The scene is familiar: a football, a pitch, two goals, two teams. But the rules, the teams, and the way the game is regulated are all slightly different, and it takes more than a great shot to be a success. Before you get your ball and get on the pitch, here’s what you need to know.
Dialogue and the ‘three halves’ approach
The key to football3 is dialogue. Through dialogue, players connect in a relationship of respect and mutual understanding; they also gain self-confidence and a sense of responsibility. Therefore, football3 incorporates three ‘halves’: a pre-game discussion, a football match, and a post-game discussion. A sanctioned space is set aside for dialogue, which is a part of the game itself and not an add-on. The topics for discussion vary according to the organisation and the players’ needs and range from agreeing on special rules to addressing relevant social issues such as citizenship, discrimination or health.
Mediators
In order to further encourage dialogue amongst players, there is no referee in football3. Players themselves call fouls by raising their hands, and disputes are resolved without appeal to a higher authority. Mediators are important in helping players in this process. Rather than interfering in the match, they play a more passive role: unbiased observer. They are trained to conduct, facilitate and mediate in discussions in order to empower players to come to mutually satisfactory, fair conclusions and only rarely, in extreme situations, are called upon to actually make a decision for the players.
Rules: some examples
In many cases, players use their pre-match dialogue as a space for agreeing on the rules of the game, and then talk with each other about how well they respected their own rules in the post-match discussion. Some rules established by streetfootballworld network members include:
• Play fair is a must – no fouls, no insults and respect for teammates and opponents alike
• Points for fair play are awarded and count alongside goals to decide the overall winner
• A certain number of males and females from each team must be on the pitch at all times
• All players must shake hands at the end of the match
• Goals only count if shot from within a specified zone
• Players who commit a foul must help their opponents back up again
• Players must be substituted after scoring a goal
• Goals scored by girls count double
• No/flying/fixed goalkeepers
• A girl must score a goal in order for any previous or subsequent goals to be counted (Applies to mixed gender teams only)
• All players—on both teams—celebrate when one team scores a goal
A long-term process
This way of using football for social development will not succeed overnight. The best football3 programmes work with players and communities over a long period of time to build the essence of the idea and to ease players into using the principles of the dialogue sessions in their lives off the pitch.
If you would like to start using football3, contact an experienced streetfootballworld network member to learn more about the underlying development work to be done. Find an overview of all streetfootballworld network members that play a form of football3 here.
GO BACK TO THE OVERVIEW OF 'FOOTBALL3'
