Legacy for the Future

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova and Romania
Start date 03/01/2026
End date 02/28/2027
Cost of the project €660,000
Foundation funding €180,000
Project identifier 2025001234
Partners FIA Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Sponsors - Strengthening partnerships

Context

The UEFA Foundation for Children and the adidas Foundation together designed the Legacy for the Future project to help organisations advance gender equity in and through sport in their local area. In ongoing consultation with the FIA Foundation, we agreed to expand the project to include advocating for safer journeys to school and active mobility. There will be a focus on collecting stories and evidence from partner organisations to highlight the systemic barriers women and girls face in accessing sport, getting to and from sports facilities and school and staying physically active, as well as the action required to empower them and overcome these barriers at an institutional level across Europe.

From a road safety perspective, the equivalent of around 84 football teams of children and teenagers were killed or injured in road crashes in Georgia in 2024 alone: a total of 923 children under the age of 17, almost double the EU average. Almost half of the casualties were girls. In Moldova in 2024, 447 children under the age of 17 were killed or injured on the roads – the equivalent of around 40 football teams. Most of these casualties were aged 10 to 17 and around 40% were girls. Bosnia and Herzegovina also faces significant road safety challenges, with 67 road deaths per million inhabitants, compared to an EU average of 44.6. Children are particularly vulnerable when travelling to school and recreational facilities, including football pitches and community sports centres.

Project goals

Georgia and Moldova

  • Improve road safety around parks and football clubs to reduce a significant barrier to girls participating in sport, focusing on the following themes identified as issues by clubs, civil society and local authorities:
    • Safe speed limits in areas of active travel
    • Safe and accessible infrastructure around parks and clubs
    • Visibility when travelling at night

Romania (pilot project)

  • Create a replicable, scalable and sustainable model for integrating critical thinking, debating, dreaming and world-building exercises into self-defence training for girls living and studying in underprivileged communities near Cluj and Bucharest
  • Increase personal safety in school and sport by building assertiveness, confidence and self-esteem, while reducing fear and anxiety

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Identify risks and prioritise upgrades on routes to schools and sports facilities using the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) methodology
  • Empower young people in interactive football-based road safety workshops using the iRAP Youth Engagement App (YEA), enabling them to report hazards, share safety perceptions and co-create solutions
  • Promote gender equity by specifically addressing the needs and mobility patterns of young girls, encouraging their sustained participation in both education and sport
  • Leverage football networks to mobilise communities, engage parents and influence local decision-makers in support of safe and inclusive journeys

Project content

  • Interactive workshops combining football skills with road safety education
  • Road safety awareness training with girls’ football teams in each club
  • Intergenerational ‘mobility snapshots’ or ‘star ratings’ of schools and football grounds to identify and assess the main risks and advocate for safer mobility
  • iRAP SR4S assessments in high-risk locations identified by students
  • Support for the implementation of low-cost, high-impact safety improvements (e.g. crossings, signage, speed reduction/traffic calming measures)
  • Sessions incorporated into sports and civic education classes as well during annual extracurricular education weeks

Partner

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay’s RePlay pitch in Bilbao, Spain

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay's RePlay pitch in Bilbao, Spain

The new field has been built in the Errekalde sports center and will be inaugurated leading up to the UEFA Women's Champions League final.

Bilbao, May 23rd, 2024.- Lay's RePlay has inaugurated this morning its first pitch in Bilbao (Errekalde) aimed at supporting young women at risk of exclusion through soccer in the framework of the UEFA Women's Champions League final.

The launch of the initiative has been made possible thanks to the support of Lay's and its key collaborating partners as the UEFA Foundation for Children, Common Goal, Bilbao Kirolak (Bilbao City Council) and Fundazioa (Athletic Club Foundation).

With this new space, the partners will promote an inclusive sports program that will foster the social development of young migrant women between the ages of 12 to 18 to strengthen not only their socioemotional skills, but also their sense of belonging, tolerance, respect, commitment, teamwork and collaboration in the community. In this sense, UEFA Foundation and Lay's RePlay seek to contribute to gender equality in sports, training and educating girls and women to actively participate in the soccer environment.

A full program will be run on an ongoing basis that will include different activities from, for example, improving soccer skills to developing communication or teamwork, key social skills for the development and growth of the players.

Johana Ruiz de Olabuenaga, Director of the Social Area of Athletic Club, concludes: "At Athletic Club Fundazioa we are committed to the integral development of people through sport. Lay's RePlay gives us the opportunity to work in collaboration with other key players that support our goal of promoting gender equality and social inclusion through soccer. We are confident that this initiative will have a great impact on the young women of Bilbao and their communities".

 

The girls will participate in a league in different educational centers aimed at students and family members with players from Athletic Club's first and second teams. In addition, players from Athletic Club's men's and women's teams will be involved, with the particular participation of female athletes, who will serve as role models for the young girls to look up to and be inspired by.

The program will also include integration activities and events for the participants and their families that will serve to strengthen ties with the community. The goal of the women's training sessions is to form three teams aimed at empowering women in soccer, particularly in the migrant communities of Errekalde and Ibaiondo.

Lay's RePlay represents our commitment to sport and sustainability. We are excited to open this camp in Bilbao and to be able to offer young girls in the community the opportunity to grow and develop through soccer

- Derica Lascorz, Lay's Southwest Europe Marketing Manager

About Lay's

Project partner

Lay's is one of the brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $23 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. Learn more about Lay's by visiting www.facebook.com/lays or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lays. You can also follow Lay's on Instagram by visiting http://instagram.com/lays

About Common Goal

Project Partner

Common Goal is a global impact movement that exists to unite the football community in tackling the biggest challenges of our times. The movement creates opportunities for every stakeholder of the football economy to play a meaningful role in serving the wellbeing of our people and planet.

.

 

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay’s RePlay pitch in Santa Marta, Colombia

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay's RePlay pitch in Santa Marta, Colombia

Together with partners Margarita RePlay®, Fundación Tiempo de Juego, Fundación PepsiCo Colombia and Common Goal, the UEFA Foundation provides local community with a safe space to play football.

Perfect ten! The UEFA Foundation, Margarita RePlay®, Fundación Tiempo de Juego, Fundación PepsiCo Colombia and Common Goal are proud to unveil the tenth sustainable RePlay pitch in Santa Marta, Columbia.

Made of recycled bags of chips, RePlay pitches provide five-a-side and training facilities that are ideal for communities with limited access to spaces, where they can enjoy the game and develop their skills.

First launched in 2021 in South Africa, the programme has seen other pitches come to life in Brazil, Egypt, the USA, Italy, Mexico, the UK and Türkiye, benefitting 1.200 participants per month.

The initiative results from strong partnerships with local associations, building spaces and programmes that bring people together and drive positive change for generations to come.

Urs Kluser from the UEFA Foundation for Children:

"UEFA is proud to be part of a new launch of Margarita RePlay®, which will benefit a new community. By bringing this initiative to Colombia, we hope to improve the opportunities of young people through the power of football by providing them with key life and social skills".

RePlay facilities are much more than just pitches. In addition to artificial turf for five-a-side football, the local communities can access tailored education programmes focusing on four key areas: creating a sense of belonging, boosting engagement, promoting safety, and ensuring access to sport.

The new football field in Santa Marta will benefit at least 500 members of the local community through targeted events and programmes, with Fundación Tiempo de Juego delivering 20 hours of football to 150 participants every week, focused on:

  • Increasing skills connected to environmental care through sports and playful learning.
  • Promoting social fabric and coexistence through play-based community events.
  • Providing meaningful sports activities to youth to foster social-emotional skills.
  • Increasing participation of females in the community in football activities to 50%.

The initiative combines the fun and passion of football by creating a field that encourages the spirit of belonging and drives benefits for the surrounding communities”.

- Daniel Velásquez, Marketing Sr Director of PepsiCo for Andean Region

About Lay's

Project partner

Lay's is one of the brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $23 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. Learn more about Lay's by visiting www.facebook.com/lays or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lays. You can also follow Lay's on Instagram by visiting http://instagram.com/lays

About Common Goal

Project Partner

Common Goal is a global impact movement that exists to unite the football community in tackling the biggest challenges of our times. The movement creates opportunities for every stakeholder of the football economy to play a meaningful role in serving the wellbeing of our people and planet.

.

 

New sustainable Lay’s RePlay pitch opens in Italy.

New sustainable Lay's RePlay pitch opens in Italy.

In Naples, the UEFA Foundation, Common Goal, and Lay's unite to promote sport, inclusion and sustainability.

From Packs to Pitches: the UEFA Foundation for Children, Common Goal and Lay's proudly unveiled a new sustainable football pitch today in the heart of Naples, open to the local community and local sports associations.

The inauguration of the new sustainable pitch, made using recycled bags of crisp packets, was the perfect occasion to celebrate sport, inclusion and sustainability, and supports the recent development of the city's Scampia neighbourhood.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by a number of special guests to mark the occasion including Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi and former Italian international and UEFA Champions League winner Ciro Ferrara, with a performance by singer-songwriter Dadà.

The Scampia district was chosen for this initiative to support its recent redevelopment launched as a series of initiatives promoted by Municipality 8 and local associations to address issues such as unemployment, poverty and inequalities.

Urs Kluser, General Secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children:

“The Lay's RePlay programme is not just about creating football facilities - it's about empowering communities, promoting inclusivity and championing environmental sustainability. This initiative represents a powerful example of how sport can be a catalyst for positive change on a global scale, and we're proud to be part of this journey."

 

The Lay's RePlay programme has successfully led to the creation of football facilities in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, the United States and Italy. In the latter, the first pitch was inaugurated in the Cecchi Point district of Turin in May 2022. Since its launch, the Turin pitch has been used over 20,000 times, provided 1,225 hours of sport activities and life skills training and 213 hours of events and special activities for the community.

Providing everyone with access to the joy of sport is a long-standing goal of Lay's RePlay - this project embodies the transformation, moving from reusing empty packs of chip packages to creating football fields donated to local communities. The goal is to combine the passion for sport, social inclusion and environmental protection to promote a positive impact on a global scale.

- Marcello Pincelli, PepsiCo Italia General Manager