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

 

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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.

Using the power of football to unite the world

The UEFA Foundation for Children is supporting ELEVEN, a film project developed by the Eleven Campaign, a non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom, which operates in 11 different countries. The campaign’s mission is to create educational audiovisual projects and charitable events that harness the power of sport to celebrate diversity and promote equality and cross-cultural collaboration.

Project summary
ELEVEN is a feature-length documentary about the power of football to unite the world. It follows the stories of 11 eleven-year-old football-loving children from 11 different countries as they come together to form a football team and prepare for the biggest match of their lives.

Over the past three years, the 11 young heroes have been documented in their hometowns, focusing on how their environment, family, culture and passion for football have shaped their character. By observing them in their individual environments, as well as during their joint training sessions, viewers will witness how the universal language of football can break down communication barriers and unite those who are seemingly so different. The finished documentary will be shown at festivals and in schools, universities and sports academies, and combined with interactive activities that promote the use of sport for development and peace.

The countries participating in the project are Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Japan, Rwanda, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, UK and USA.

For further information visit:

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.”

 

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.

Football3 in Cañada

(Part 2)

Football3 is perfectly suited to the reality of life on the ground in Cañada, where much remains to be done in terms of real coexistence between communities. “No way am I playing with the Moros,” is Cristian’s response when he is invited to train with the young Moroccans. “Play with the gypsies? No chance,” says Ayub when asked the same question in reverse.

Red Deporte is convinced that Football3 for Respect will help to break down invisible prejudices and barriers in Cañada. Part of its strategy in this regard will involve establishing a joint team combining both communities and sending them off to play in tournaments outside Cañada. And that team will, in turn, host matches against various teams from elsewhere in the Madrid region and the rest of Spain. Football has the potential to foster social cohesion in this particular area and improve its bad reputation, which is not really justified.

Football challenging intercultural sharing

(Part 1)

From Cañada Real – a shanty town on the outskirts of Madrid.

For Adrian, a 17-year-old Romani who lives in Cañada and is a big fan of Sergio Ramos, and Mohammed, a 16‑year-old Moroccan who dreams of one day seeing Messi play, the recent ‘Moros v Gitanos’ tournament was Cañada Real’s equivalent of Real Madrid CF v FC Barcelona.

Last February, Red Deporte organised a special Under-15 tournament for boys from the two largest communities living in Cañada: Moroccans and Roma – ‘Moros v Gitanos’, as the locals dubbed it. For the hundreds of boys and girls who came to cheer the teams on, the result mattered a lot, with both communities keen to prove their superiority. However, despite the divisions between the two groups, there was mutual respect and a good atmosphere throughout, with all tension relating purely to the football.

Through this tournament, Red Deporte sought to foster mutual respect and friendship, without seeking to eliminate spontaneity – as reflected, for example, in the name that the children gave to the tournament. Indeed, one of Red Deporte’s key objectives is to use football – and sport in general – to break down barriers and prejudices, both inside and outside Cañada.

Both teams conducted themselves impeccably on the pitch – a far cry from the stereotypical behaviour that a large section of our society would expect from ‘gitanos’ and ‘moros’. Although the Moroccans secured a narrow victory on the pitch, everyone was a winner, enjoying a great day’s football and successfully using sport to dignify life in Cañada a little.

Red Deporte’s football programme, which is run under the motto ‘football with no limits’, is also aimed at other immigrant and refugee groups in the Madrid region.

Cañada Real, where those young people live, is just 7km from Madrid – a stone’s throw away. And yet, their infrastructure and environmental conditions are light years away from those seen in the Spanish capital. Meanwhile, the neighbourhood shared by the Moroccan and Roma communities is, in turn, divided by an age‑old invisible wall called ‘mistrust’. Those two communities are both beneficiaries of the sports programme run by Red Deporte and four other social organisations in Cañada, but the Roma and the Moroccans essentially train separately seven days a week.

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.

Bring stars in their eyes

The UEFA Foundation for Children is making a real difference by using football as a force for good in society.

During the second half of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season, the foundation made the dreams of several children come true.

In cooperation with the French association Rêves and Sternschnuppe/Etoile filante and Make a Wish in Switzerland – and with the invaluable support of volunteers from among UEFA’s staff – the following youngsters were given the unique opportunity to realise their dreams and leave behind their difficult everyday lives for a short while.

Patrizio’s dream: to attend an FC Barcelona match, visit their stadium and see his idol Neymar in action.
Patrizio watched FC Barcelona play Juventus during the quarter-final second leg match of this season’s UEFA Champions League, which ended in a goalless draw. However, thanks to their 3-0 first leg victory, Juventus went through to the semi-finals – to the despair of Patrizio.

Yves-Clément’s dream: to attend a Chelsea FC match, meet the team and his hero Eden Hazard.
Yves-Clément watched the English Premier League match between Chelsea and Swansea City AFC on 25 February. He was thrilled to see Chelsea come out 3-1 winners.

More children’s dreams came true during the UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff.

Scott saw Real Madrid CF doing the replicate of last year’s victory against Club Atlético de Madrid by beating Juventus in this year’s final. Kevin and Thomas were also be in the National Stadium of Wales watching the game.
The three youngsters have been invited by the associations Dreams & Wishes, Association pour la Vie and Orchidée. They attended the game with their families to share the joy of this special day.

A group of ten young adults from the French association Sport dans la ville in Lyon were also invited at the match. The young men and women were chosen via an internal tournament and selected on the basis of their good behaviour and regular participation in the association’s projects. They were the happy witnesses Madrid’s quest to lift the 2016/17 Champions League trophy with their very own eyes.

Another 20 children were invited through the association Streetfootballworld, a global charitable network that enables disadvantaged youngsters to participate in football matches, educational workshops and cultural programmes.

Foundation spotlight on parents in Cardiff

Parents will take a prominent part in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final celebrations on Thursday – which is also the UN Global Day of Parents – to mark their role in children participating in football.

The UEFA Women’s Champions League final in Cardiff will celebrate the family – thanks to the UEFA Foundation for Children.

Thursday’s big match at Cardiff City Stadium between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain coincides with the UN Global Day of Parents, and parents will play a prominent role at the game, in tribute to their crucial contribution in getting children to participate in football.

The UEFA foundation – true to its mission to bring smiles to children’s faces and promote the magic of football – has planned activities involving children and parents.

At the opening ceremony ahead of the match, 15 girls and their parents will raise a giant centre-circle banner. On the eve of the final, the girls and families also had the opportunity to meet the players, who serve as important role models in inspiring young girls to take up football.

In partnership with streetfootballworld, the foundation has arranged match tickets for over 800 children and parents connected to charitable organisations in Cardiff that form part of the streetfootballworld network.

With Thursday’s final also heralding the kick-off of UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong campaign aimed at encouraging girls to play football, the children will receive a Together #WePlayStrong tifo banner to hold, as well as inflatable bambam 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.”

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.

 

Field in a Box – Cañada Real

Location and general information

CONTEXT

The UEFA Foundation for Children exists to promote the fundamental rights of children all over the world. Health, education, access to sport and personal development are all areas in which children’s rights can be safeguarded.
By providing infrastructure such as football pitches, the Foundation aims to use football as a powerful tool for social cohesion.

PROJECT CONTENT

The Field in a Box project was launched in Cañada Real. Situated less than 15 minutes from the Spanish capital, Cañada Real is one of the largest shanty towns in Europe, housing a total of 30,000 people in deplorable conditions. Relations between the different communities that live there, especially between Roma and Moroccan immigrants, are often difficult.
Thanks to financial support from FedEx – the world’s largest logistics company and main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League – and coordination by the not-for-profit organisation streetfootballworld, the UEFA Foundation for Children donated a football pitch to the charity Red Deporte y Cooperación. The pitch was built using the Field in a Box system, in which all the components of a football pitch are supplied in two containers. The system provides a safe sports facility comprising an enclosed artificial football pitch, goals, floodlights and changing rooms.

OBJECTIVES

The project’s main objective is to enable young people in Cañada Real, where sports facilities are few and far between, to play sport. By promoting football in Cañada Real, the foundation hopes to curb the exclusion of marginalised communities and foster greater social harmony.

RESULTS

In the space of one year:

  • Participation of 400 children (90% boys and 10% girls) in football
  • Organisation of 500 matches
  • Pitch maintained by youth coaches from the local community

Field in a Box is funded as part of FedEx Cares, a wide-ranging campaign that aims to invest in more than 200 communities in Europe and beyond by 2020. By cooperating with the UEFA Foundation for Children alongside its sponsorship of professional football, FedEx hopes to support initiatives with a positive local impact.

PARTNERS

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.

Goal in Life foundation

Representatives of the UEFA Foundation for Children travelled to Cyprus in April at the invitation of a new foundation founded by active footballers and veteran players whose aim is to use the power of football and its players to assist socially vulnerable groups.

The association, Goal in Life, is the first charity of its kind – a voluntary body comprised exclusively of footballers, established on the initiative of Cyprus and AEK Larnaca FC captain Constantinos Charalambides. He succeeded in rounding up 22 founding members – active footballers and veterans – representing teams from towns and cities across the Mediterranean island.

The legal basis for the foundation has been laid, a board has been set up, and the statutes are already in force. Support has been forthcoming from the Cyprus Football Association, the Cypriot government and businesses on the island.
The official launch ceremony is today (15 May) at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, in presence of the president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, and the minister of education and culture, Costas Kadis.

“Football is the biggest social phenomenon, not only in Cyprus but worldwide,” Constantinos Charalambides says. “Goal in Life uses the power of footballers to shape society on two important pillars: as a charity, collecting funds and resources and giving them to those who need them most, and through volunteering, in order to empower others to promote humanity, mutual assistance and unity, and move away from fanaticism and crime.”

Goal in Life has identified various ways of achieving its objectives. These include providing financial support to vulnerable groups, fundraising for specific causes and initiatives, and visiting schools and hospitals as a form of civic engagement.

Goal in Life membership is open to footballers aged 18 or over, from Cyprus or abroad, who are registered with the Cyprus Football Association, as well as to individuals, companies and organisations interested in providing financial support through annual subscriptions or donations.

Members are encouraged to lead by example, to show that all players – Cypriot or not – are united by a common goal, namely to help society. They are also asked to speak out against violence, drugs, crime and other social ills, and convey other equally important social messages.

“Since players are idols, through their actions they are able to penetrate the different layers of society and actually help people in need,” Goal in Life explains.
Goal in Life and the Cypriot education ministry have agreed to set up a two-year schools programme, to be launched in September. The association will cover the cost of teachers staying on after working hours to provide additional courses in sport and physical education. Another of the programme’s aims is to promote the essential values of sport among youngsters.

The UEFA Foundation for Children is proud of the players in Cyprus who have initiated this unique programme, using football and their prominence as a force for good in society. We welcome this initiative and hope that it will be echoed by other players all over Europe.

PluSport player escorts take centre stage in the Super League

On Sunday 30 April, 22 children and teenagers from Axpo PluSport football teams accompanied the players of Grasshopper Club Zürich and FC Lugano onto the pitch at Letzigrund stadium ahead of their Super League tie.

Many young football fans dream of lining up on the pitch alongside their favourite players. On 30 April, that dream came true for 22 disabled children and teenagers thanks to PluSport, the umbrella organisation for disabled sports in Switzerland. The lucky player escorts were selected from the Axpo PluSport teams of FC Zürisee Juniors, FC Turbi, FC Wiggenhof and Ponte Kickers Zofingen. The initiative was made possible with the support of Grasshopper Club Zürich.

“It was a fantastic experience for the children,” said Anita Fischer, the PluSport project manager. “And their coaches and parents were very hands-on in preparing the children’s big moment on the pitch.”

And what about the children, what did they think of it all? “It was super cool,” according to Naomi König (14), whose sister, Saskia (16), said: “I thought it was a unique experience, something really special.” Others, such as Tobias Ruf, would have clearly preferred to play themselves!

The UEFA Foundation for Children welcomes this initiative, which shows once again that football is open to all. Aside from the joy it spreads, football enables disabled children to stay active and it gives them strength to tackle the challenges they face in day-to-day life.