Welcome through Football project partners attend Webinars

On the 14th and 15th of April, EFDN and all 7 participating clubs in the Welcome through Football project continued their efforts towards the development of the programme through a series of webinars, due to the current COVID-19 crisis.

The Welcome Through Football programme funded by UEFA Foundation for Children started on the 1st of January and will run through until June 2020, which includes 5 delivery phases. The Welcome through Football methodology fosters the social inclusion and employability of young newly arrived immigrants and refugees.

The activities of the project promote the quality of youth work, the intercultural dialogue and strengthen the knowledge and acceptance of diversity in society. 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.

Shakhtar Social

One of the newest clubs to the Welcome through Football programme, Shakhtar Social said,

“The migrant issue in our country appeared in 2014 due to a military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Approximately 1 million 400 thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and became forced migrants in different parts of the country, including the staff of FC Shakhtar. One of the main tasks of Shakhtar Social is to help children adapt to a new environment and reality, and football, in our case, is one of the strongest tools. That’s why the Welcome through football program is very necessary for young migrants in Ukraine.”

Fundacao Benfica

Another new project partner, Fundacao Benfica said,

“We are looking forward to starting the Welcome through Football project because we strongly believe that this can be an amazing opportunity for the refugees attending the activities so that they can feel more integrated in our society and develop their skills and employability. Sports and SL Benfica will most definitely make a huge impact on their lives!”

WELCOME THROUGH FOOTBALL HAS A 3 STEP PROCESS, WHICH IS:

Socialisation to sports – providing different football offerings for young refugees of both genders related to their specific requirements such as language skills or the possibility of trauma.
Socialisation in sports – working on team structure, giving more responsibility to the participants and offering additional steps out with the sports training sessions.
Socialisation through sports – Focusing on the skills the participants learn from taking part in the available offers so that they qualify for further education in and outside of sports.

THE CLUBS PARTICIPATING IN THE PROJECT INCLUDE:

For more information about the Welcome through Football project, please visit the programme page here.

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