News of the UEFA Foundation
The logo of the UEFA Foundation for Children will be projected around the stadiums hosting the semi-finals and finals of UEFA’s flagship men’s club competitions. This association with the best of European football will raise the profile of the new UEFA Foundation for Children and reinforce its direct ties with football.
The UEFA Foundation for Children has decided to allocate its €1m annual solidarity fund for 2015 to a project designed to improve communication and education for autistic children in Europe. The project is organised by the International Foundation of Applied Disability Research (FIRAH). Inspired by its innovative approach, which combines technology and new teaching methods, the board of trustees decided to give the project the foundation’s backing so that a greater number of children with autism can benefit from the tools available. The foundation will also support research and development with a view to better meeting the needs of autistic children and their families.
The trustees convened in the afternoon of 23 March in Vienna, on the eve of the UEFA Congress. At this inaugural meeting they elected José Manuel Durão Barroso for a four-year term as their chairman and approved a first series of projects to help disadvantaged children.
The administrative and operational responsibility for two projects – football activities in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and the Just Play programme promoting education and tackling child obesity in the Pacific region – was transferred from UEFA to the foundation, which will also launch three projects linked to UEFA EURO 2016 and children’s rights. A fourth project will be organised in cooperation with the International Foundation of Applied Disability Research (FIRAH), with the aim of improving the lives of autistic children and their families.
