REFUGEE SPORTS PROFILE: CASE STUDY- DISCOVER FOOTBALL
This part of the Refugee and Women’s Sports Profile Series focuses on Discover Football (DF), a German-based NGO and network that leverages football to promote a world where women can engage in sports free from discrimination. Discover Football works with a diverse range of communities, including those with refugee or migrant backgrounds, local and international groups, women, non-binary individuals, and marginalized groups. Discover Football’s football festivals bring many communities together and focus on engaging both adults over 18 and local female youth. By co-creating programs and festivals with their local and global partners, Discover Football is able to leverage it’s knowledge and expertise as well as network to organize meaningful and inclusive football experiences. Their upcoming festival in Turkey is co- created with local clubs and will invite FLINTA* people from around the world. Discover Football has current projects with their partner, Terre des Hommes which work to equip younger refugee female youth with the skills and certification to work in the youth development space.
CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
From grassroots to elite level, there are a lot of different actors in the women’s football and refugee women’s sports space. Discover Football aims to influence and contribute to positive change for women in football around the world and this requires strong knowledge and insights from partners and key stakeholders around the world. Each one of Discover Football’s projects is tailored to the communities needs and is very context specific. This type of design can make it hard to compare results across programmes. There is still discrimination and prejudice in all societies and Germany is no different. Discover Football works to promote and advocate for women’s and human rights at a societal level, but also works practically with individuals and organizations to address the causes and effects of discrimination. Making accessibility central to all Discover Football sessions means that the organisation must always be ready to adapt and this means they must remain flexible, which can make planning and budgeting complex.Bringing together around 100 women who speak different languages for festivals presents challenges. However, the organization is able to leverage it’s local networks to provide translators so to ensure full participation.
LESSONS LEARNED IN INCLUSIVE WOMEN SPORTS
Discover Football has gained valuable insights from each project, whether based in Germany within the EU Erasmus+ framework or with the support of the Federal
Foreign Office of Germany in international locations. Key Learnings include:
- Strong partnerships are essential, recognizing the expertise of local organizations and grassroots teams in addressing gender- based discrimination and challenges through sport.
- Refugee women’s sports is challenging and requires a clear, well researched approach, along with long-term investment and implementation. Projects are designed to begin with local needs assessments and research.
- Bringing together all stakeholders in the game is crucial for driving change and understanding challenges and successes at all levels.
- A wider network approach is crucial for understanding different perspectives and achieving meaningful change at the systems level.
IMPACT OF WORK WITH WOMEN AND GIRLS SPORTS
Discover Football employs a layered approach to change, continuously advocating for increased visibility and opportunities for women and girls in football. Projects
are tailored to achieve specific outcomes, including coaching certification, professional development, and community engagement, often involving refugee participants.
A key activity is organizing international football festivals in Berlin, Germany, and abroad. These festivals bring together players, teams, activists, referees, media, and coaches to play, discuss key topics, build capacity, and create positive change. Each festival has unique goals and leaves a lasting impact on refugees, women, participants and communities.
Development Opportunities: Through football, Discover Football provides pathways for development, whether as a player, coach, volunteer, or in other roles, connecting these communities to its network in Berlin and globally.
Impact Assessment: The organization assesses the impact of its initiatives on beneficiaries through surveys, observations, reports, and focus group discussions.
Importantly it then shares lessons learned helping improve the impact of others. To maximize positive impact on local experts, Discover Football actively involves them in more significant roles within their programs, showcasing their expertise and providing valuable opportunities for locals.
For more on refugee sports programming and how to create inclusive, impactful and sustainable projects please contact info@thesportseffect.org