EFDN Highlights: September & October 2020
As 2020 comes to an end, EFDN invites you to look back on this year’s top activities, projects and news stories. Take a look at some highlights from the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks in September and October.
#Morethanfootball Action Weeks
On September 15th, EFDN kicked off the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks, an international campaign for the European football community to showcase the impact of their community and social responsibility initiatives. We provided professional clubs, leagues and FAs around Europe with a platform to inform and engage with fans and stakeholders on their sport for development programmes. From the 15th of September to the 11th of October, participating organisations celebrated the work they did on and off the pitch to step up for their communities. Together, we have reached more than 40 million people online and organised the biggest campaign on CSR in football so far. You can download the Impact Report here. Let’s look back at some of the best moments from those weeks.
15/09: #Morethanfootball Kick-Off
PAOK FC and SL Benfica officially kicked off the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks at the Toumba Stadium of Thessaloniki before the start of their UEFA Champions League third round qualifying match. Club captains Dimitris Pelkas and André Almeida signed a pledge supporting the aims of the Action Weeks and led their teams onto the pitch with a #Morethanfootball banner.
21/09: International Day of Peace
The 21st of September is a day for the global football community to recognise the daily efforts of those who work to promote peace. We celebrated by presenting our projects that relate to the Day of Peace and by showing some of our members’ work to achieve peace.
23/09: European Week of Sport Kick-Off
EFDN joined organisations and individuals across the European Union to support the #BeActive European Week of Sport.
24/09: Crossbar Challenge and Physical Activity & Healthy Lifestyle
EFDN members and #Morethanfootball participants took part in the Crossbar Challenge with their community teams and staff. See how they did here.
25/09: Sport and the SDGs
#Morethanfootball Action Day 3 focused on the intersection between football and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). EFDN members implement projects that fall within the scope of the SDGs through various themes: education, health and wellbeing, gender equality, climate change and partnerships for the Goals. See the initiatives #Morethanfootball participants promoted on this day in this article.
26/09 – 27/09: Disabilities
EFDN invited all participating organisations to present their programmes to promote the social inclusion of persons with physical and intellectual disabilities through football.
29/09: Sustainability
EFDN observed the Sustainability Action Day on the 29th of September to recognise its own and applaude the initiatives set forth by member and participating organisations to emphasise and adopt sustainable paths towards the future.
01/10: International Day of Older Persons
On the 30th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons, EFDN invited all #Morethanfootball participants to promote initiatives they develop or engage with to ensure a healthy social and physical lifestyle for the elderly in their communities.
02/10: International Day of Non-Violence
On this day, we praise the efforts of all those who “fight” for a safer and non-violent world. #Morethanfootball participants observed the celebration on social media and on the pitch.
06/10: Gender Equality
EFDN and participating organisations highlighted and showcased initiatives to support the female gender and empower women across the European continent. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go before we reach parity, but the work we and our members do is leading Europe – and European football – in the right direction. See how our participants celebrated Gender Equality Action Day here.
08/10: Fare Football People Weeks Kick-Off
EFDN teamed up with the Fare Network to support and promote the #FootballPeople Weeks, a campaign that united supporters, clubs, players and communities affected by discrimination to take a stand for equality and inclusion. See how we worked with Fare to fight hate here.
10/10: World Mental Health Day
The penultimate day of the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks coincided with World Mental Health Day. In observance of this, EFDN wanted to raise awareness of mental health issues in society and in European football – exhibiting some of the most impactful programmes of our members and #Morethanfootball participants. Read about how we work to propagate mental health in this article.
