objective 2: 8,200 vulnerable children are encouraged to get more exercise during Caritas action days (Action and Fun Bus) and enjoy a more inclusive environment in state institutions

Objective 3: 40 teachers and caregivers learn how to add exercise to the everyday lives of children of all abilities

Project activities

Activity Cluster 1: Build the inclusive playground; organise special activities for children living in the surrounding area during weekends and holidays

Activity Cluster 2.1: Purchase the bus and inclusive equipment; organise ‘activity days’ in parishes and state-run boarding houses; train volunteers

Activity Cluster 2.2: Launch a call for tender for inclusive micro-projects for schools

Activity Cluster 3: Organise two train-the-trainer sessions about the programme, to develop and distribute a manual

Expected results

Result 1: An inclusive playground in the Caritas-Centre St Lucas near Minsk will be used by 420 children living with cancer and other vulnerable children

Result 2.1: 3,200 vulnerable children will be encouraged to play and to get exercise during activity days

Result 2.2: State-run institutions will provide a more inclusive environment through a micro-project tender

Result 3: 40 teachers or school staff are taught how to run the programme in their everyday work and share their knowledge with parents and colleagues

Partner

Football for Everyone

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Chile; Puerto Williams, Visviri and Easter Island
Start date 05/01/2022
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project €19,133
Foundation funding €19,133
Project identifier 20211182
Partners Fundación Ganamos Todos
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Ganamos Todos is an organisation that was born in 2011, which seeks to intervene in communities through the practice of physical activity. In 8 years, they impacted almost 200,000 young people in more than 200 communities in the country. They work to reach all of Chile.

Convinced that sport unites, breaks down barriers and improves opportunities for children and young people, Ganamos Todos develop key skills for better social integration for boys and girls in isolated regions of Chile: Visviri (in the Andes), Easter Island (in the Pacific), Puerto Williams (last city before Antarctica).

Project content

This project involves travelling to Visviri, Easter Island and Puerto Williams to give 50 boys and 50 girls new adidas football boots and donate 100 adidas balls to each location. The team coordinated with the municipal sports entity of each of these locations in advance to ensure the shoes were the correct sizes. We will be accompanied by a former football player who participated in the men’s or women’s FIFA World Cup or played for a European league team. Their presence will motivate the community. This person will deliver a talk to the community, highlighting the positive values, they have learned thanks to football, and how they contribute to building a better society. Then, with all the boys and girls present, we will celebrate a football festival during the day, so that the children can use their gifts, and football is celebrated as an opportunity for growth.

 

Objectives

We intend to bring football closer to communities that, for geographical reasons, are isolated. It is not easy to obtain the basic minimal equipment to play football when you live in the Andes mountains, on an island in the Pacific Ocean or at the end of the world. We hope that receiving quality equipment and meeting a football icon, will result in a passion for football among these boys and girls.

Project activities

Gifts

We get in touch with each municipality, to present the project to the local sports authorities. They then give us the shoe sizes of the children who are to receive football boots.

With this information, we will buy the 300 pairs of shoes and the 300 footballs from adidas.

We put the gifts into boxes, to ship them to the different locations.

Icon

We use our strong network in the Chilean football world to decide which former player can generate the greatest reaction from the community. It might be best to take different former players to each location. Ultimately what is important is the bond that the player can create with the children in the various locations.

Before we travel, we get together with the icon, in order to hear the positive values that they have learned from football and how they apply them to everyday life. This information will be used to create a PowerPoint presentation that will be used during the visits.

Two members of Fundación Ganamos Todos and the football icon will travel to the community.

Festival

With the help of the local authorities, we organise a football festival so the children can enjoy the gifts that they have received straight away. The focus will be on participation and the happiness and opportunities created by practising football.

Expected results

Bring football and joy to isolated communities with a large indigenous population.

Partner

Health 360: football for a protected community

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Lusaka, Zambia
Start date 01/31/2022
End date 07/31/2023
Cost of the project €136,300
Foundation funding €63,300
Project identifier 20210991
Partners Red Deporte, City of Hope
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Red Deporte has been working in Zambia since 1999, in schools and sports spaces, as they are the meeting points for children and teenagers. Health 360 makes use of the popularity of football as a platform to promote health among the most vulnerable population in Zambia, one of the countries with the worst health and inequality indices in Africa. For example, the HIV/AIDS infection rate among women is 16%, double that among men (UNAIDS, 2019). The target group for this project is children and teenagers, with a special focus on empowering young women. The project also promotes support actions in Spain, such as recruiting health volunteers and educators, and generating support for sustainability among football entities.

Project content

Health 360 aims to open a community sports centre that promotes and coordinates the football for health programme among 16 community schools in Lusaka and Mansa. Health promotion is viewed in three dimensions, each with its corresponding curriculum:

  1. Basic hygiene and prevention of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and malaria
  2. Prevention of abuse of substances such as alcohol and drugs
  3. Life skills: raise awareness of the importance of good health for school success and future working life

Objectives

Overall goal: Guarantee the right to health of children and young teenagers in vulnerable situations

Specific objective: Create a football programme to promote community health that empowers, provides healthcare, reduces the risk of disease and prevents harmful habits in 4,500 children and young people.

Project activities

  • Construction of the sports centre
  • In Zambia, training of monitors and trainers; in Spain, recruiting and training volunteer health personnel to work in Zambia
  • Weekly programme of sport and educational activities and regular festivals; coordination with 16 educational centres in the network.
  • Healthcare in community health centres and medical check-ups in schools
  • Dissemination of results of football for development among public-private entities

Expected results

  • Strengthened self-efficacy against infectious diseases such as COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and malaria, basic hygiene and prevention of substance abuse
  • Consolidated network of 30 educator-coaches and 24 school teachers who work in educational and youth centres in Lusaka and Mansa with football as a health promotion tool
  • Increased coordination, participation, content and organisation of the football programme for community health in the 16 educational centres
  • Improved health care for 800 children and young people in four community health centres

Partner

Sport dans la Ville lays the foundation for its summer camp and training centre in southern France

Sport dans la Ville lays the foundation for its summer camp and training centre in southern France

One in every four children never has a summer holiday. In 2020, the health crisis highlighted the difficulties encountered by youngsters living in at-risk neighbourhoods. If they never go away for a holiday, they are deprived of the opportunity to recharge their batteries, discover something new, commune with nature, meet new people and change their perspectives on life. These moments can give them the joie de vivre they need for proper personal and educational development. This was the impetus behind the Sport dans la Ville plan to build a summer camp and training centre to host 7,000 children in Le Poët Laval (Drôme). In November, the UEFA Foundation for Children decided to provide funding for some of the association’s projects.

Accompanied by its project partners, Sport dans la Ville laid the first symbolic stone for the centre this summer. Under a 30-year agreement with the site’s owners, Sport dans la Ville has undertaken to completely renovate the location, ready to open its doors to its young guests in June 2022.

“It was such a pleasure to start laying the foundations of our new summer camp and training centre. It will be a place where thousands of youngsters will be able to enjoy life, find fulfilment and feel transformed,” said Philippe Oddou, the co-founder and general director of Sport dans la Ville.

During the ceremony, the Sport dans la Ville youngsters planted an olive tree in the 27-hectare park. “It’s crazy to think we’re going to come to his incredible place for our holidays,” said Idriss, a young association member.

This exceptional centre will enable the young visitors to discover nature and learn about healthy eating thanks to the permaculture garden, while receiving guidance for their future training and careers in the hospitality industry.

A study is currently under way into various activities to encourage young people to adopt better eating, exercise and environmental habits.

Sport dans la Ville

Established in 1998, Sport dans la Ville is France’s leading non-profit association promoting professional integration through sport.

It sets up and supervises sports facilities and runs social and occupational integration programmes for 7,000 young people living in at-risk neighbourhoods.

Its programmes include:

  • L dans la Ville, which promotes the emancipation and occupational integration of 1,770 teenage girls.
  • Job dans la Ville, which helps 1,640 young people aged 15 and over to enter professional life. Entrepreneurs dans la Ville, which has supported 245 start-ups since 2007.

UEFA and Real Madrid foundations support disadvantaged children across Europe

UEFA and Real Madrid foundations support disadvantaged children across Europe

The UEFA Foundation for Children and Real Madrid Foundation are using sport as an educational tool to support disadvantaged children in Europe

Having access to sport is vital for any youngster. Aside from the obvious physical benefits, sport teaches children important life skills and values, such as teamwork, respect and motivation. However, for different reasons, not all children have the opportunity to train with qualified coaches.

With this in mind, the UEFA Foundation for Children has teamed up with the Real Madrid Foundation to give children the opportunity to engage in sporting, educational and social activities crucial to their development.

Activities involving the two foundations are helping children in Italy, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom, while 14 schools in Madrid are also part of the programme. Funding from the UEFA Foundation for Children will give 600 children greater access to education through sport.

The programme gives the youngsters the opportunity to participate in weekly sessions and tournaments where they are able to interact with other children who are following the same educational curriculum, devised by the Real Madrid Foundation. It also has the added benefit of training coaches, who will pass on the valuable knowledge they have learned from working with the Real Madrid Foundation, thereby allowing even more children to benefit from the initiative.

Football is a powerful tool

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin chairs the board of trustees of the UEFA Foundation for Children and hails the work undertaken since 2015, and how football is proving to be a major force for social good.

“Having had the opportunity to be personally involved in various projects, I have seen that football is an extremely powerful tool,” said the UEFA president.

“Whether it is in refugee camps across the world, the troubled suburbs of European cities or forgotten conflict zones, all the activities supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children have strengthened my desire to see European football assume its role in the social development of young people all over the world.”

“I would also like to pay tribute in this regard to Real Madrid, who, through the Real Madrid Foundation, have been working tirelessly to improve the lives of children so they can dream of a better future.”

We all played football on the street, at least those from my generation. We played with a bag of potatoes, making it more or less into a ball shape with some string. This remains the same: in any shanty town you can play football. The idea was to get closer to these kids (who are the fundamental group of beneficiaries although there are others, such as the ill or recluses) and use football as an educative tool to transmit values.

The footballing world, in general, is generous - as it is generally in the sport’s world. There’s global sensitivity towards those who need it the most. Perhaps it’s because we started earlier, or because we have found the ideal model to show our solidarity, we are particularly useful for the communities where we work. But all the footballing world, each on their own step, stands out for their willingness to help.

- Emilio Butragueño, director of Institutional Relations at Real Madrid CF

Real Madrid - Formación Reino Unido
Real Madrid - Social sports school in Guimaraes- educative activity
Real Madrid - social sports school in Milano

Project partner

The Real Madrid Foundation is the instrument by which Real Madrid is present in society and develops its social and cultural awareness programmes.

Its main objective is to promote, both in Spain as well as abroad, the values inherent in sport, and the latter’s role as an educational tool capable of contributing to the comprehensive development of the personality of those who practice it. In addition, as a means of social integration of those who find themselves suffering from any form of marginalisation, as well as to promote and disseminate all the cultural aspects linked to sport.

Football provides new prospects for Estonian children

For the second year in a row, the NGO SPIN has received a UEFA Foundation for Children Award on a recommendation from the Estonian Football Association.

During a trip to Tallinn, we received a warm welcome from the CEO of SPIN, Keit Fomotškin. “It means a lot to us to receive a UEFA Foundation for Children Award,” he said. “Recognition from outside Estonia is very important for our team of coaches who work with the kids every day. The award will enable us to expand our programme and involve more participants.”

The youngsters who attend the SPIN-programme come from difficult social backgrounds and have been identified in collaboration with social workers, local authorities and schools.

SPIN believes in the potential of every child to become a good citizen. By playing football in a safe and motivating environment, youngsters learn the positive values of team sport that can be replicated in everyday life. The programme aims to combat youth criminality, lower school dropout rates and increase the number of young people in skilled labour, while providing them with alternative ways to spend their time.

Three times a week, the children meet for a 90-minute training session under the guidance of professional football coaches and assistant coaches. These sessions focus on sports and different skills needed in life and are intended to give them a better knowledge of social values and develop their social behaviour in parallel to their performance in sport. They also develop social skills, such as effective communication, conflict resolution and setting personal goals.

Assistant coach Laura Karpova usually trains the girls. “Women’s football is not very popular in Estonia,” she said. “The SPIN-programme is flexible and we also focus on other activities to reach our goals with girls. For example, they like drawing.”

Angelina (17) and Inna (15) are two active programme participants, both of whom love football and like getting together with their teammates. Angelina in particular really likes the team spirit in the programme. Sometimes she gets to be captain. She likes playing tournaments and is motivated to win.

The children’s development is assessed by measuring their rate of participation and discipline in the activities, as surveyed by the coaches, as well as their grades and behaviour at school.

After the first year, the programme’s impact speaks for itself:

  • 8% improvement in their school results
  • 6% improvement in their behaviour at school
  • 19% improvement in activity, participation and discipline
  • 18% decrease in readiness to engage in risk behaviour
  • 12% improvement in self-control
  • 95% of the participants rate the programme as either good or excellent

 

Thanks to the foundation’s support, the programme was launched in Tartu. Furthermore, it has helped make reaching target group children more effective. The funding also covers equipment and materials and the summer camp in 2018.

SPIN currently involves over 250 active participants aged 10 to 18 – 83% boys and 17% girls. The programme partners 45 different schools in the Estonian municipalities of Tallinn, Tartu, Rakvere, Kohtla-Järve and Narva.

DAYSI’S STORY

Sport is one of the things that Daysi loves.

Two years ago, a 13-year-old girl named Daysi joined the School of Integration, Sports Training, Artistic Expression and Professional Development (EIFODEC) in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

At that time, she had basic motor skills and did not have the opportunity to do sport and develop her physical abilities. Since attending the EIFODEC, Daysi has improved her motor skills and has gained confidence through playing team sports such as football, which is her favourite. Football has had a significant impact on the development of Daysi’s self-esteem, personal safety, cooperation and teamwork.

At the age of five, Daysi was rescued from her home because she was exposed to constant sexual abuse by her stepfather and was neglected by her biological mother. Since then she has been living in a foster home with a system of surrogate families. She has found support and love from her foster mother and younger siblings.

Daysi says: “I like to play football because I can run and laugh with my friends. I play well, I have fun and I exercise a lot.”

Daysi is beneficiary of the programme Light for the World.

Eagles book their place at the 2018 IBSA Blind Football World Championships

The members of the Solidarité Aveugle (Blind Solidarity) project have been rewarded for their perseverance. The Eagles will fly to Spain to represent Mali at the 2018 IBSA Blind Football World Championships.

Visually impaired footballers from all parts of Africa donned their blindfolds and battled it out at the recently held IBSA Blind Football African Championships. Among them were the Eagles of Mali, all members of the Solidarité Aveugle (Blind Solidarity) project run by the French Libre Vue association, who set the tone with a 12-0 victory over Cape Verde in their opening match. “We went with the aim of bringing the cup home and qualifying for the 2018 World Championships,” said Mali forward Bandiougou Traoré.

Efforts rewarded

Qualifying is one thing, but the opportunity to play is another. The Mali team’s participation in the second edition of the IBSA Blind Football African Championships in Cape Verde was no foregone conclusion. And Mali is not alone. Sending a team to an event like this is expensive and, without the support of the relevant authorities, often more than small associations can afford. Financial difficulties prevented Ivory Coast from taking part, for example. Fortunately, however, thanks to the efforts of the Libre Vue association, it was a different story for the Eagles. Having already secured funding from the UEFA Foundation for Children, Libre Vue also set up a successful crowdfunding campaign to fund their participation.

Blind football, an effective tool for social integration

The battle was not in vain, as the Mali team’s determined approach saw them finish in an impressive second place and thus qualify for the IBSA Blind Football World Championships to be played in Madrid from 5 to 18 June 2018.

The Blind Solidarity project gives visually impaired youngsters from Bamako an opportunity to discover blind football and its values, and to increase their self-confidence. A total of 150 young people aged between 7 and 25 participate in the project, which runs five training sessions each week. For Bandiougou Traoré, who has been playing blind football for five years, playing in such a competition is a dream come true. “It’s an honour, it’s something I’m really proud of!” he says. As well as requiring commitment, endurance and concentration, blind football helps to send out a strong message of integration and social cohesion by changing perceptions of disabled people. When they represent their country, blind footballers are not defined by their disability: they are players and nothing else.

Access cards help to promote integration and respect in Cañada Real

(Part 3)

The boys and girls of Cañada Real  recently been given access cards for the local sports facilities as part of Red Deporte’s sports programme in the area. This initiative has three main objectives. The first and most important is to encourage the children to identify with those facilities and that sports programme, which aims to improve social and educational integration through sporting activities.

The second objective is to improve the organisation of sports activities, avoiding situations where children of very different ages are playing in the same team. During one particular match at a recent football tournament organised by Red Deporte for 13 and 14-year-olds, a significantly older player took to the field late in the game, having a decisive impact on a hitherto evenly balanced match. At that age, two years can make a big difference in terms of height and weight, so teams with an older player in their ranks will find it much easier to score goals or keep a clean sheet. For this reason, the children’s access cards indicate their age category, keeping different age groups apart for both tournaments and training alike.

Last but not least, the third objective is to promote respect for the rules of those sports facilities and the sports programme in general. When children are given their access cards, they are also given a set of basic rules, which they are expected to abide by and promote. In the event of serious or repeated infringements of those rules, access cards can be withdrawn, temporarily limiting those children’s use of the facilities. On the back of the card is a reminder of the most basic requirement – the obligation to respect other people, the facilities themselves and the community of Cañada. The card also indicates basic rights enjoyed by its holder – the right to have fun playing football and the right to access better education through sport. The access card was introduced for the first time in Cañada

Red Deporte’s sports programme in Cañada is supported by streetfootballworld and the UEFA Foundation for Children.