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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.

First activity report – April 2015 to June 2016

In a remarkably short time, the UEFA Foundation for Children has made hundreds of thousands of youngsters smile with sheer happiness, fulfil cherished dreams and feel hope for the future.

Tireless work that has had a significant impact in Europe and across the world – using football and the game’s popularity as a powerful force for social good – is portrayed in the UEFA Foundation for Children activities report for 2015/16.

The foundation, which began its operations on 24 April 2015, holds true to solid objectives – to help children and protect their rights, mainly through sport in general and football in particular.

It has provided considerable support in areas such as health, education, access to sport, personal development, integration of minorities and defending children’s rights.

Today, the project is supporting 51 projects in 44 countries – and 500,000 children and young adults have benefitted as a result.

Through facts, figures, statistics and images, an impressive picture emerges in the report – underlining just why the foundation was such a necessary step for UEFA, and how it will continue to make a crucial difference to children’s lives and leave lasting legacies in the future.

Key features in the report:

The foundation’s origins and history
Project portfolio
Project mapping
Partnerships
UEFA EURO 2016 programmes
Communication and promotion activities
Internal operations
Financial report.

The 2015/16 UEFA Foundation for Children activities report is available to read here.

Supporting refugees and migrant children across Europe

In light of the sharp increase in migration to Europe and the humanitarian disasters this has triggered, the UEFA Foundation for Children has invested €2 million donated by UEFA to support those most affected by the crisis, including 15 countries across Europe, using football to help them offer new hope to refugee and migrant children.

While continuing to support countries bordering conflict zones, the UEFA Foundation for Children has been supporting the efforts of Terre des Hommes to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to unaccompanied children and families with children under five in FYR Macedonia and Greece since March 2016.

In addition, the foundation has created a €1,250,000 fund to support the integration of migrant populations, and child refugees in particular, in host communities in Europe. Activities have been run by NGOs, national football associations and the wider football family, with the streetfootballworld network helping to coordinate operations.

So far, 23 organisations in 15 countries have benefited from this fund:

Germany: AMANDLA EduFootball, Champions ohne Grenzen, KICKFAIR, and RheinFlanke and FC Internationale Berlin 1980 e.V.

Belgium: Royal Europa 90 Kraainem FC

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Football Friends

Spain: Red Deporte y Cooperación

France: Sport dans la Ville

Georgia: Cross Cultures Project Association (CCPA)

Greece: Diogenis, and Organization Earth

Hungary: Oltalom Sport Association

Italy: Balon Mundial

Netherlands: Johan Cruyff Foundation

Republic of Ireland: Sport Against Racism Ireland

Northern Ireland: Sport Against Racism Ireland

United Kingdom: Sport4Life, Start Again Project, and Tigers Sport and Education Trust

Serbia: Football Friends

Ukraine: Scort Foundation and FC Basel 1893

The activities run by these organisations in support of young refugees include:

weekly football sessions;
tournaments involving local host communities;
language courses and training for coaches;
CV writing and interview technique workshops for young adults.

More than 30,000 people have already benefited from these programmes. Of these 30,000, 65% are child refugees themselves and 35% are the teachers, coaches and social workers who have been trained to keep the various activities going.

The UEFA Foundation for Children is also supporting displaced persons in Ukraine and has donated €250,000 to the ‘Play away, Play everywhere’ project run by the Football Federation of Ukraine. The aim of the project is to promote the social integration of displaced children and encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles by playing sport, in particular football.

UEFA foundation awards ceremony

The UEFA Foundation for Children has presented its 2016 awards to five bodies seeking to promote peace, integration, greater social harmony, respect for differences and non-discrimination.

The first UEFA Foundation for Children Award winners have received their awards in a ceremony at the House of European Football in Nyon.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin joined members of the foundation’s board of trustees – chairman José Manuel Durão Barroso, Viviane Reding, Norman Darmanin Demajo and Sándor Csányi – in presenting the 2016 awards.

The inaugural winners are:

streetfootballworld: a network that unites more than 100 community organisations behind a common goal – changing the world through football.
Colombianitos: a body striving to raise the quality of life of children and young people and their communities, through sport, recreation, education and health.
Just Play: a programme that improves the lives of children in the Pacific region through football.
Right To Play: an initiative using the power of play to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities.
Magic Bus: a scheme that steers children towards a better life with better awareness, better life skills and better opportunities in the journey from childhood to livelihood.

Responsibility for managing and awarding the annual €1m UEFA Monaco charity cheque passed from the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee to the UEFA Foundation for Children in 2015, when it became the UEFA Foundation for Children Awards.

The board of trustees have established a new selection system to acknowledge and raise the profile of community groups and their contribution to the activities they support. To be eligible for an award, charities must be linked to football, or sport in general, and seek to promote peace, integration, greater social harmony, respect for differences and non-discrimination.

Inauguration of the Za’atari House of Sports

UEFA Foundation for Children expands its assistance for refugees

A major project financed by the UEFA Foundation for Children has reached fruition today with the inauguration of the House of Sports at the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan.

The House of Sports, constructed inside the camp, will provide a single umbrella facility for all sports activities there. The venue was officially opened in the presence of representatives of the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UEFA Foundation for Children, and French former international footballer Christian Karembeu.

Prince Ali bin Hussein, AFDP founder, declared: “Every child deserves a nurturing environment, and the displaced children of Syria are no exception. Today, we dedicate to thousands of young refugees a healthy and vibrant space and the necessary tools for engaging in activities that can brighten up their day and, hopefully, their future as well. I wholeheartedly thank the UEFA Foundation for Children for supporting the Asian Football Development Project’s efforts for social change, and for keeping the spark of hope alive among children through football since the opening of the Za’atari refugee camp in 2012.”

“This is an important milestone within our projects at the Za’atari camp,” said Pascal Torres, UEFA Foundation for Children general secretary. “When the foundation decides to finance a project, an important goal is to ensure the continuity of the benefits for the children. Since 2013, men and women have received training to become football coaches and, today, we are inaugurating facilities that will enable all the children in the camp who wish to play sport to do so in a safe environment.”

The UEFA Foundation for Children will now expand its activities in local host communities in Jordan, which are home to many child refugees from Syria and other countries in conflict. The aim of this new initiative is to reinforce the work with Jordanian children and child refugees through socio-educational and sports projects, in particular football. This initiative is being undertaken in collaboration with the Jordanian ministry of education, and will be implemented in 12 schools across the country, with some 15,000 children expected to benefit.

Norman Darmanin Demajo, a member of the foundation’s board of trustees and president of the Malta Football Association, made the trip to the Za’atari camp. “I am very happy to be in Za’atari to see all the work that is being done with children at the camp, and to discover the positive impact that sport has on their daily lives,” he said. “The House of Sports that has been inaugurated today is a major sustainability asset. The foundation will extend its work outside the camp to include local schools in Jordan, with the support of the Jordanian authorities. Through its programmes, the UEFA Foundation for Children aims to address the grassroots of poverty and suffering.”

Football united against the bombing of civilians

Two children from conflict zones to escort the teams onto the pitch at the UEFA Super Cup

This year’s UEFA Super Cup, which will take place on Tuesday 9 August in the Norwegian city of Trondheim and will be contested by Real Madrid CF and Sevilla FC, will be used to send a message of peace and solidarity to civilian victims of bombing around the world. During the pre-match ceremony, the two team captains will be escorted onto the field of play by two disabled child refugees who have found sanctuary in Norway – one from Afghanistan and the other from Syria. Together, they will carry the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League trophies out onto the pitch.

The UEFA Foundation for Children is working with Handicap International, which defends the rights of disabled people worldwide, improves their living conditions and helps them to integrate into society. The foundation is also supporting Handicap International’s new worldwide Stop Bombing Civilians campaign, calling for compliance with international law, which prohibits warring parties from targeting civilians and public buildings, with many children often among the victims. The UEFA Foundation for Children’s support for this campaign forms part of its ongoing commitment to assisting child victims of conflict in the areas of health, education, access to sport, personal development, social integration and the protection of children’s rights.

This initiative would not be possible without the support of UEFA, the Football Association of Norway, the UEFA Super Cup’s local organising committee in Trondheim, and Real Madrid CF and Sevilla FC. This event will mark the launch of an extensive campaign organised by Handicap International with the aim of mobilising public opinion against the large-scale use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas.

“Bombing civilians is not war; it’s a crime.”

Leif Ivar Akselvoll from the Football Association of Norway explains: “The UEFA Super Cup is being contested in Trondheim as part of the centenary celebrations taking place in honour of Rosenborg BK, which has a rich pedigree at both domestic and European level. It is a great honour for us to be staging this match, playing host to the cream of European football. This match and its opening ceremony will send a message of peace, putting the spotlight on children – the future of our world – and highlighting the role that football can play in the area of social integration. We are working hard to make this an event for everyone, and we are looking forward to welcoming all the fans to Trondheim. We align ourselves to the campaign “No to the bombing of civilian!” initiated by Handicap International.”

Manuel Patrouillard, managing director of Handicap International, adds: “The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is unacceptable. Bombing civilians is not war; it’s a crime. There is an urgent need to protect civilian populations and force warring parties to comply with international humanitarian law.”

Handicap International: Following a 30-year campaign against anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, which led to those weapons being outlawed under the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention of 1997 and the Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2008, Handicap International has, since 2011, been calling on the international community to oppose the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It is currently engaged in an extensive awareness-raising campaign aimed at preventing such practices

Official website: www.handicap-international.org

Campaign against the bombing of civilians in populated areas: www.stop-bombing-civilians.org

Streetfootballworld festival opens in Lyon

The streetfootballworld Festival16 in Lyon, hosted by the Sport dans la Ville association in the French city and backed by the UEFA Foundation for Children, will involve 500 youngsters from disadvantaged communities worldwide.

Football’s timeless power as a vehicle for social good will take center stage in Lyon in the coming days, as UEFA EURO 2016 moves towards an exciting climax.

The streetfootballworld Festival16, hosted by the Sport dans la Ville association in the French city and backed by the UEFA Foundation for Children, begins on Tuesday and, until 6 July, will feature a packed programme of social and educational events bringing together more than 500 young participants from disadvantaged communities across the world.

The festival gives the opportunity for participants to share in a multicultural experience, increase their awareness of the global impact of football as a force for good, and help their local communities by sharing experiences and knowledge gained from the festival when they return home.

A major attraction during Festival16 will be a football tournament with participants from 50 countries, which will take place on 5 and 6 July as the UEFA EURO 2016 semi-finals get under way. The tournament will be played using football3, a methodology tool incorporating key life lessons into every match.

UEFA Foundation for Children ambassadors will attend this event, and a particular highlight on 5 July will be a UEFA Stars Solidarity Match.

Other activities at Festival16 include a youth forum designed, among other things, to help youngsters develop leadership skills and promote important social messages; a Football for Good summit in which global experts will exchange ideas and opinions on how they use football to inspire social change; and a delegation exchange programme that will foster cultural diversity and integration among participants.

Funds donated to the UEFA foundation by the Swiss watchmaker Hublot, official watch of UEFA EURO 2016, are helping finance the logistical operation at the festival. Official UEFA EURO 2016 airline partner Turkish Airlines is providing travel support for participants.

More details of the streetfootballworld Festival16 can be found here.

The UEFA Foundation for Children is also organising the 20,000 Children’s Smiles initiative which, with the help of a large number of ambassadors, is giving 20,000 disadvantaged children the chance to attend UEFA EURO 2016 matches.

UEFA Foundation for Children defends child refugees’ rights

Thanks to football, the foundation supports children and gives them new prospects for the future.

To mark World Refugee Day on 20 June, the UEFA Foundation for Children reaffirms its support for partner bodies who are working to improve the lives of child refugees, respecting their fundamental rights and their dignity.

Since its creation in April 2015, the UEFA Foundation for Children has been involved in projects that defend the rights of child refugees. At the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, the foundation has set up numerous sports activities, as well as a football championship, which enables the children in the camp to play in a safe environment.

In the Middle East, the UEFA foundation is continuing its support work for refugees in Jordan, and is giving financial support to the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP). In Lebanon, the foundation is providing financial assistance to the FC Barcelona Foundation, the Cross Cultures Project Association (CCPA) and streetfootballworld, which are setting up projects which make use of football to strengthen social cohesion, encourage reconciliation and peaceful coexistence within communities and promote education. Last but not least, the foundation is supporting the Spirit of Soccer project in Iraq, which aims to use the power of football to make children in camps aware of the dangers of anti-personnel landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Thanks to a €2m donation made by UEFA last December, the foundation has earmarked support to countries affected by a huge influx of refugees. In Europe, the foundation is supporting urgent humanitarian projects led by Terre des Hommes (TdH) to assist unaccompanied children and families with children under five years of age in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece.

A portion of this financial support has enabled the creation of a solidarity fund to help child refugees and facilitate their social integration into host communities in Europe. This fund will be made available to NGOs, national associations and the wider football family, with operations coordinated with the streetfootballworld network. So far, 19 organisations in 13 European countries are benefitting from this support fund:

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Football Friends

France: Sport dans la Ville

Georgia: Cross Cultures Project Association

Germany: Amandla Edufootball, Champions Ohne Grenzen, KICKFAIR, Rheinflanke, Rheinflanke & FC Internationale

Greece: Terre des Hommes, Diogenis

Hungary: Oltalom Sport Association

Italy: Balon Mundial

Netherlands: Johann Cruyff Foundation

Republic of Ireland/ Northern Ireland: Sport Against Racism Ireland

Serbia: Football Friends

Spain: Red Deporte y Cooperación

Ukraine: Scort Foundation

United Kingdom: Sport4Life, Start Again Project, Tigers Sport & Education Trust

In addition, the UEFA Foundation for Children is devoting particular attention to displaced persons in Ukraine. It is supporting the “Play away, Play everywhere” project, led by the Ukrainian Football Federation (FFU), and which aims to facilitate the social integration of displaced children by enabling them to play football.

2016 UEFA Foundation for Children Awards

Recognising community organisations and their role in helping charitable partners

The UEFA Foundation for Children’s decision-making body – the board of trustees, chaired by former European Commission president José Manuel Durão Barroso – held its latest meeting on 13 June at the foundation’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Nominations for the 2016 UEFA Foundation for Children Awards were one of the key items on the agenda. Responsibility for managing and awarding the annual €1 million UEFA Monaco charity award passed from the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee to the UEFA Foundation for Children in 2015, when it became the UEFA Foundation for Children Awards.

The foundation’s board of trustees have established a new selection system to acknowledge and raise the profile of community groups and their contribution to the activities they support. To be eligible for an award, charities must be linked to football, or sport in general, and seek to promote peace, integration, greater social harmony, respect for differences and non-discrimination.

The first UEFA Foundation for Children Award winners are:

streetfootballworld: a network that unites more than 100 community organisations behind a common goal – changing the world through football.
Colombianitos: a body aiming to improve the quality of life of children and young people and their communities, through sport, recreation, education and health.
Just Play: a programme that improves the lives of children in the Pacific region through football.
Right To Play: a programme using the power of play to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities.
Magic Bus: a programme that steers children towards a better life with better awareness, better life skills and better opportunities in the journey from childhood to livelihood.

The board of trustees also reviewed all ongoing projects, especially those related to a solidarity fund for migrant and displaced children, which was set up with a €2m donation approved by the UEFA Executive Committee on 11 December 2015. Various projects are being implemented to help migrants and displaced children from the Middle East and eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Georgia, and also to support European host countries that are receiving unprecedented numbers of migrants.

In Europe, projects are being put in place in 13 countries in cooperation with 19 different associations. These projects will help more than 30,000 people, of which 65% are migrants and 35% are people active in society, such as coaches and teachers.

In the Middle East, the UEFA Foundation for Children is continuing its support of refugees in Jordan and Lebanon through projects that are using football to promote social cohesion, foster reconciliation and peaceful coexistence within communities, and promote education.

Following the meeting of the foundation’s board of trustees, chairman José Manuel Durão Barroso said: “The UEFA Foundation for Children is already making a difference all over the world. Already today, thousands of children who are underprivileged or living in difficult circumstances are being supported in their daily lives by the Foundation through education and opportunities to play, among other things.

In order to develop our activities we will continue to look for new forms of financing that respect the code of ethics – and we will do this with complete transparency.

We consider that developing our activities hand-in-hand with other organizations whose projects are linked to sport is a sustainable way to increase the results of our work, namely, by promoting deep integration and creating social harmony.”

The UEFA Foundation for Children is currently supporting projects in 44 different countries or territories:

20 in Europe: in Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.
7 in Africa: in Angola, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
2 in South America: in Brazil and Colombia.
11 in Oceania: in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
4 in Asia: in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Nepal.

These activities are carried out in partnership with 35 charitable organisations, 12 national football associations and a number of UN agencies.

Hublot donation to UEFA Foundation

Hublot, official WATCH OF THE UEFA EURO 2016, made a donation to the UEFA Foundation for Children to help children and youngsters celebrate the joy of football at the tournament.

A cheque for 20,000 Euros was presented to UEFA foundation administrator Cyril Pellevat by Hublot’s CEO Ricardo Guadalupe at the Hublot Match for Friendship at the Palais Royal in Paris on Thursday.

The funds provided by the Swiss watchmaker will help finance logistical organisation at the international streetfootballworld Festival 16, which takes place in Lyon from 28 June to 7 July. The event is sponsored by the Sport dans la Ville association in Lyon. Children and young people from all over Europe and beyond will gather to celebrate EURO 2016, with an international solidarity tournament (4-6 July) one of the highlights.

Thursday’s Hublot Match for Friendship featured teams of famous players, coached by legends Pelé and Diego Maradona. The stars who took part included David Trezeguet, Fernando Hierro, Dida, Hernán Crespo, Bebeto, Angelo Peruzzi, Antonio Ferrara and Marco Materazzi.

“The UEFA Foundation for Children thanks Hublot for its support,” said UEFA Foundation for Children secretary Pascal Torres. “Through this gesture of solidarity, Hublot is sharing in this project, enabling hundreds of disadvantaged children from more than 50 countries to be involved in the great festival that UEFA EURO 2016 represents.”

Putting smiles on faces at UEFA EURO 2016

The UEFA Foundation for Children project 20,000 Children’s Smiles gives 20,000 disadvantaged youngsters the opportunity to attend matches at UEFA EURO 2016.

On the initiative of the UEFA Foundation for Children and in close cooperation with EURO 2016 SAS and the tournament’s host cities, 20,000 Children’s Smiles is giving 20,000 youngsters aged 12 to 18 the opportunity to attend UEFA EURO 2016 matches in their local area.

The project is being rolled out throughout the group stage (not including the opening match) and the round of 16, i.e. at 43 different matches across all ten host cities, with an average of 500 tickets being made available per match.

The project would not have been possible without the support of the host cities, which identified local organisations working day in, day out with young people in difficult situations. The host cities and the UEFA Foundation for Children together have taken care of all the logistics, particularly in terms of administrative support and transport.

The local organisations selected to take part in the project include community centres, rehabilitation centres, medical centres and local football clubs. They will be the ones accompanying the youngsters to the matches. Some of the youngsters were offered this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in exchange for some kind of community service, such as helping to clean up parts of the city. That was the case in Marseille, for example, where a clean-up operation was organised on Prado Beach.

Media representatives looking for more information are invited to contact the project leaders in the different host cities:

Bordeaux fcomba@bordeaux-metropole.fr

Lens Agglo Cvignon@mairie-lens.fr

Lille yleborgne@lillemetropole.fr

Lyon jean-loup.coly@mairie-lyon.fr

Marseille aplacide@mairie-marseille.fr or nboyer@mairie-marseille.fr

Nice julien.sassi@ville-nice.fr

Paris karim.herida@paris.fr

roch.francois@paris.fr

Saint-Denis azdine.ayad@ville-saint-denis.fr

Saint-Etienne M.GRETTEAU@saint-etienne-metropole.fr

Toulouse Chantal.renaud@toulouse.metropole.fr

Putting a smile back on the faces of disadvantaged children

The emotion of football is universal. The UEFA Foundation for Children is set to fulfil the lifelong dreams of several children who have serious illnesses or disabilities or are suffering the effects of major accidents by giving them the chance to watch Real Madrid CF take on Club Atlético de Madrid in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final in Milan tomorrow night.

In cooperation with charitable associations such as Étoile filante/Sternschnuppe, Rêves and Make-A-Wish, the foundation has invited four children and their families to come and experience this great annual festival of football. This rare opportunity to share in the intense joy and emotion of such a unique and momentous event will be a far cry from their everyday lives and the medical challenges they face on a daily basis.

Joseph Fontanarosa, head of communication for the Moselle branch of Rêves commented: “Today, I’m here with a boy named Teoman. He’s 15 and seriously ill. It’s really special to be able to bring him here because he absolutely loves football. I see his eyes light up more every minute with all that he is seeing and experiencing. Today he’s just a really happy child and it’s this weekend that will give him the strength to keep up the fight when he returns home.”

Mazyar Taennler, from the Zurich-based Étoile filante/Sternschnuppe, said: “I’m here today with two families and two children, Livio and Luka. Both of them have had quite a hard time, one since birth and the other as of last year. Both of them love football, so it’s very special for them to be here, having this experience and seeing how things work behind the scenes. This is a very special weekend for the children, their families, and me. We‘re all football fanatics! They are really looking forward to the final tomorrow. And to be greeted as special guests, to not have to wait in line, and to be able to take all the pictures they want, that makes the experience more special still.”

The UEFA Foundation for Children has also invited 13 children from the organisation Air Pur & Soleil (plus chaperones) to attend the match. This child welfare organisation based in Haute-Savoie takes care of children facing crises of various kinds, typically by giving them the opportunity to spend some time away from their family, school and/or institutional environment.

All of these children are enjoying an exclusive two-day programme devised specially for them, thanks to the support of a number of volunteers from UEFA.

Today, they spent some of the afternoon at the UEFA Champions Festival in the heart of Milan, having their photo taken with the trophy, visiting the Champions Gallery, watching the all-star match and meeting some of the stars in question. They then went to San Siro to watch the two teams’ official pre-match training sessions.

When they return to San Siro tomorrow night to watch the UEFA Champions League final, thereby fulfilling a lifelong ambition, it is bound to be a highly emotional occasion.

A mouth-watering appetiser ahead of UEFA EURO 2016

As a prelude to the real thing this summer, Lille and Lens will soon be put through their paces as they play host to the EURO FOOT Jeunes schools’ tournament.

Supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children and organised jointly by France’s National Union of School Sport (UNSS), the International School Sport Federation (ISF), EURO 2016 SAS and the French Football Federation (FFF), the EURO FOOT Jeunes schools’ tournament is aimed at children all over Europe. This major sporting event, which will take place between 30 May and 5 June in northern France, promises to be an enthralling and highly enjoyable experience for all concerned.

This extraordinary event, which will take place in Lens and Lille, will feature both boys’ and girls’ competitions. A total of 800 players will take part, competing for 32 teams from 25 different countries.

A number of big names from the world of football will be dropping by to show their support, including Rio Mavuba, Laura Georges, Djibril Cissé, Raphaël Varane and Lotta Schelin.

You can watch the official tournament video here: http://bit.ly/ClipEFJ (UNSS’s Facebook account)

Match Schedule here:

Planning Eurofoot Jeunes

Highlights of the event

Monday 30 May

10.30 Opening match of girls’ competition: France v Germany

Attended by the president of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie regional council and Olivier Dacourt

Stade François Blin, rue Arthur Lamendin, 62210 Avion

20.00 Opening ceremony and parade of nations

Attended by Patrick Kanner, French minister for urban affairs, youth and sport

Palacium, 2 rue Breughel, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq

21.30 Concert featuring Lord Kossity and Sarahba

Palacium, 2 rue Breughel, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq

Tuesday 31 May

10.30 Girls’ competition: France v Luxembourg

Attended by Djibril Cissé

La Gaillette (RC Lens’s training complex), rue Arthur Lamendin, 62210 Avion

12.30 Children meet and have lunch with French men’s team and Djibril Cissé

Thursday 2 June

11.30 Opening of the EURO FOOT Jeunes village attended by Djibril Cissé

Stadium Lille Métropole, avenue de la Châtellenie, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq

Friday 3 June

16.30 Presentation ceremony for the UNSS Cup – a tournament combining virtual reality and real football for schoolchildren attending collèges in the department of Nord

Stadium Lille Métropole, avenue de la Châtellenie, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq

Saturday 4 June

17.00 Diversity tournament (4 teams; 40 big names invited by the FFF)

Palais Saint Sauveur, 78 avenue du Président John F. Kennedy, 59000 Lille

19.30 Vernissage of Just Play exhibition at Lille City Hall

The UEFA Foundation for Children is taking this opportunity to showcase the Just Play programme, which uses football to foster the education and development of children on Pacific islands. This photo exhibition at Lille City Hall documenting the programme will be open to the public from 4 June.

21.00 Charity dinner in support of Orphelins de Makala (Orphans of Makala), an association set up by Rio Mavuba, and the ISF’s School Sport Foundation

Lille City Hall, place Augustin Laurent, 59000 Lille

Sunday 5 June

13.30 Final of girls’ competition

Stadium Lille Métropole, avenue de la Châtellenie, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq

15.00 Private concert featuring Walshy Fire (Major Lazer), Lord Kossity and Sarahba

15.30 Final of boys’ competition

Stadium Lille Métropole, avenue de la Châtellenie, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq

17.00 Presentation of medals by French internationals Mamadou Sakho, Kheira Hamraoui and Laura Georges

17.30 Closing ceremony

Media representatives wishing to attend the tournament can request an accreditation via the links below:

http://unss.org

http://eurofootjeunes.fr/presse

Contact persons for media enquiries:

Aurélie Bresson (+33 (0)6 59 54 99 17; presse@unss.org)

Kevin Paris: (+33 (0)6 72 07 11 59; kparis@revolutionr.com)

Local children to escort players at Europa League final in Basel

190 children from various community football projects in Basel are set for an extraordinary adventure.

Having already given 44 disadvantaged children from Seville and Liverpool an unforgettable experience by offering them the chance to be player escorts at the second leg of the two UEFA Europa League semi-finals, FedEx has now donated 100 match tickets for tonight’s final at St. Jakob-Park to community football projects in Basel and the surrounding area.

Among the 100 young fans, 22 children aged between seven and nine will have the privilege of walking out onto the pitch alongside the two teams as player escorts. FedEx, is the main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League and has donated its entire allocation of player escort places for tonight’s final between Liverpool FC and Sevilla FC to the UEFA Foundation for Children.

The recipients of the 100 match tickets have been chosen in cooperation with streetfootballworld, a global non-profit organisation that uses football to drive social change, and its local partner, the Scort Foundation.

Children from four community football projects in the streetfootballworld network have been selected:

Dream Team Basel, which organises weekly football training for children and adults with disabilities;
SRD Young Stars, an initiative set up by Swiss club SR Delémont, which benefits 21 children with special needs between the ages of 8 and 18;
Basel Helps, a project set up in 2015 which organises regular activities and events to build bridges between refugees and the local community;
the Pestalozzi Children’s Village, which provides homes, care and education to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The UEFA Foundation for Children has also donated 90 tickets to the Swiss Football Association, which has given them to Next Sport Generation, a foundation that promotes sport for children and adolescents.

“In its first year, the UEFA Foundation for Children has benefited a large number of children in a wide range of places,” said Peter Gilliéron, a member of the foundation’s board of trustees and the Chairman of the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee. “This initiative gives football the opportunity to share important values such as solidarity, integration and respect with all children, regardless of their country of origin or social background.”

More children’s dreams come true with the help of the UEFA Foundation for Children

During the second half of the season (February to April), UEFA Foundation for Children helped make the dreams of seven seriously ill football fans come true.

In cooperation with the associations Rêves in France and Sternschnuppe/ Etoile filante in Switzerland – and with the precious support of volunteers from among UEFA’s staff – these young people were given an unique opportunity to live their dreams and leave behind their problems for a short while.

Samuel’s dream: to attend a Paris Saint-Germain FC match, visit the stadium and meet the players.

Samuel watched Paris Saint-Germain beat Chelsea FC at home on 16 February in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie. www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153814044907110&id=264778857109 (in French)

Marouane’s dream: to meet Eden Hazard and attend a Chelsea match.

Marouane attended the return leg of the Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie at Stamford Bridge on 9 March.

www.reves.fr/corporate/reves/tous-reves/marouane-joueurs-chelsea,12382.html?PHPSESSID=6jk7gf3h2ejkohuea78db999a4 (in French)

Aboubakr, Amine, Naïl and Pierrick’s dreams: to attend an FC Barcelona match and meet the team.

All four watched the Azulgrana secure their place in the quarter-finals by beating Arsenal FC at home on 16 March in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

Aboubakr:

www.reves.fr/corporate/reves/tous-reves/aboubakr-rencontre-joueurs-barcelone-assiste-match,12330.html (in French)

Amine:

www.reves.fr/corporate/reves/tous-reves/amine-rencontre-joueurs-barcelone-assiste-match,12220.html (in French)

Naïl:

www.reves.fr/corporate/reves/tous-reves/nail-rencontre-joueurs-barcelone-assiste-match,12609.html (in French)

Pierrick:

www.reves.fr/corporate/reves/tous-reves/pierrick-rencontre-joueurs-barcelone-assiste-match,12374.html (in French)

Robin’s dream: to meet Robert Lewandowski and Mario Götze and attend an FC Bayern München match.

Robin watched his idols’ beat SL Benfica at home on 5 April in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie.

www.facebook.com/StiftungKinderhilfeSternschnuppe/posts/1186339784711750$ and www.sternschnuppe.ch/herzenswuensche/erfuellte-herzenswuensche/herzenswunsch-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=635&cHash=693a7ae9d5276d3c7d2628da2e0b87ba (both in German)

UEFA foundation and FedEx open community pitch in Madrid

Carlos Marchena inaugurates a new football pitch in Cañada Real district

Children and young people from the Cañada Real district of Madrid, known as one of Spain’s most economically disadvantaged areas, now have a new safe place to play sport. The UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx, the main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, have given a new football pitch to the Red Deporte y Cooperación, a Madrid-based non-profit organisation that is part of the streetfootballworld network, with the aim of using football to drive social change.

Carlos Marchena, the former Spanish international and European and world champion, took part in today’s inauguration ceremony and joined a training session, to the delight of the children present. The brand-new, fully functional pitch is environmentally sustainable and was built in less than a week. It is equipped with floodlighting and changing facilities, and its innovative and modular design has many advantages, including low running costs.

Pascal Torres, general secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children, said: “It is clear how powerful a tool football can be in uniting communities, and playing football provides an ideal opportunity for children from different backgrounds to integrate, learn and develop. We are delighted that FedEx shares our vision of extending access to football to all, and that by working together we have enabled thousands of children from this diverse community to play and grow together, safely.”

The pitch strengthens the already solid portfolio of the UEFA Foundation for Children, which has recently celebrated its first anniversary. The foundation acted as a facilitator and coordinator, while streetfootballworld, the global non-profit network, developed, managed and implemented the project.

FedEx, the world’s largest express transportation company, provided financial assistance as part of FedEx Cares, a $200m programme aimed at creating opportunities in more than 200 communities by 2020.

Brenda McWilliams-Piatek, vice-president of marketing and communications for FedEx Express Europe, said: “At FedEx, we are absolutely committed to investing socially in the markets where we operate, and this project is an excellent example from our global ‘delivering for good’ programme of how we use our resources and network to provide local communities with access to facilities that would otherwise be out of their reach.”

The UEFA Foundation for Children hopes that this marks the beginning of a sustained collaboration with FedEx.

For more information on FedEx, visit www.fedex.com

To find out more about the work of streetfootballworld, visit http://www.streetfootballworld.org/