Initiated in the year 2002, the streetfootballworld network currently unites 70 organisations that have identified football as an instrument to transform the lives of disadvantaged individuals worldwide. The streetfootballworld network members are overcoming local challenges with sustainable programmes in the thematic fields of peacebuilding, children’s rights & education, anti-discrimination & social integration, environmental protection and health promotion.
The idea of founding a network was based on the need of organisations in the field of Development through Football to achieve global visibility and recognition and to exchange existing experience and knowledge from the sector. Via the global network, each member has the possibility to strengthen its own local work and make a tangible contribution to positive social change worldwide.
The network’s focus
1. Promotion of the approach Development through Football
Joint events on regional and global levels and the use of a variety of communication platforms – online and offline – create moments of global visibility for the Network and its members and establish football as a tool for development. The development of a unique, globally applicable monitoring & evaluation system will provide scientific evidence of the contribution football makes to social development.
2. Knowledge Management and Capacity Building
The creation of knowledge platforms such as the Football for Hope Toolbox and the organisation of workshops and regional meetings provide network members new avenues to existing know-how within the sector and make the experience of others accessible to the wider community.
3. Development of new funding possibilities for network Members
Based on the local requirements and development plans of network members, new and sustainable funding concepts for social-profit-organisations are being developed. Through the inclusion of strong partners in private and public sectors, new possibilities are opened for programmes in the area of Development through Football.
4. Consultation of decision makers worldwide
External partners, particularly from the world of football and international development, are specifically approached and support the network as a key actor in the field of Development through Football.
streetfootballworld gGmbH is the legal body of the network. A seven-member Network Board, made up of representatives of the network members and the streetfootballworld gGmbH, is responsible for the strategic direction of the network. The operative work is conducted by the Network Management Team with staff members in streetfootballworld’s office in Berlin as well as regional coordination units in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Cape Town (South Africa).
