23.05.2008 - 25.05.2008  /  Foca, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Foca 08 - European Street Football Festival  /  Social Event

The first ever European festival for Development through Football to be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From May 23rd to 25th 2008 the town of Foca in Bosnia and Herzegovina will host a unique event in the field of Development through Football. For the first time, organisations from across the European continent will come together to present their work and celebrate the contribution of the game to social development. The event is being supported by the European Commission.

Foca, located in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a well-known centre of football in the Balkans. Prior to the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, Foca was the host of an annual youth football tournament bringing together the most successful teams from across Yugoslavia. With the outbreak of conflict and the resulting disintegration of relations between the Balkans’ myriad communities, however, the tournament was disbanded. It was not until ten years after the end of the war that streetfootballworld network member Football Friends revived the tournament. Last year, with the support of Football for Hope, the key element of the strategic alliance between FIFA and streetfootballworld, a street football event was also introduced. The event proved hugely successful and brought together youths from different Balkan communities that remain largely divided. Following the success of the street football tournament, this year Foca will expand to include a Pan-European dimension.

Foca 08 will bring together 24 teams representing organisations active in the field of Development through Football. The teams will consist of 8 street footballers between the ages of 14 and 18, some featuring both boys and girls. Approximately 12 teams will come from European countries with a further 12 teams from the Balkans.

The festival will take place over three days adjacent to the town’s football stadium on two especially constructed street football pitches. The spectators will be entertained by fast-paced street football, live match commentary and special performances. Matches will be five-a-side and be played according to fair play rules with no referees.

During the entire event, participants and team coordinators will be invited to take part in workshops and meetings on Development through Football, laying the foundation for a potential European streetfootballworld network. In parallel, the traditional youth football tournament with 8 teams from across Europe will be staged at Foca’s football stadium.

Foca 08 promises to be a fantastic festival of football. We look forward to seeing you there!


The first round groups are:

GROUP A
Dads Against Drugs, UK
Trebinje, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Latvian Street Soccer Association, Latvia
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Oltalom Sports Association, Hungary
Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina

GROUP B
Straßenfußball für Toleranz, Germany & Poland
Balkan Friends, Macedonia
Fotbal pro rozvoj, Czech Republic
Football Friends Foca, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Nacro, UK
Niksic, Montenegro

GROUP C
Street League, UK
Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Sport dans la Ville, France
Gorazde, Bosnia & Herzegovina
KICKFAIR, Germany
Kragujevac, Serbia

GROUP D
Sport Against Racism Ireland, Ireland
Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina
CAIS, Portugal
Football Friends Belgrade, Serbia
Sokak Ligi, Turkey
Ustikolina, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Location :
Foca

Contact Person :

streetfootballworld gGmbH
George Springborg (  Special Projects Manager  )
Waldenserstr. 2-4
10551   Berlin (  Germany  )
+49 176 24084038
springborg@streetfootballworld.org
http://www.streetfootballworld.org