The Tea Dances
Some people are worried that there is a split growing...
Read MoreUsing sport to change the world.
There are plenty of ways to try and change the world with sport. At Live UnLtd we back loads of different kinds of projects (you can see just some of them here.) from projects that tackle unemployment, to projects that raise awareness of and provide support surrounding autism.
One way that people choose to make a change is through using sport. You can see a post about how some of our Award Winners have used sport to do this here.
How else are people doing this? We thought we’d find out.
Football Beyond Borders
Football Beyond Borders in Brazil. Photograph by Massimo Zeppetelli. Used with permission.
Football Beyond Borders believes that “prejudice and discrimination are born from a lack of understanding and experience.” So they try and break down borders by uniting people through football. They do this both in the UK and through special trips where they travel to different places in the hope of changing the world through the power of sport.
We spoke to Massimo Zepetelli from Football Beyond Borders to ask him about their recent trip to Brazil:
“Football is used as a way to show familiarity and to highlight that, whilst there are many small to great tensions in our lives (ranging from economic disparity to war), there are some common things that bind people together.”
And the trip showed him a side of Brazil he might not have expected. He says of Salvador and Natal that he was surrounded by,
“incredibly friendly and positive people, wonderful displays of community within the favelas, lovely, cheap food available to everyone, a really optimistic atmosphere, a rising economy and beautiful, natural landscape everywhere.”
Football Beyond Borders in Brazil. Photograph by Massimo Zeppetelli. Used with permission.
Football Beyond Borders are releasing a film called Over The Wall about their journey to the Middle East, how they tried to use football to create a change, and how their visit changed their lives. Take a look at the trailer.
Find out more about Football Beyond Borders here. Or find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Read a review of the film here.
The Boxing Academy
At The Boxing Academy, they help pupils who are on the brink of full exclusion from school find their feet. They give them the opportunity to work in an environment where they feel more comfortable, they still take their GCSEs and get set up on apprenticeships, and, of course, they learn about boxing!
They say, “We provide an alternative to mainstream school, combining basic education and mentoring with the discipline and culture of boxing and other sport training to re-engage the most difficult-to-reach young people.”
Take a look at what happened when JLS went to visit The Boxing Academy.
Homeless World Cup
Another organisation that uses football in this way is the Homeless World Cup, and it is currently happening as we type!
This time it is taking place in Mexico City, between the 6-14th of October.
The Homeless World Cup is a “pioneering social enterprise set up to tackle homelessness – using the power of football to energise homeless people so they can change their own lives.”
You can find out more here. Or keep up to date with them on Facebook or Twitter.
If you want to see some more inspiring sports stories, take a look at our post about some of our Award Winners who have started projects around sport.
Top photo credit: Massimo Zeppetelli. Used with permission.
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