The 6th Big Hearts Day was #Morethanfootball

The 6th Big Hearts Day was #Morethanfootball

To show their support to the official charity of the Club, the First Team squad wore the stunning Third Kit with a Big Hearts logo taking pride of place on the front alongside the golden Club crest. Whilst showing their strong commitment to the community activities taking place at Tynecastle Park, Hearts made history by playing at home in the iconic blue and black jersey for the very first time in a competitive fixture.

Big Hearts Day Refugee Fundraiser

Tynecastle Park is the only stadium in Scotland hosting ‘Welcome Through Football’. Big Hearts, the charity of the Club, runs the project for refugee and asylum seekers aged 7 to 25, with football-based activities promoting their social inclusion and access to education. As part of Big Hearts Day, on 19th March at the game Hearts v Livingston, they encouraged football fans to support the charity’s work with a donation. The money raised will enable Big Hearts to continue supporting refugee communities arriving in Scotland, as they are making Edinbugh their new home after escaping war or persecution.

A part of the funds will be donated to the EFDN ‘Emergency Appeal‘ which assists internally displaced people at the Lviv Stadium in West Ukraine.

Before kick-off, Hearts fans were invited to join in the Big Hearts Day celebrations:

– At the Stadium from 1:30pm: Drums performance on the Plaza, face painting & goodies for the whole family. Volunteers were on hand to collect donations.

– On Hearts TV from 2:15pm: Fans at home got to hear from one the young refugees supported by Big Hearts at the ‘Welcome Through Football’ project.

Welcome through Foootball

The Welcome Through Football project promotes social inclusion and access to education for refugees and asylum seekers.

The EFDN initiative receives funding from the Eramus+ programme of the European Union and the UEFA Foundation for Children.

The Welcome Through Football 2021 project aims to assist in the integration and inclusion of recently arrived young refugees, asylum seekers and young people with a migrant background. EFDN and partners will develop and test a European methodology that uses football as a tool to reach refugees and migrants from different ages (7-25 years old) to get them physically and social active in European communities.

Moreover, the project assists football coaches and youth workers in the development and sharing of effective methods in reaching out to the marginalised target group, in preventing racism and intolerance.

Last Saturday marked the 6th Big Hearts Day! As Hearts took on Livingston in the cinch Premiership, Big Hearts was shining a spotlight on their fantastic work supporting young refugees through football.