SUMMARY: Fútbol Más
The Sports Effect Refugee Sports Profile series now focuses on Fútbol Más. Fútbol Más is global organisation with the mission of promoting psychosocial wellbeing of children and youth, by strengthening the processes of resilience, meaningful bonds and community cohesion through play and sport. This is done with a vision that combines community, happiness and inspiration. Fútbol Más works with Refugees and Locals and it focuses on game-based sports and football. Fútbol Más future plans are to keep on strengthening its methodology, making it adaptable, transferrable to other entities, professionals, and contexts so that it can have greater impact in a sustainable way.
CHALLENGES
Fútbol Más has tried reaching out to UN/ related entities working with refugees to collaborate in projects but it is not always easy. Some women face challenges accessing sport programmes, often due to cultural circumstances. There is also a high amount of drop-outs, especially among teenagers. The administrative complexities of the migration process and the different legal statuses (migrant, immigrant, asylum seeker, refugee, etc.) can lead to further stigma and challenges for integration. Involving refugees in higher positions is a challenge for Fútbol Más especially since its main target beneficiaries are children. Fútbol Más is trying to promote children’s participation in the design of interventions, but it is often not easy.
Fundraising and financial sustainability is a constant challenge in order to guarantee the impact of the programs in the long term. In order to adapt the methodology to working in very different contexts and countries, there is a need to constantly update and improve the needs assessment processes. One important challenge of the work with displaced persons is the turnover of the participants, often due to short periods of times for them staying in the same place. This challenges the possibility of a deep intervention and longitudinal evaluation processes.
LESSONS LEARNED IN REFUGEE SPORTS PROGRAMMES
Fútbol Más puts the focus on inclusion and integration of refugees. Sessions always include local and migrant/refugee children together. Fútbol Más believes in inclusion as a crucial means to effective integration. Fútbol Más methodology fosters a welcoming climate in which every single person is treated equally. Even if
at first there may be feelings of distrust, through the game these are slowly but surely dissipated.
Establishing local networks within the neighbourhood or community is key in their implementation model. During the social analysis and needs assessment stage a mapping is done, and later contact is established with stakeholders so as to progress sensitively. Fútbol Más has co-designed with refugees, community members, and migration experts in order to create appropriate programmes.
FM believes in strong partnership building and joint cooperation in all stages of the implementing process: Programme design, fundraising, proposal writing and submission, early-stage preparations, implementation and impact assessment.
IMPACT ON REFUGEES AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Fútbol Más’ refugee sports profile highlights that they prioritise mental and physical wellbeing of children and youth, as well as life skills development. Others indicators can be included, like the sense of belonging to the community, the perception of safety, the perception of inclusion. In Kenya in 2019, in their programs of the refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab, they measured the resilience of the participants through the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Before the intervention, 74% of the participants were on a “normal” range, versus 84% at the end of the program.
In the programs focused on the Caravans of Migration in Mexico in 2021, Futbol Más applied a survey to the professionals of the migration centers. 78% of the professionals declared that the children were able to better solve the conflicts since their participation. In France in 2023 in the program Terrains d’avenir, 88% of the 102 young refugee participants declared that the program helped them to set their life goals.
For more on refugee sports programming and how to create inclusive, impactful and sustainable projects please contact info@thesportseffect.org