Club Brugge Younited has been putting Deprivation out of Action for 15 Years

Club Brugge Younited has been putting Deprivation out of Action for 15 Years

The ‘Club Brugge Younited’ team started its 15th football season in September. Since the 2008-2009 season, the various partners within this socio-sports project have joined forces to help vulnerable Bruges residents build a better future through the power of football.

In honour of this 15-year anniversary, the various cooperating partners decided to make a renewed and strengthened commitment in the fight against underprivileged poverty in Bruges. The project partners of Club Brugge Foundation strongly believe in the positive impact this team has on the life situation of its players.

Renewed Kick-off and Strengthened Commitment

The kick-off of this strengthened commitment was officially given during the signing of a renewed covenant between the various partners, in which the outlines for the future ambitions of this project were made known. The kick-off took place symbolically on the centre spot of the Jan Breydel Stadium, in the presence of the various project partners and Bruges Alderman for Sport Franky Demon and Alderman for Social Affairs Pablo Annys.

What is Club Brugge Younited?

Through adapted training sessions, ‘Club Brugge Younited’ brings together around 20 socially vulnerable people from Bruges every week to play football in the shadow of the Jan Breydel Stadium. These meetings and various team-building activities give the players a structure they can build on.

It teaches them to win, lets them build a positive self-image and allows them to be part of a real team. In this way, they work together to reintegrate into society, participants are brought out of their isolation and a sense of home is created to take an important first step towards a new beginning. Together, we put underprivileged people out of work.

Kick-off Tournament Younited Belgium

Following the signing of this new covenant, the Jan Breydel Stadium was also the stage for the ‘Kick-Off Tournament’ of Younited Belgium, the national umbrella organisation that brings together more than 40 Younited teams from across the country. No fewer than 15 Younited teams – accounting for 200 Younited players – travelled to Bruges to fraternise, organise team-building activities and play a football tournament on Club Brugge’s practice fields. The organisation of this tournament fits in perfectly with the many actions currently taking place in Bruges in the build-up to the ‘World Day of Resistance against Poverty’, which takes place annually on 17 October. On Saturday 14 October, for instance, there will be a walk in which Bruges Dialogue City will call for the right to decent work.

“The assets that ‘being part of a football club’ naturally carries with it ensure that people who – due to their personal baggage and situation – are in danger of remaining on the sidelines of society can still play along and become a champion in their own way thanks to our Younited team. Within this project, we as Club Brugge not only offer the participants the opportunity to come and train with us every week, we also make sure that they are part of the big Club family and can proudly propagate this sense of identity.” [..] ”15 years ago, I co-founded our Bruges team. Over the years, we have been able to produce many wonderful stories and results, both on and off the pitch. We are still surprised daily how big an impact we football club has on the lives of many people. We are proud that in the future, with the signing of this new covenant, we can continue to do this together with all our partners for Bruggelians who are struggling.”

Peter Gheysen, Head of Club Brugge Foundation