In April 2007 all active streetfootballworld network members received a call to hand in project proposals to apply for funding through FIFA. It was the first Call for Proposals in the framework of the Football for Hope Movement, a key element of the strategic alliance between FIFA and streetfootballworld. The organisations could apply for funding up to a sum of USD 50,000 per year for sustainable, long-term programmes in the field of “Development through Football”.
After a complex evaluation process by the Football for Hope Coordination Team in Berlin and Zurich the sub-committee of the Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility approved the support of 27 organisations from 24 countries (12 of them working in Africa, 9 in the Americas, 4 in Europe, and 2 in Asia). All supported projects aim at making a relevant contribution to the sustainable development of the organisation. In total a sum of nearly USD 1 Mio. has been allocated!
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter is delighted by the new dimension of the movement: “FIFA takes its social responsibility very seriously as part of its aim to build a better future. That is why we have declared Football for Hope to be a movement and an activity of strategic importance and we are proud that we are now in a position to support more organisations in their work.”
In the future, further Calls for Proposals within the Football for Hope Movement shall be issued on a regular basis. Following the example set by the industrialised nations in 2002 with their agreement to earmark 0.7% of their gross domestic product for international development aid, FIFA has also decided to invest at least the same percentage of its overall income in worldwide social developments through football. On the long run, the Football for Hope Movement wants to make a tangible contribution to the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The Football for Hope Movement is a key element of the strategic alliance between FIFA and streetfootballworld. The objective of the Football for Hope Movement is to establish a quality seal for sustainable social and human development programmes focusing on football as the central tool in the areas of health promotion, peace building, anti-discrimination and social integration, children's rights and education, as well as environment, and therewith support best practise in the field. Besides the support of selected projects, the action plan foresees the development of a knowledge platform and a monitoring & evaluation system, as well as the implementation of central events such as the Football for Hope Forum (in the framework of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup) or the Football for Hope Festival (as continuation of the streetfootballworld festival in the framework of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™).
The following organisations will be supported through Football for Hope as of August 2007:
1. Women in the Field (ELENA NGO) – Cameroon
2. United Action for Children – Cameroon
3. Coaching for Hope – Mali
4. Single Leg Amputee Sports Club Sierra Leone (SLASC) – Sierra Leone
5. Youth in Action Sierra Leone (YASAL) – Sierra Leone
6. Breakthrough Sports Academy – Zambia
7. Delta Cultura Cabo Verde/Escuela de Futebol do Tarrafal – Cape Verde Islands
8. CHILD – Liberia
9. Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) – Kenya
10. Esperance – Rwanda
11. Diambars – Senegal
12. Grassroot Soccer – South Africa
13. Spirit of Soccer – Cambodia
14. Child Link India Foundation / Magic Bus – India
15. Streetfootball Norway – Norway
16. NACRO – England
17. Street League – England
18. Football Friends – Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina
19. Soccer in the Streets – USA
20. Con-texto Urbano – Colombia
21. Defensores del Chaco – Argentina
22. Gente Viva / CHIGOL – Chile
23. Asociación de Arte, Cultura y Deporte “San Isidro“ (ACDSI) – Bolivia
24. Fundação EPROCAD – Brazil
25. Formação - Centro de Apoio à Educação Básica – Brazil
26. Asociación Civil Pro Nino Intimo / Escuelas Deporte y Vida – Peru
27. Centro para el Desarrollo de la Inteligencia (CDI) – Paraguay
