Football for Hope Festival 2010
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Showcasing Development through Football
During the final week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, 32 teams from
across the globe will converge on Alexandra in Johannesburg for a very
different festival of football. For the first time ever, the "social
dimension" of the game will be integrated into an official event of
the FIFA World Cup™.
The Football for Hope Festival 2010 will showcase and promote best
practise in the field of Social Development through Football. The
teams, made up of boys and girls aged between 15 and 18, will
represent local organisations that use football for positive social
change in the areas of Health Promotion, Peace Building, Children's
Rights & Education, Anti-Discrimination & Social Integration and the
Environment.
Participants will be selected in recognition of their personal
commitment to the work of their home organisations. These
organisations are implementing partners in the Football for Hope
Movement, the key element of the strategic alliance between
FIFA and
streetfootballworld.
A Festival of Football
The Festival 2010 will demonstrate the power of the game, on and off
the pitch. From 3-10 July 2010 in Alexandra will be host of the
Football for Hope Festival. The participating mixed-gender teams will
demonstrate their silky skills in a fast-paced, high-intensity
tournament to decide the 2nd Street Football World Champion.
A street football stadium will be constructed in the heart of
Alexandra, providing spectators an up-close view of the five-a-side
action. And there won't be a referee in sight - fair play rules mean
that any disagreements between the teams are resolved through
dialogue.
The Festival 2010 will encourage exchange and intercultural dialogue
between participating delegations as well as with local grassroots
organisations. South Africa will be represented by two delegations,
including a host team from Alexandra. The cultural diversity of the
participating teams will be celebrated throughout the week of Festival
2010, with photos, films and live performances portraying the world of
football culture.
The event builds on the success of the streetfootballworld festival
06, held in Berlin during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when 24 teams came
together for the first Street Football World Championship. Following a
week of football festivities, the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)
from Kenya were crowned champions. In 2010, MYSA will be back to
defend their title and celebrate the power of the game to inspire
social change.
The Road to Alexandra
In order to facilitate the active participation of local
communities in South Africa, the Festival build-up will start in 2008
with the first South African Football for Hope Festival. In 2009, the
all-African Festival will take place, involving Football for Hope
partner organisations from across the continent.
Just prior to the Festival, from 28 June to 2 July 2010, some
delegations will participate in four Pre-Festivals across South
Africa. These encounters will be staged by local Football for Hope
Implementing Partners operating in disadvantaged communities in the
provinces of Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Northern
Province/Freestate.
The Festival 2010 will represent the culmination of the 2010 FIFA
World Cup Official Campaign (link to Official Campaign article),
providing an ideal platform to present the campaign's achievements to
the world.
Leaving a Legacy
The impact of the Festival 2010 will go far beyond the final week of
the FIFA World Cup. In Alexandra, the Festival 2010 site will evolve
into a Football for Hope Centre, providing the infrastructural basis
for the sustainable work of a local organisation. The organisation
will continue the use of football as a tool for social development for
the long-term benefit of the local community. One year after the
Festival 2010, a follow-up Football for Hope Festival will be
organised in South Africa, maintaining the momentum created by the
FIFA World Cup on the continent.
Around the world, young footballers are contributing to an environment
of positive social change in their communities. In early July 2010,
when all eyes turn to Johannesburg for the FIFA World Cup™ Final, the
Football for Hope Festival 2010 will celebrate their love of the game
and their commitment to social change and development through
football. We hope to see you there!
Football for Hope: a Movement!
The Football for Hope Movement is the key element of the strategic
alliance between FIFA and streetfootballworld, created to enhance
dialogue and collaboration between football associations, committed
clubs and players, professional leagues and involved commercial
partners as well as local organisations advancing social development.
The Movement, led by FIFA in its capacity as world football's
governing body and streetfootballworld as the driving force behind a
global network of organisations that use the potential of football to
promote and facilitate social development, aims to utilise the role of
football in the society in order to contribute to the achievement of
the UN Millennium Development Goals.
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