EFDN members Closing the Inequalities gap supporting World Day of Social Justice

EFDN members Closing the Inequalities gap supporting World Day of Social Justice

World Day of Social Justice is an international day created to promote the importance and spread awareness of social justice, which includes tackling issues including poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights, and social protections.

Social justice is a concept of fair relations between the individual and society. Social justice is about removing the barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, and disability of which are all at the heart of  EFDN and our members’ CSR programmes. 2020 Theme: “Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice”.

Our members have carried out several campaigns and programmes to support World Day of Social Justice. We are proud to showcase their incredible work, using football to make a more inclusive environment for all:

Tackling unemployment

IF Elfsborg’s POINT project is an employment project with the aim to support the transition from unemployment to work or studies of women and men, who are between 15-64 years old and have an immigrant background and/ or disabilities. The project name POINT is an acronym for the Swedish words Impact through Public -, Nonprofit- and Business organisations. Within the programme an introduction manual will be created and used to provide an effective gradual movement forward for every participant. Different activities will be offered, such as; ACT (Accept and Commitment Training against Mental Illness) and Supported Education (for support toward and during studies) or Supporter Employment (as a method to support long-lasting employment). Nonprofit organisations, initially represented by Sjuhärad’s famous and largest football club, help to provide a positive attitude that will influence a more inclusive relationship between employers and employees.

‘Getting Workfit’ is a FC Emmen programme which enables unemployed and disabled people to get a job during the football season. Moreover, the programme uses the power of football to encourage personal and social development through training sessions. FC Emmen is more than football. And the club wants to show that by means of the ‘getting workfit’ project, together with the UWV and USG Restart. With the help of certified job coaches, fifteen people with unemployment benefits or the young disabled are given the opportunity to work during the football season 2018-2019 with the network of FC Emmen and Naoberschap United used to get them a paid job.

Equality

Chelsea Foundation developed its own equality campaign ‘Building Bridges’, which is an all-year-round programme promoting diversity within the club and their local communities. Chelsea FC is proud to be one of only two Premier League clubs to hold the Advanced Level of the Equality Standard and have a long and proud history in tackling discrimination in all its forms. As part of the Building Bridges campaign, they designed a series of workshops in partnership with the Football Association for primary school pupils to discuss cultural and religious issues, disabilities and how these impact day-to-day life. Pupils also consider how football can help overcome some of the barriers that exist between people as well as the diversity of a club like Chelsea and invited them to make a series of pledges to promote and celebrate diversity.

Equality = The Only Choice” is an on-going independent project carried by GNK Dinamo since 2012 in order to stand against racism and discrimination in football. Started off as a photo campaign in 2012, ”Equality = The Only Choice” is the club’s firm stance over intolerance and discrimination in football, and society in general. The club recognises the equality between everyone around the world, and the right to live a normal life, to have a normal and to develop themselves freely, regardless of places of origin, life opportunities, skin colors or capabilities. Therefore, GNK Dinamo developed this project to emphasize the importance of diversity, equality, and equality as the only option in football, sport, and society. At GNK Dinamo, there is only room for equality.

Gender

The Liverpool FC Foundation’s Girls Football project aims to provide females with numerous and excellent opportunities to participate in the sport at a local community setting. To help encourage the participation of girls within football, the LFC Foundation are providing coaching sessions for free to local girls interested in both playing, learning the game and having fun.

Shakhtar Social created FC Shakhtar Girls Team in December 2018. The team includes 25 girls, well-talented players aged 7-8 years old. The programme is implemented in tandem with United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine (UNFPA Ukraine), standing for development of girls’ football in Ukraine and promoting gender equality. FC Shakhtar Girls Team is a future basis of a professional women’s team FC Shakhtar to be founded in 2026. The team is based in Kharkiv and players participate in Masterball Cup constantly.

Social inclusion

IF Elfsborg’s ‘We Together’  business area represents the vast amount of work that IF Elfsborg has developed, supported and promoted away from the professional football arena. Conceived in 2009 as Camp Elfsborg, the ‘We Together’ then as a project, has expanded exponentially over the years, continuously evolving and developing its content and infrastructure to support those within the community who are most in need. As one of the foremost leading football brands in Sweden, IF Elfsborg along with its associate partners has the responsibility and power to open a whole world of opportunities for those seeking help or progression. As highlighted, we do not do this alone and with the generous co-operational support of national organisations, local businesses, regional municipality and other clubs (in all sports), the ‘We Together’ business area continues to impress and influence positive community action.

Disability

Newcastle United Foundation has been providing professional disability football coaching to adults and children with a range of disabilities. Taking an inclusive approach to football, we ensure everyone can enjoy the beautiful game. Their disability football programme now works with over 1,300 people with a range of disabilities. The charity is proud to have an FA licence for two Regional Talent Centres, one for Blind players and one for Deaf and Partially Sighted. Newcastle United Foundation Disability Football Clubs include: Downs Syndrome, Power Chair, Cerebral Palsy, Frame, Deaf, Blind, Partially Sighted and Amputee.

The Danny Ings Disability Sport Projects sits within the Sport strand of Burnley FC in the Community. Its aims and objectives are focused on creating opportunities for people within the communities who possess a disability. The motivated, dedicated and committed Disability Development team work endlessly daily to ensure that these aims and objectives are achieved, with assistance from their majority funders. Currently, an estimated 22% of the population in Burnley have a disability, with these people often facing significant exclusion creating vast difficulty when attempting to integrate into society. Burnley FC in the Community feels that everybody deserves the right to access opportunities and overcome barriers to participate in sport, despite any given disability or impairment. This notion led to the birth of the Danny Ings Disability Sport Project.