Less than two decades ago, the town of Foča in Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted a famous tournament for the Balkan region’s most promising young players. The tradition was abandoned when conflict engulfed the region from 1992 to 1995.

Ten years later, streetfootballworld network member Football Friends revived the tournament, bringing together teams from throughout the once war-torn region. In 2008, Football Friends and streetfootballworld, with support from the European Commission Directorate General for Enlargement and Football for Hope, held the first European Street Football Festival alongside the tournament to celebrate the power of football for social change. A massive success, the festival was held again in 2009.

In 2008 and again in 2009, the festival united 24 teams of young people aged 14-18 from across the Balkans and the rest of Europe for a celebration of the power of football. The main goal of the festivals was to promote intercultural dialogue and the concept of fair play among young participants.

Simply bringing young people together may go a long way toward fostering a greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures, but that is only the beginning. The success of Foča 08 and 09 lies in the use of football as a common language to unite players from across Europe, many of whom would otherwise be unable to communicate with each other due to the lack of a shared language. The sport offered every young participant a way to approach players from other cultural backgrounds, overcoming language barriers to share a positive experience. It also helped young people from the former Yugoslavia confront the prejudices that continue to thrive years after the region’s civil war. By adjusting the method of play to foster respect for others, football became an even more effective way of enabling and encouraging young people from different backgrounds to come into meaningful contact with each other.

While Foča 08 and Foča 09 both focused on using football for social integration, Foča 09 built upon the success of its predecessor. In its second year, the festival featured workshops and activities for young participants that focused on fair play, intercultural dialogue and Development through Football. These icebreaker activities were well-received by participants and leaders alike, and were an effective way of preparing participants for the highlight of the event: a street football tournament following Fair Play rules

“Someone gives us a hand when we fall.  That was awesome.”
Young participant, Sokak Ligi, Turkey

No fouls, no insults, no referees, and responsibility for three rules placed in the hands of the teams themselves: these were the basic tenets of both festivals. But in Foča 09, the rules reflected a stronger emphasis on the importance of the social aspect of the game. Mixed-gender teams became a necessity, teams awarded each other points for fair play after matches, and a Fair Play Trophy was awarded to the delegation voted the fairest team at the end of the tournament. This second trophy reinforced the importance not just of winning, but of treating one’s opponents with respect and fairness. It was won by the delegation from Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This greater emphasis on football’s social benefits, paired with more pre-tournament activities to set the scene, enabled Foča 09 to provide young people with even more incentive to get to know fellow players and break down cultural barriers.

For the participants, the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in Bosnia and Herzegovina with young people from around Europe was a unique experience that had a positive impact on their personal development. At a local level, the mere fact that Balkan communities that were only recently torn apart by civil war were able to come together in the spirit of fair play and friendship was in itself a remarkable achievement.

The majority of young participants responded positively to whether they would return to a similar event, with some saying they would have liked to have stayed longer and had even more time to interact with each other.

The European Street Football Festival is an excellent demonstration of how young people can communicate without language, play football without conflict and get to know others without prejudice.

“They have formed very important international friendships and now they now that the world is much bigger than they thought before.”
Delegation leader, Oltalom Sports Association, Hungary

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