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Dreams made possible for Lyon children at UEFA Europa League final

FedEx Express donates its player escort allocation to French charity Sport dans la Ville

The UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx Express – a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation and the world’s largest express transportation company – are offering local children a dream opportunity at the UEFA Europa League final in Lyon on 16 May 2018.

Children chosen by Sport dans la Ville, a local non-profit organisation, will lead the two teams – Olympique de Marseille and Club Atlético de Madrid – out onto the pitch at the Stade de Lyon, where, for a brief moment, they themselves will be the stars of the UEFA Europa League final. FedEx Express’s UEFA Europa League ambassador, Ruud Gullit, delivered the exciting news to those 22 children during a recent behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium.

As the main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, FedEx Express works closely with the UEFA Foundation for Children on initiatives that use football as a platform to connect people to new possibilities. This will be the third time that a charity based in the city hosting the UEFA Europa League final has been asked to nominate children to be player escorts at this prestigious match. This initiative complements the FedEx Cares programme, which embodies the company’s broader commitment to investing in communities where its team members live and work around the world.

“Many children in the care of charities face very challenging life circumstances. For them, to step out onto the field at the UEFA Europa League final is an once-in-a-lifetime experience, and you can see the joy on their faces,” said Jérôme Ovion, vice-president operations, hubs and transport at FedEx Express in France.

“The news that the children would be escorting their footballing heroes out onto the pitch at the UEFA Europa League final was completely unexpected – something that many will not even have dreamt of,” said Hélène Blondel-Ehni, director of partnerships at Sport dans la Ville.

“For the third year in a row, FedEx Express and the UEFA Foundation for Children are giving children in the city hosting the UEFA Europa League final an opportunity to shine,” said Pascal Torres, secretary general of the UEFA Foundation for Children.

In addition to this player escort initiative, the UEFA Foundation for Children is also giving away 100 match tickets to other partner organisations, allowing even more children to attend the final and enjoy the experience of a lifetime.

For more information about the FedEx Cares programme, click here.

To see a video about this year’s player escort programme, click here.

For high-resolution videos and images relating to this media release, visit the newsroom.

You can also follow the UEFA Foundation for Children on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Field in a Box opens up new possibilities for young people in Philippi, Cape Town

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), and the UEFA Foundation for Children celebrated the opening of the latest Field in a Box in the Philippi township of Cape Town on Saturday 14 April 2018.

As the main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, FedEx delivers its Field in a Box programme in collaboration with the UEFA Foundation for Children and global non-profit organisation streetfootballworld. The programme delivers easy-to-install, artificial-turf sports fields, each aiming to use football as a platform to empower children and young adults.

“Our intention by building these fields is to provide an environment that is inclusive and accessible to everyone in the community. We hope that they will provide a foundation for personal and sometimes longer-term socio-economic development,” says Mike Higley, FedEx Express vice-president for sub-Saharan Africa.

“Living and playing together is a commitment to the future and sustainable development of South Africa. We are pleased to join forces with FedEx Express and streetfootballworld to allow the boys and girls of this community to become the responsible citizens of tomorrow,” says Pascal Torres, general secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children.

“By introducing the ‘football for good’ movement to Philippi, we’re offering young people an opportunity to learn the benefits of teamwork and respect in an environment where positive dialogue is really encouraged,” says Vladimir Borkovic, director of streetfootballworld.

Oasis, a non-profit organisation founded in Cape Town in 2000, will oversee the programme of activities at the field and ensure its sustainable use in the community. “The Field in a Box will be a great support for the youth of Philippi. We hope this initiative will uplift the community and be enjoyed by all,” says Clifford Martinus, founder of Oasis.

Together with FedEx Express, Oasis hosted a formal inauguration of the field attended by, among others, Albert Fritz, Western Cape provincial minister for social development, and Anroux Marais, provincial minister for cultural affairs and sport. Former South Africa captain, Lucas Radebe joined in the celebrations, to the delight of local children.

This is the third Field in a Box to be built by FedEx in collaboration with the UEFA Foundation for Children and the first of three fields that FedEx has committed to build outside Europe under its community investment platform FedEx Cares.

UEFA Foundation for Children and Swiss Football Association pledge support for PluSport

The UEFA Foundation for Children will be supporting the Goal Plus – Play Football project run by PluSport, the Swiss disability sport association, for another year, while the Swiss Football Association has signed an agreement with PluSport to form a partnership in the area of disability football.

Football is the world’s most popular sport and, thanks to these two partnerships, access to sport, and to football in particular, will be made easier for everyone, regardless of any disability. Play Football promotes the integration of disabled children and teenagers into society and sport by creating football groups that train together regularly and organising tournaments at which teams can compete against each other.

“The fact that the foundation is supporting our project for another year is great news for us and shows the increasing value attached to our tournaments,” explains René Will, PluSport director.

By supporting the project, the UEFA Foundation for Children wants to enable children and teenagers to play football, improve their heath, receive coaching and enjoy sport. Pascal Torres, the foundation’s general secretary, agrees: “We are proud to support disability football. This sport gives people pleasure, enables them to meet others and facilitates their social integration.”

The Swiss FA and PluSport are aiming to establish a long-term partnership. Disability football needs to become a fully established part of the Swiss sports landscape. Both organisations are keen to make use of synergies, promote football for all and share their experiences.

Read the project file.

For high-resolution videos and images relating to this press release, please visit the newsroom.

Nissan partner to tackle youth employability challenges in France and the UK

PARIS, France & LONDON, England (15th February 2018) – Today Nissan is joining UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld to support grassroots organisations Sport dans la Ville in France and Street League in the United Kingdom.

Part of its mission to create a “cleaner, safer, fairer” world, Nissan is addressing the issue of the roughly 7 million young people (15-24) in Europe that are Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEETs).

In the beginning of February 2018, the two-year partnerships in France and the UK are aligned with activities run by the Nissan Skills Foundation in the UK, which seek to encourage the next generation of talent in design, engineering and manufacturing sectors.

Stuart Jackson, VP Brand & Communications for Nissan Europe said: “At Nissan we believe in creating a cleaner, safer, fairer society through the power of our people and our products. As an official UEFA Champions League partner, we are now looking to harness the power of football to create a fairer society and brighten the futures of young people across Europe.”

Chairman of the UEFA Foundation for Children and UEFA president, Aleksander Čeferin, said: “Improving the employment prospects of underprivileged young people in Europe is a huge challenge for us as a society. We welcome this new partnership with official UEFA Champions League sponsor Nissan Europe, who recognises its responsibility in society and lives up to this by investing in the communities they operate in to increase youth employability.”

“Football has a proven ability to bring people together and change lives,” commented streetfootballworld Partnership Director, Johannes Axster. “We’re grateful that Nissan recognises the potential for football-based social development programmes to empower young people in disadvantaged communities, while also providing Nissan employees with the opportunity to get engaged in meaningful activities in France and the UK.”

UK organisation Street League’s vision is to see an end to youth unemployment. Nissan will support “Academy” programmes in the London and Tees Valley areas, which work with 20 young people at any one time over a 10-week period. In 2017 alone, Street League lifted 1,731 young people into employment, education or training. “Street League are delighted to be working in partnership with Nissan to help even more young people find a positive future using the power of sport,” said Matt Stevenson-Dodd, Chief Executive Street League. “Our Academies do this by offering a mixture of employability sessions, sporting activities and life skills development.”

Sport dans la Ville is France’s leading non-profit association, serving disadvantaged boys and girls aged 6-25 by offering sports and job-readiness training. Through its “Job dans la Ville” programme, the organisation provides individual careers support, mentoring, work experience, and skill-building workshops. In 2017, a total of 1054 youths participated in the Job dans la Ville programme across France, with 73% of participants subsequently attaining a job or position on an education programme. “Thanks to our partnership with Nissan and the UEFA Foundation for Children, we will be able to amplify our actions in the Paris area to help even more youth in their social and professional integration,” said Elise Curioni, Directrice Partenariats Ile-de-France, Sport dans la Ville

ABOUT NISSAN IN SPORT

The UEFA Champions League partnership is another example of Nissan’s dedication and growth in global sports, which includes: major international cricket events, such as the ICC Men’s and Women’s World Cups, the Canadian Football League, the Heisman Trust and Heisman Trophy, and the City Football Group, which includes the Manchester City, Melbourne City and New York City clubs. Nissan’s NCAA partnership in the US also marks the widest-reaching sponsorship in the history of collegiate sports – backing 100 colleges and universities, as well as select NCAA Championships – covering 22 sports. In addition, Nissan has a number of sporting ambassadors, including footballers Gareth Bale and Sergio Agüero.

ABOUT STREETFOOTBALLWORLD

streetfootballworld is the world’s leading non-profit in the field of football for good. Football has a unique power to change the world for good. streetfootballworld´s goal is to unleash this power.

The organisation bridges the gap between community organisations that use football to change lives, with supporters and donors from the world of football, business, politics and philanthropy, who believe in their potential to change the world. streetfootballworld´s global network unites 126 community organisations in 81 countries empowering 2,5 million disadvantaged young people every year. Its impact has been recognised with a variety of awards from the likes of Laureus, UEFA and the World Economic Forum.

ABOUT SPORT DANS LA VILLE (FRANCE)

Sport dans la Ville is France’s leading non-profit association serving disadvantaged boys and girls, ages 6-25, through sports and job-readiness training. Founded in 1998, it operates in the most deprived urban neighbourhoods and has touched the lives of countless underprivileged youth across France. Through free football programmes they impart the values of teamwork, self-confidence and determination, leading young people toward brighter futures. The professional skills training and job placement programme is moving youth from unemployment to opportunity.

ABOUT STREET LEAGUE (UK)

Street League’s vision is to see an end to youth unemployment in the UK. The organisation does this using the power of sport to transform the lives of young unemployed people. Street League works with those aged 16-24 who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) and have been out of work for 3 months or more. Through their award-winning Academies and the power of sport, young unemployed people gain the skills, experience and confidence to secure sustained employment. Street League operates in 14 cities and 38 local communities across England and Scotland. Since the programme began six years ago, Street League has helped lift 5,526 young people into employment, education or training.

Match For Solidarity tickets go on sale

Legendary players signing up for joint UEFA-UN charity football match in Geneva

UEFA and the United Nations Office in Geneva have announced that tickets for the Match For Solidarity went on sale today, as football legends continued to sign up to play in the joint UEFA-United Nations charity game.

The match takes place on Saturday 21 April 2018 at 16.00CET at the Stade de Genève, with pre-match activities involving local and international children starting around an hour before kick-off. Tickets are priced at CHF 10, CHF 17 and CHF 22, and can be purchased at http://www.ticketcorner.ch/.

The two teams will be captained by Luís Figo and Ronaldinho, and will have Carlo Ancelotti and Didier Deschamps as the coaches. The match will be refereed by Pierluigi Collina.

Other players who have signed up to play include: Éric Abidal, Cafu, Youri Djorkaeff, Alex Frei, Luis García, Nuno Gomes, Christian Karembeu, Fernando Hierro, Jari Litmanen, Gaizka Mendieta, Robert Pirès, Célia Šašić and David Trezeguet – with more to follow. Further information on the line-ups of the two teams will be announced in the coming weeks.

Speaking at a media conference which took place today at the Palais des Nations in Geneva to launch the ticket sales, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “Football can have a big impact in improving people’s lives, therefore it is great to see so many football stars unite around such a great cause. I strongly believe that our sport can play a key role in social change and this charity match is a great example of football being a force for good. I send my wholehearted support to all those involved in this special event in Geneva, including all the players and fans, and I am looking forward to attending this match.”

Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, added: “This initiative once again highlights the unique synergies we have in Geneva to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals the world needs to reach by 2030. I hope this first Match will become a yearly happening, as a reminder of the work we must continue to do, all together, so no child – no person – is left behind.”

Legendary football star and current UEFA football advisor, Luís Figo, said: “I am very honoured to be part of this very important event, from a local and global point of view. With the ticket sales officially starting today, I invite everyone from the city of Geneva and beyond to come and watch this match and play their part in contributing to such an important cause. It’s great to see so many legends from the world of football joining forces to raise money for the benefit of children in need.”

The match is being organised to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as set out by the United Nations, with a specific focus on reducing inequalities, Goal number 10.

The proceeds from this match, as well as from the charity dinner and a unique digital football auction, will go to the UEFA Foundation for Children. The funds will be used to finance humanitarian and development projects to help children with disabilities both at a local and global level. These projects will be selected by a committee of representatives from UEFA, the United Nations Office in Geneva and the Fondation du Stade de Genève.

New projects funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children

Additional funds allocated to 28 projects in support of vulnerable children around the world.

The UEFA Foundation for Children’s board of trustees, led by its new chairman, Aleksander Čeferin, met at the House of European Football in Nyon on 22 November, when they were invited to approve a host of new projects shortlisted following the 2017 call for projects held in August and September this year.

A great many project applications were received. In order to narrow down the selection, a working group of trustees was established to draw up a shortlist that took into account budgetary forecasts and the foundation’s ethics code. On the basis of this shortlist, the board has approved 28 projects, half of which are in Europe.

The new European programmes supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children use sport, and football in particular, to give the most vulnerable a chance to participate in physical activity, which is vital for their healthy physical and psychological development. They convey a wide range of societal values in a way that is relevant to children. Topics such as well-being, self-esteem, tolerance, inclusion of minorities, conflict resolution, learning to live together, education and employability are addressed alongside active training sessions. Four of the new European projects relate to the social integration of child refugees in host communities.

The 14 projects outside Europe give the UEFA Foundation for Children a presence on all continents. These programmes aim to protect children and young adults who are victims of social, economic, political or armed conflicts. In crisis-hit countries, the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child often fall by the wayside. Through sport and games, a fun, educational approach can be adopted to address social issues such as early marriage, birth control, the importance of school, health, hygiene and well-being.

Nathalie Iannetta, one of the trustees who was part of the working group that shortlisted the projects, said: “All we ever hear about football concerns the big competitions, the transfers and the scandals. At the UEFA Foundation for Children, however, we can see on a daily basis how our sport is a powerful driver of social change. The projects that were sent to us from all over the world are proof that, thanks to football, it is possible to support the social integration of refugees, the empowerment of girls, the faster, more sustainable inclusion of disabled people, and so on. The wide variety of projects that we received is a hallmark of the extraordinary richness and generosity inherent in each of us.”

List of new partners and their projects:

Action for Development, Afghanistan	School for Street Children
Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, Karabakh	Brave Hearts
Baan Dek Foundation, Thailand	Football4Good
Football United, Myanmar	Football United Myanmar
Fotbal Pro Rozvoj, Czech Republic	Football for development in Czech Republic
Foundation of Polish Soccer, Poland	Football Film Festival
Fundación Red Deporte y Cooperacíon, Spain	Football With No Limits
Game International, Kosovo	Game Kosova
Johan Cruyff Foundation, Aruba, Caribbean	Cruyff Courts in the Dutch Caribbean
Kick It Out, United Kingdom	Diversity in Football Leadership Pathway
Light For The World International, Bolivia	Inclusion of children & Youth with disabilities
National Children’s Football Alliance, Belgium	Global Peace Game
Oceania Football Confederation, Oceania	Just Play
Oltalom Sport Association, Hungary	Football for Respect!
Orama Neon Youthorama, Thessaloniki, Greece	A ball for all children, a goal for inclusion
Paris Saint-Germain Foundation, France	Allez les Filles!
PluSport, Switzerland	Goal Plus
Royal Europa 90 Kraainem Football Club, Belgium	We welcome young refugees
Ruud Van Nistelrooy Foundation, Netherlands	Talent group
SALT Academy, Cambodia	Football For Development after-school programme
Soccer in the Streets, Atlanta, United States	Refugee Life Skills and Employment Training Soccer Program Atlanta
Sport dans la Ville, France	Job dans la Ville
Streetfootballworld, Jordan and Lebanon	Empowering refugee and marginalised children
Terre des Hommes, Egypt	Protection and social inclusion
Tiempo de Juego Foundation, Columbia	Creciendo con el Balón/ Fútbol for Growth
Triangle Génération Humanitaire (TGH), Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo	Improving the protection, education and reintegration of street children in Bangui and Brazzaville
UEFA Foundation for Children, Jordane	Football at the Zaatari refugee camp
UNIS VERS le SPORT, Senegal	UVS – Interational Education Centre

Aleksander Čeferin becomes chairman of the UEFA Foundation for Children

Today, the UEFA president, Aleksander Čeferin, was elected as the new chairman of the UEFA Foundation for Children at the board of trustees’ meeting held at the UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work even closer with our foundation, which plays an instrumental role in aiding children living in challenging and difficult conditions around the world,” the UEFA president said.

Aleksander Čeferin takes over from former European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, who chaired the foundation since its creation in 2015.

“I was honoured to be invited by UEFA to be the first chairman of the foundation,” Mr Barroso said. “My wish is for the UEFA Foundation for Children to continue and, if possible, increase the support that is so important for so many underprivileged children around the world.”

Aleksander Čeferin was one of three new members to join the board of trustees, the other two being Kairat Boranbayev, president of the Kazakhstan Premier League and of the National Paralympic Committee of Kazakhstan, and Kevin Lamour, director of UEFA’s president’s and executive office.

“It is a great honour for me, but also a big responsibility,” Kairat Boranbayev said. “Children are the most important thing we have in life. I am very pleased that the main objectives of the foundation are integration and aiding the younger generation in different areas. And they are fulfilled using the most understandable language in the world – the language of football.”

The meeting took the opportunity to thank José Manuel Barroso for all his great work during the past two and a half years as well as Sándor Csányi, president of the Hungarian Football Federation and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, who was stepping down as a member of the foundation’s board of trustees.

For additional information:

Media: Newsroom

You can also follow the foundation on social media

UEFA President Čeferin inaugurates pitch at Jordanian refugee camp

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has helped to officially open a new football pitch at the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, which will give thousands of children the opportunity to play the game they love, with the best facilities possible.

Over 200 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 13 took part in the opening ceremony, and were joined by Mr. Čeferin for a football match on the new playing surface.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to see how something as simple as a football pitch can bring so much joy and happiness. Football has the ability to inspire, unite and also teach children important life skills and values, such as teamwork and respect,” the UEFA president said.

The building of the full-sized artificial pitch was backed by the UEFA Foundation for Children, the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), the Jordanian Football Association, the Norwegian Football Federation and Lay’s, who are also a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League.

Two containers filled with artificial turf, construction materials, maintenance support equipment (including a tractor), and pitch equipment such as goals and corner flags were sent from the Netherlands. The construction of the pitch took two months and was completed in late May.

During his visit to Za’atari, which houses just over 80,000 refugees, Mr. Čeferin visited the ‘House of Sport,’ which was opened in September 2016 by the UEFA Foundation for Children and the AFDP.

“It is genuinely a humbling experience to be able to interact with children from this camp. Despite the situations they find themselves in, they are able still to smile and enjoy life as much as possible,” said Mr. Čeferin. “I am glad that the work carried out by the UEFA Foundation for Children, the Asian Football Development Project, the Norwegian Football Federation and Lays is giving these children opportunities that they otherwise would not have had.”

The centre has become the hub of sporting life in the camp and allows children to play in a safe environment as well as giving them the chance to engage in sport and football in particular with others.

This is the latest in a long line of projects that the UEFA Foundation for Children has undertaken at the Za’atari Refugee Camp, which is located in the north of Jordan, not far from the southern Syrian border.

Since its creation in April 2015, the UEFA Foundation for Children, alongside the AFDP and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has been looking to help refugees who were displaced by the conflict in Syria and especially children and youngsters who were living in the camp.

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who is the President of the Jordanian Football Association, mentioned, “powerful mediums such as sport and education have the ability to plant seeds of hope and potentiality even under the most difficult circumstances.”

“Thanks to my friend Aleksander Čeferin, my colleagues at the UEFA Foundation for Children and Lay’s for supporting the Asian Football Development Project’s projects at the camp and for providing the refugee boys and girls with a healthy, quality space that they can use not only to train, but also to build friendships and learn skills that are beneficial on and off the pitch,” Prince Ali added.

A total of 4,480 children and youngsters, including 3,185 boys and 1,295 girls aged between 8 and 20, regularly take part in weekly sports activities, which are supervised by qualified male and female coaches.

In order to organise sports activities and football tournaments, it is essential to have local teachers who can keep the project going. This is why the UEFA Foundation for Children has embarked on a training programme to give coaches the necessary skills to supervise and lead football activities. Since July 2017, 250 adult refugees, including 163 men and 87 women, have benefited from the coaching education that has been available.

In order to give the young inhabitants as much stimulation as possible, monthly football tournaments are organized in the camp. In total, 30 girls’ teams (U13, U15 and U20) and 60 boys’ teams (U13, U15 and U24) have been created, with an average of 20 players per team.

The UEFA Foundation for Children and the AFDP have tried to offer as much expertise as possible and have run workshops on refereeing and how to recover from injury. These sessions have proved to be a success, with 54 referees qualifying to officiate in matches, 21 of whom are women.

Furthermore, experts have been enlisted to touch on social fields, such as how sport can be used as a tool for social cohesion, while advice has also been given on early marriages and conflict resolution. Almost 60 percent of the camp’s inhabitants are under the age of 24, while a fifth are under five.

Photographs, a video and an infographic can be downloaded from the following links:

Video – https://uefa.box.com/v/Zaatari

Photos – https://library.uefa.com/Go/NFQnyzxC

Infograpic – Za’atari infographic

Our partners

UEFA foundation welcomes continued collaboration with FedEx in support of ‘football for good’ movement

UEFA ambassador Jerzy Dudek to celebrate the inauguration of a second community pitch in Mragowo, Poland

Following the huge success of the first Field in a Box delivered by the UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx to the community of Cañada Real in Madrid in May 2016 and its visible impact on the positive development of young people, FedEx, main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, decided to continue its work with the UEFA foundation to provide similar fields to other communities in need. The global not-for-profit network streetfootballworld helped to identify the location for a second pitch, deciding on the town of Mragowo in northeast Poland on the basis of the potential for positive impact. Local charity Mazurskie Stowarzyszenie Inicjatyw Sportowych (MSIS), a partner of streetfootballworld in Mragowo, will be responsible for maintaining the pitch and ensuring its sustainable use through the employment of an activities coordinator.

The inauguration ceremony took place 31 August followed by a football3 training session with the presence of UEFA ambassador and retired Polish football player Jerzy Dudek, also members of the local community.

“The decision to build this football field in Mrągowo has already elevated the aspirations of people here. The pitch will be greatly beneficial in terms of community development, helping to integrate the people of Mrągowo with their neighbours and the municipality, and encouraging independence. Our aim for this pitch – to become a football3 training facility—means the pitch will not just benefit young people who use it, but also allow the teaching of football3 to spread beyond Mrągowo and have a broader impact in Poland,” said Arkadiusz Kamil Mierkowski, MSIS.

“We are delighted that FedEx approach to social responsibility aligns with the football for good movement. As a global logistics business that is committed to giving back on a local level, FedEx is naturally positioned to expand the ‘Field in a Box™’ program on to other continents. Together we look forward to improving the lives of young people through football, not just in Europe, but in underserved communities globally,” said Pascal Torres, general secretary, UEFA Foundation for Children.

“As Main Sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, FedEx aims to use its involvement in professional football to connect with people on a personal level. In Cañada Real, we saw the positive impact putting a playing field in a community can have. It’s rewarding for FedEx to open a second pitch here in Mrągowo, and feel the same optimism surrounding a project we know can open up new possibilities for people who live here,” said David Binks, president of FedEx Express in Europe and CEO of TNT.

“Football has a proven ability to bring people together and change lives. We’re grateful that organisations like FedEx, who are affiliated with football at a professional level, extend their support to the football for good movement and recognise, not just the need, but the potential for projects like ‘Field in a Box™’ and football3 teaching methodologies to impact young people in communities like Mrągowo,” said streetfootballworld director Vladimir Borkovic.

Football in support of diversity at 2017 UEFA Super Cup

Hearing-impaired children from Skopje to perform a song using sign language

For the third year, the UEFA Foundation for Children will play an active role in the UEFA Super Cup opening ceremony, raising awareness and sending messages of tolerance, solidarity and social inclusion towards our most vulnerable children.

This year’s UEFA Super Cup will be contested by UEFA Champions League titleholders Real Madrid CF and UEFA Europa League champions Manchester United FC in Skopje, FYR Macedonia, on 8 August. Before kick-off, a group of 19 hearing-impaired youngsters from the local state school for education and rehabilitation, DUCOR Partenija Zografski, will perform Coldplay’s A Sky full of Stars in sign language, alongside Falsetto children’s choir. In doing so they will send a powerful message to the world about the importance of integrating children with disabilities in society. European football and the clubs are supporting the cause by sharing this unique stage, thereby promoting diversity and respect.

The youngsters will also have the opportunity to meet players from both teams and share their mutual love of football ahead of the match.

“Participating in an event such as the opening ceremony of the UEFA Super Cup would be a dream come true for any number of children and teenagers, but for these deaf teenagers it is even more than that,” says Viktorija Volak, a teacher at DUCOR Partenija Zografski. “It is an honour. It’s exciting but they also want to perform to the best of their abilities, to thank the UEFA Foundation for Children for giving them this opportunity and to send, in their natural way, a message of equality despite the differences between us all.”

Pascal Torres, general secretary of UEFA Foundation for Children, adds: “Football is a universal language and an inspiring force for integration and positivity. By inviting these hard-of-hearing young people to perform in front of an audience of millions, we’re sending the message that, whoever you are, wherever you come from and whatever problems you face, you have a part to play in the world of football.”

Note:

The UEFA Foundation for Children is preparing to launch a new call for projects in mid-August. Applicants will have one month to submit details of their projects. All the necessary information and the selection criteria will be published on uefafoundation.org. The board of trustees will make and announce its decisions in the final quarter of 2017.

Established in 2015, the UEFA Foundation for Children is a charitable organisation governed by Swiss law. It defends the rights of underprivileged children by using the power of football to improve their lives and to help them develop their potential and find their place in the community. The foundation currently invests in more than 60 projects in 50 countries worldwide. More than 500,000 children have already benefited from the foundation’s work since its creation.

UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx return to Cañada Real

It has been a year since the UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx, the main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, built the first ‘Field in a Box’ in the Cañada Real district of Madrid, one of Spain’s most economically disadvantaged areas. To celebrate the resounding success of this community football pitch, which was donated to Red Deporte y Cooperación, a Madrid-based non-profit organisation, we recently met up with FedEx near the Spanish capital.

The ‘Field in a Box’, is an enclosed, artificial football pitch with metal railings and high-sided goals that was shipped by FedEx in two containers and inaugurated in May 2016. It sits in an area of self-constructed housing, home to immigrants from both Morocco and the Roma community.

Local charity Red Deporte y Cooperación maintains the pitch and ensures its sustainable and coordinated use by employing a youth coach from the local community. Red Deporte’s sports programme in Cañada Real is supported by streetfootballworld and the UEFA Foundation for Children, with the overall aim of using football to drive social change and cohesion within the local communities.

Today, 400 children and young adults are involved in the project. 90% are boys and 10% girls aged 5 to 30 have benefitted directly from the pitch, and nearly 500 football matches have been organised there since the project began.

“The success of the pitch in Cañada Real is an excellent example of the impact football can have on a local community, and shows just how important it is to develop sustainable projects that continue to have an impact after their completion,” said Cyril Pellevat, head of administration at the UEFA Foundation for Children. “Together with FedEx, we have already begun work on a second pitch in Mragowo – a segregated community in north-east Poland – and we look forward to making a real difference there this summer.”

For Carlos de Carcer, responsible at Red Deporte the football field has transformed the landscape of Cañada and created a space of reference where kids can play, have fun, get a better education and meet their friends daily in a safe place. “Before, there was only a piece of bumpy land where kids just played randomly one-two hours per week. Now with regular activities organised by Red Deporte and this new infrastructure, the pitch as awaken a sense about the importance and potential of football at Cañada, creating a sense of community around football, aspiring to better perspective in Cañada.”

Winners of 2017 UEFA Foundation for Children Awards announced

Awards go to 20 organisations recommended by UEFA member associations supporting deprived children

On 24 May, the Board of Trustees of the UEFA Foundation for Children met at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm under the stewardship of its chairman, José Manuel Durão Barroso.

The agenda for that meeting included a number of important items of business, such as the approval of new members of the Board of Trustees and the 2017 UEFA Foundation for Children Awards.

New members of the Board of Trustees:

The Board of Trustees is composed of between 5 and 15 natural persons or representatives of legal entities. They are elected by existing members of the Board of Trustees and serve renewable four-year terms of office. At the meeting in Stockholm, four new members were elected by the necessary two-thirds majority of the members of the Board of Trustees, as required by the Organisational Regulations of the UEFA Foundation for Children, joining the five existing members.

The four new members are:

Ms Fiona May, former long jumper and a member of the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee;

Ms Esther Gascón Carbajosa, the new general secretary of the Royal Spanish Football Federation;

Ms Nathalie Iannetta, UEFA’s chief adviser on governmental and social matters;

Mr Elkhan Mammadov, the general secretary of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan and a member of the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee.

2017 UEFA Foundation for Children Awards:

For the 2017 UEFA Foundation for Children Awards, a decision was taken to place Europe’s national associations at the heart of the decision-making process. The associations were asked to nominate projects, which had to satisfy the following eligibility criteria: recipients had to be based in the country of a UEFA member association; they had to respect and comply with the Ethics Code of the UEFA Foundation for Children; they had to be registered with the relevant national authorities; and they had to fulfil all necessary legal and financial obligations.

This initiative was a resounding success, with a total of 23 member associations nominating eligible projects. With three of those associations having already received financial support from the foundation in the past, the Board of Trustees decided to share the €1m prize money equally (€50,000) between the organisations nominated by the 20 remaining associations, which are listed in the table below:

Nominating association Recipient organisation

German Football Association Integration durch Sport und Bildung e.V.

Danish Football Association The Mary Foundation

Football Association of Moldova Concordia

Football Association of the Czech Republic Sportovní

Football Association of Slovenia Youth health and summer resort Debeli Rtic

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Partnership Trust

Estonian Football Association SPIN

Football Association of Finland Icehearts of Finland

Irish Football Association Cancer Fund for Children

Swiss Football Association Just for Smiles

Cyprus Football Association Monadika Xamogela (Unique Smile)

Croatian Football Federation World Roma Organization

Football Federation of Armenia Grant Life

Hellenic Football Federation Mazi gia to Paidi

Hungarian Football Federation Janos Farkas Foundation

Italian Football Federation Crazy For Football

Portuguese Football Federation CAIS – Associação de Solidariedade Social

Romanian Football Federation Policy Center for Roma and Minorities

Russian Football Union Football for Kids

Royal Belgian Football Association Plan Belgique

2017 call for projects:

This year, applicants will be able to submit details of their projects between mid-August and mid‑September 2017, once the selection criteria have been determined.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will take place on 2 October 2017 in Nyon.

A Family celebration in Cardiff

Fun for the whole family at the UEFA Women’s Champions League final

Thursday 1 June is not only the day of the UEFA Women’s Champions League final – it is also the UN Global Day of Parents. To mark this double celebration, the UEFA Foundation for Children will make it an extra special day for youngsters and their families watching the final between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain at the Cardiff City Stadium.

A number of activities involving children and their parents have been planned for this prestigious event. The initiative will be clear for all to see at the opening ceremony, when 15 girls and their parents raise a giant centre circle. The girls will also have the opportunity to meet the players on the eve of the final.

The foundation has also arranged match tickets for over 800 children and parents connected to charitable organisations in Cardiff that form part of the streetfootballworld network. The children will be given a Together #WePlayStrong tifo banner to hold, as well as inflatable bam-bam sticks.

“On the occasion of UEFA’s flagship women’s club competition final, the foundation would like to pay tribute to every child’s most important supporters: their families” said Pascal Torres, general secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children. “Mothers and fathers have an essential role to play in getting their children, and their daughters in particular, to participate in this beautiful game.”

The UEFA Foundation for Children was established in April 2015 to help preserve the magic of football and give hope to those children who need it most.

UEFA Europa League dream for local children

UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx ready to offer an unforgettable experience to disadvantaged children in Stockholm

The UEFA Foundation for Children is delighted to once again team up with FedEx to offer children a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to act as player escorts at the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday 24 May at Friends Arena in Stockholm.

FedEx, the UEFA Europa League’s main partner, has donated its entire allocation of player escort places to disadvantaged children, giving them the chance to walk onto the pitch with their heroes from Manchester United FC and AFC Ajax. In addition, FedEx is donating 100 match tickets to other children through local charities.

The UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx selected the lucky children with the help of streetfootballworld, a global non-profit organisation that uses football to drive social change, a Stockholm-based organisation Djurgarden Fotboll and three local charity organisations: Barn till Ensamma Mammor, Trygga Barnen and Kista Sports Club.

“We’re delighted to offer this opportunity to kids, and to deliver other community football projects with FedEx, who, as the main partner of the UEFA Europa League, shares our belief in football as a powerful tool for social change. In donating its player escort opportunities for the second year in a row, FedEx is once again providing children who face difficult challenges in their daily lives with an experience that’s really out of the ordinary,” said Pascal Torres, general secretary of UEFA Foundation for Children. “We hope the incredible atmosphere at the UEFA Europa League final and the pride of being chosen to escort these professional players onto the pitch will excite and inspire the children to follow their dreams.”

“As main sponsor of the UEFA Europe League, it’s important to us at FedEx that we make best use of our involvement in football to create positive opportunities in the communities we operate in at a local level,” said Patrick Stienlet, vice-president of ground operations for FedEx in the Nordic region. “While sport can’t offer a solution to all of the difficult challenges these children face in their daily lives, we know being part of an event as spectacular as this provides an exciting and inspiring breakaway from the norm.”

“Thanks to organisations like FedEx and their support of the ‘football for good’ movement, we’re able to connect two worlds: the world of professional football, where the glamour of a tournament unfolds on a global stage, and football on a local level, where the beautiful game plays its part in delivering social change,” streetfootballworld’s Vladimir Borkovic said.

Recognising that football has a unique power to transform lives, FedEx and the UEFA Foundation for Children worked together last year to set up an artificial pitch in an underserved community near Madrid, and they will build a second pitch in Poland this summer. Donated pitches are maintained by local charities through the streetfootballworld network, providing a safe environment for young people to play and develop important life skills, such as respect and dialogue.

The UEFA Foundation for Children supports the Swiss disability sport association

Every child has the right to play football

The Goal Plus project of the Swiss disability association, PluSport, was one of those selected for support by the UEFA Foundation for Children following its call for projects in summer 2016. Goal Plus uses football and the passion it creates to give disabled children the opportunity to get active, have fun and develop team spirit – all of which helps their integration. The Goal Plus project consists of two subprojects: Play Football and From Football to Rafroball – one for youngsters who can walk and the other for those who use wheelchairs.

With the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, more children and groups can take part in the project, more teams can be set up, weekly training sessions and regular tournaments can be organised, rafroball can be developed for children who cannot play conventional football and rafroball camps organised, coaches can be trained and specialised support staff rewarded for the part they play.

Pascal Torres, secretary general of the UEFA Foundation for Children, says: “The foundation is proud to support the development of all forms of football, including rafroball and blind football, through which football can fulfil its role as a game that all children can enjoy, regardless of their differences and abilities, giving them an opportunity to interact and play with other children and facilitating their integration.”

Note to editors:

PluSport is the umbrella organisation of all disability sport in Switzerland. For more than 50 years, PluSport has been using football to promote disability sport among its 12,000 amateur members through 90 regional clubs, offering a variety of sporting disciplines and organising about 100 camps. PluSport is the co-founder of Swiss Paralympic and also promotes elite sport.

UEFA Foundation for Children backs 12 new projects

The foundation’s board of trustees promotes sport as a vehicle to support vulnerable children.

The UEFA Foundation for Children’s board of trustees, chaired by the former European Commission president, José Manuel Durão Barroso, met in October at the House of European Football in Nyon.

The main items on the meeting agenda included a review of all current activities and campaigns, and the inaugural 2016 UEFA Foundation for Children awards ceremony took place, highlighting the work of the five charitable bodies chosen to receive the awards for their campaigns seeking to promote peace, integration, greater social harmony, respect for differences and non-discrimination: streetfootballworld, Colombianitos, Just Play, Right to Play and Magic Bus.

The board also approved new projects, following on from a call for projects for 2016/17. The board carefully studied the numerous initiatives submitted, which had to meet the following criteria: conformity with the UEFA Foundation for Children’s statutes; credibility of the bodies in question; presentation of a viable budget, including the participation of local partners; and the sustainability value of the projects.

The UEFA Foundation for Children has earmarked €1 million in financial support for 12 new projects, involving programmes designed to help vulnerable, disadvantaged or disabled children across the world.

The following projects will be added to the UEFA foundation’s portfolio:

An educational project based on team sports, in particular handball, volleyball, football and basketball, run in partnership with a French non-governmental organisation, CIELO (Coopération internationale pour les équilibres locaux), which is active in Benin, Cameroun and Togo;

An initiative aimed at promoting education and life skills in Congo, proposed by Promo Jeune Basket, who have been working with young people in the country for more than ten years. More than 1,000 youngsters have derived benefit from the project;

The “Solidarité aveugle” (“Blind solidarity”) project, run by Libre Vue, destined for 150 young blind girls and boys in Mali, and designed to enable them to play football in an appropriate environment – thereby combatting social exclusion and promoting football for all;

“Goal Plus”, a project supported by PluSport, an organisation which uses football and other ball games to integrate disabled people in Switzerland;

“The Game, The Life”, established by the Swiss NGO IMBEWU, and aimed at supporting disadvantaged children and young people in townships in South Africa in their education and on their life paths, in order to bring about greater equality, tolerance and social cohesion;

A project by the Brincar de Rua organisation, which is based and active in the Leiria region of Portugal. The project offers street-playing experiences in urban areas for children aged between 5 and 12. The children are integrated within groups in their neighbourhood, and take part in sporting activities which are beneficial to their health, development and well-being;

An educational, health and social inclusion programme for children in disadvantaged communities in Israel and Palestine, to be implemented in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Deir Istiya by Inter Campus, an organisation working with numerous local partners;

A programme of education through sport which keeps children occupied and active from when they leave school during the day until the evening – normally a period in the day when they are generally left to their own devices. The programme is run by the Education for Children organisation which is active in Jocotenango, a region of Guatemala marked by extreme poverty, gang crime, drugs and alcohol, as well as by domestic and sexual violence;

“Football for All in Vietnam”, a partnership programme between the Football Association of Norway and the Vietnam Football Federation, which promotes education and cultural values through football for young people – in particular girls, minorities and disabled children;

Football for Life (F4L) Academy, a specialised educational programme, based on playing and designed for the world’s most marginalised children. Since 2014, in the Philippines, F4L has been using football to help disadvantaged children to continue their schooling and escape from intergenerational poverty, and connects marginalised children with prominent local football players to motivate them;

A programme run by Plan Nederland in partnership with Johan Cruyff Foundation, working to reduce early pregnancies and forced marriages among young girls in Nicaragua, using football as a vehicle to make girls more autonomous and reinforce the process of social change. Fathers and boys are being encouraged to actively support the girls;

The “Beyond the Pitches’ Green” project run by the Instituto Fazer Acontecer, a non-governmental organisation based in Brazil which promotes sport’s potential as a powerful tool for social change. This project will enable the training of 300 instructors in Football3 methodology, benefitting more than 900 young people from disadvantaged communities in 15 towns across the country.

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