About Football for Unity

With ongoing conflicts around the world, threatening more religious, racial and ethnic divides, Football for Unity aims to transcend ethnic, religious, cultural and political differences. Using the uniting force of football, known to many as ‘The Beautiful Game’, it will promote peaceful and united communities around the world and aim to bring people together.

Football for Unity is a global unique awareness raising and development programme. It brings together children from various religious, ethnic and social backgrounds through football to overcome their differences and learn to work as teams and create youth leaders.

Football for Unity – Just Play - England will bring together children to promote peace, unity and tolerance within communities through a mixed-team, linked-school and community network of leagues and tournaments and national and international exchange programmes.

The Football for Unity programme was launched in the UK on 18th January 2006 In Greenwich, London by Sven-Goran Eriksson, the then England football manager, and there are plans to take it to the rest of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the USA in the future.

With five high-profile city cups and several regional tournaments and leagues organised by local delivery partners, we will establish a network of cups, tournaments and leagues with emphasis on long-term sustainable, self-sufficient development projects that also provide job opportunities for young adults.

We will also create an annual national Football for Unity awareness week.

Aims

1. To bring together children from all religious, ethnic and social background through football
2. To promote unity and tolerance and celebrate diversity
3. To engage young people in sport
4. To train young people from minority communities to become community football coaches and leaders and create job opportunities for young adults
5. To promote leadership within minority communities
6. To find football talent of the future

Benefits

1. To promote inter-communal understanding
2. To increase participation of children in sport and improve health and well- being
3. To increase participation and interaction outside their normal geographical area
4. To promote respect, equity, discipline, fair play and friendship
5. To encourage teamwork, leadership and partnership
6. To provide a stage for young talents to get into the professional game