Voetbal in de stad becomes KAA GENT FOUNDATION
In order to maximize our position as a social organization that is inextricably linked with KAA Gent, we will work from now on under the name KAA GENT FOUNDATION.
More than ever vzw Voetbal in de stad utilizes the mobilizing power of the brand KAA Gent, more so than the mobilizing force of football. The reference to football no longer covers the work of our organization. Next to football we also use other sports and activities as tools to empower people. The brand and colors of KAA Gent connect all of this. Our social-emancipatory methods are inherently linked with this brand and these colors.
It’s the connection with KAA Gent that makes the difference and which constitutes a unique and powerful motivation for personal progress amongst the people we work with. The change of name has only one goal: enforce the way KAA Gent connects people, the most important tool of our organization.
Through this decision the KAA GENT FOUNDATION positions itself more emphatically on an international scene of professional sports teams with a social commitment. In Europe we do this as a member of the European Football for Development Network (EFDN), an organisation with than 40 members, football clubs and foundations, amongst others the Feyenoord Foundation, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and the Fundacao Benfica.
Policy plan 2017-2020
vzw Voetbal in de stad is the CSR department of KAA Gent. The organization was founded in 2008 as a unique public-private partnership where the professional football club, the local governments and the fans of KAA Gent have built, formed and coordinated the community service ever since. The name vzw Voetbal in de stad came up in 2008 as a project name. It was a translation of the English Football in the community, the model that would be used.
“As a legal entity vzw Voetbal in de stad will live on. Inside the non profit organisation the members will keep playing their role. The goals of the non profit organisation will stay the same, the social mission and vision and the actions that will be organized with the goal of creating a social bonus for Gent will be elaborated in the policy plan 2017-2020. This policy plan will be presented to the public on Monday the 9th of October 2017″, states Resul Tapmaz, president of vzw Voetbal in de stad’s board of directors.
Goal and mission
This change of name is in accordance with the statutory goals of vzw Voetbal in de stad (article 3, § 1): “The organization tries, based on principles of corporate social responsibility, and with the help of professional football organization KAA Gent, to realise an open stadium service to enforce the social society at a local-regional level. With this in mind the organization will make an extra effort for the integration of vulnerable people in the city.”
This goal is further elaborated in the mission statement of the organization, as stated in the strategic policy plan 2017-2020, that will be finished this summer: The KAA GENT FOUNDATION creates a social value for the inhabitants of Gent, with and through KAA Gent. The footballing scene in Gent acts as a lever and the main terrain of its work. At the same time the connecting power of KAA Gent is optimally used to the benefit of society.
Logo and slogan
The KAA GENT FOUNDATION will henceforth use the style of KAA Gent. FOUNDATION will be written in a variant of the KAA Gent font to emphasize the difference between KAA Gent CVBA SO and the KAA GENT FOUNDATION. As slogan the organization opted for ‘The connecting force of KAA Gent’, referencing to the organization’s mission statement.
