Football for Peace and Community-Building

More about Football for Peace and Community-Building

Lebanon is often described as one of the most dangerous countries in the world, and has been plagued with civil wars, invasions and terrorist attacks. The fear and tension affect everybody, in particular Lebanon’s children, who too often have been involved in the unrest. There is a need for conflict resolution activities, and the problems of Lebanon are apparent everywhere; even professional football clubs are politicized and politically and religiously divided. This has caused tension and resulted in a ban on spectator football. Therefore, football is seen as something that divides the country instead of uniting it. Rockwool is trying to change this by establishing grassroots football, and using the potential of sport to unite the fragmented society. The aim is to establish football clubs across Lebanon, and based on principles of “sport for all” , Rockwool brings children and adults together across different communities. Thus providing them an opportunity to play, have fun and build new friendships that can help building a strong civil society which promotes peace, tolerance and collaboration.

Rockwool supports peace-building and believes that working through youth has great potential for transforming post-conflict situations. The aim of this project is to establish Popular Football Clubs all over Lebanon as a means of getting people to meet. Normally, only children of the elite with money or right contacts get the opportunity to participate in organized sports, but this project builds upon fairness, fun and is open to everyone. This represents a break with established sports in Lebanon and draws on inspiration from the Sport-for-All culture to promote development of an active and tolerant civil society. Since 2008, more than 300 volunteering coaches have attended training seminars, where participants learn how to organize activities for children, establish clubs and where they get a chance to meet people from other parts of the country. Furthermore, hundreds of parents and club leaders have been involved in educational seminars.

The project has established 80 clubs all over Lebanon, and this number will reach 110 during 2011. Each week activities reach around 2,000 children – during trainings, festivals and Open Fun Football Schools, where children from different backgrounds are meeting. The project promotes democratic and peaceful development where cooperation is established in spite of gender, religious and social differences.