Project details
Eredivisie Community Champions
In partnership with the Dutch Eredivisie and eight Dutch EFDN member clubs (Feyenoord Rotterdam, FC Emmen, Excelsior Rotterdam, De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk, Sparta Rotterdam, FC Twente and Vitesse Arnhem), EFDN will start a unique football-based social inclusion project called ‘Eredivisie Community Champions’.
In the new Eredivisie Community Champions project, the goal is to support more than a thousand young people in the age group of 15 to 27 years to develop important life skills and to make them more engaged in the local community of their own city. In partnership with the Eredivisie, EFDN will coordinate the national events and manage the administration of the project. EFDN has secured 1,4 million euros in funding to deliver this new version of the EFDN Community Champions League programme.
The participating clubs have three objectives for the young people: discovering their own talents, doing something for others with those talents and finally meeting new people. By playing football together, following workshops and setting up an activity in the neighbourhood, they discover their talents. They might find out that they are a good leader, for example, or that they enjoy organising an event or are very good at marketing it. The idea is that the young people will make the neighbourhood a bit more fun because they will organise events for and in the neighbourhood from the football club several times during the 16-week programme.
The young people who sign up feel attracted to their club. In Rotterdam, young people will find it cool to be able to organise things in the name of Feyenoord, Sparta or Excelsior. All participating clubs have a business club in which a large number of local companies are represented. The youngsters thus have the chance to meet with the sponsors of the clubs to secure internship positions or paid employment after their participation in the project. In this system, young people are in charge of their own development. A personal development plan is drawn up jointly and the participants have plenty of input into which workshops take place.
Point system
The young people take part in a local street football competition in which the emphasis is on their social commitment. By carrying out social activities and taking part in workshops, the young people score points for the league table. The winner is the team that is most socially engaged on behalf of their club.
During the sixteen weeks, the participating young people can earn points for their efforts, development and activities. These points can ultimately be exchanged for match tickets, tracksuits or match shirts. This part is divided into three indicators. You can earn points for sporting achievements but also for your personal development and your contributions to the neighbourhood. At the end of the programme, there is a final ranking per participant and per team. In this way, the young people will be motivated and focused on these three goals during the programme.
After the sixteen weeks, all participants of the eight clubs, if allowed because of the corona restrictions, come together for the big final event where they can share stories and experiences with each other. The young people will also receive a national MDT (Social Service Time) certificate at the end which they can use if they apply for a job somewhere.
The Project Partners
- Eredivisie
- Feyenoord Rotterdam
- FC Emmen
- Excelsior Rotterdam
- De Graafschap
- RKC Waalwijk
- Sparta Rotterdam
- FC Twente
- Vitesse Arnhem
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
Funded by
