Carine N’Koué: “Football is a magical driver of social inclusion in our society”

In her interview for Peace and Sport, the General Secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children discusses the foundation’s work, its selection process for projects it supports, and its achievements.

The UEFA Foundation for Children is celebrating its 10th anniversary. How would you sum up this first decade?

It has been a positive journey, as the UEFA Foundation has grown rapidly over the last 10 years. It has acquired the necessary expertise to use sport – and football in particular – as a social tool, especially for children. It is very important to us that they can practice sport in a safe environment and have access to education through sport. The UEFA Foundation has been instrumental in bringing people together, encouraging associations around the world to work towards the same goal.

Is there a particular success story that illustrates the UEFA Foundation for Children’s work?

I like to mention one of UEFA Foundation for Children’s first projects, which aimed at integrating refugees after the conflict in Syria. In refugee camps in Jordan, we initially focused on post-traumatic stress and resilience among children, who arrived completely devastated by the horrors of war and what they had seen, experienced and endured. The aim was to help them integrate into a new environment, in contact with other children.

The project then evolved. One of its successes was to include girls, which was not easy for cultural reasons. At the beginning, there were three girls enrolled. Now, more than 3,000 girls play football every day in the Zaatari and Azraq camps. We launched the project for three or four years, during which we trained refugees on site. Today, they are fully in charge of the activities. They are the coaches, the managers… The refugees manage 100% of the project.

In general, camps are located far from everything and it is very difficult to truly integrate into the host country. With this project, activities are not carried out in isolation, but are integrated into the Jordanian system. As proof of this, football teams from the camp play in tournaments organized in Jordan. The same is true for those who practice judo and take part in Jordanian competitions. It is a real success to see such integration into the country’s activities.

“Communities know their context better than anyone else”

You worked in the field in Jordan. What did you take away from that experience? Has it influenced the way you work today?

Yes, completely. Having worked in the field for almost five years, I can assure you that it’s a very rewarding experience that teaches you new ways of doing things. Before Jordan, I was in South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire. I come from the field, and it’s important to know that reality. Talking to people on the ground and understanding their needs is essential. We are not the ones who have all the answers from afar. Communities know their situation and needs better than anyone else and already have ideas for solutions. We try to help them by coordinating what already exists on the ground.

Children, girls, refugees… Is it important to support these groups?

It goes beyond that. We have this beautiful slogan, “Every child is a champion”, and the UEFA Foundation’s raison d’être is to work for disadvantaged children, young girls, children with disabilities and those in hospital. It’s important for us to give every child this opportunity, regardless of their background, religion, physical abilities, gender or social status.

Can football serve as a magic wand for children’s social inclusion?

Yes, football has something magical about it when it comes to inclusion. This is nothing new. If you take a ball and put it on a pitch, children will come and play, and they will understand each other through this activity. This magic can also be found when clubs and national teams play, bringing a whole nation together. Football has a real power to bring people together, even in the more challenging areas where the UEFA Foundation for Children works. And it serves as a vehicle for new opportunities, such as access to education or employment.

“Our main challenge lies in the selection of projects”

Are the themes of the projects you support changing? Are there any new emerging themes?

We have always had themes such as sport for greater gender equality, sport for empowerment, for education, and for everything related to social cohesion. But over the last three or four years, we have had more and more projects using football as a vehicle for raising awareness of environmental issues. And you might not necessarily think so, but many of these projects combining football and the environment come from Africa. For example, we have a rather unusual project with the Maasai in Kenya. Football is used as a vehicle to raise awareness among local people about wildlife and habitat protection.

How do you manage to reach countries all over the world?

The projects come to us, and our main challenge lies in selecting them. We are involved in certain projects, such as in Jordan, Turkey and Greece, but most of our activities consist of projects that we finance and to which we provide our expertise. We are not the main operator. This year, we received more than 3,000 applications from around the world in response to our call for projects. The choice is difficult. Even if none of the 3,000 applications are suitable, 500 projects could be funded if we had the budget for it. But we have to select around a hundred.

What are the essential criteria for having a chance to be among the winners in your calls for projects?

We do not disclose all our criteria so that we do not receive projects that focus solely on those criteria, overlooking the real needs in the area concerned. We want the opposite: we want the request to focus on needs so that we can provide support to meet them. To give you a few clues, we look at the organization’s maturity, community involvement, the description of needs and the solutions presented to meet them, as well as the project’s long-term nature and its integration into the local system. If the organization works alone, in a closed circle, it will be complicated.

How is monitoring organized for the lucky winners?

Around 100 projects are selected, with 50% of our budget allocated to European initiatives and 50% to the rest of the world. Once these projects have been selected, we monitor them over time. In general, the cycle is three years. Monitoring begins as soon as the contract is signed. We have tools that enable us to provide support and genuine follow-up, both through virtual visits and on-site visits. And what is most important to us is for the children to be in a safe environment, surrounded by qualified educators to look after them and the activities.

“Working together towards the same goal”

Let’s talk about the future. What remains to be done for the Foundation?

We are fortunate to be part of UEFA’s big family, to have access to federations, major organizations such as Peace and Sport, and sponsors who are keen to get involved. We must take advantage of this to continue to bring together the various stakeholders, to work together and move in the same direction. The more we coordinate and work together, the greater the impact will be.

UEFA Foundation was named Foundation of the Year by Peace and Sport in 2015. Can Peace and Sport’s role as “interpreter” between you, donors and associations be a lever for development?

Absolutely. Some sponsors, for example, want to invest in projects but are unfamiliar with the reality on the ground. Having and providing this expertise on the ground saves them a considerable amount of time. And it enables us to truly meet the needs of communities.

Have you noticed increased commitment from the various football stakeholders?

Yes, because in 10 years, the Foundation has earned the trust of the various stakeholders through its work. Five years ago, sponsors’ actions were spontaneous, with €20,000 or €30,000 donated without any visibility in terms of longevity.

Now, we are seeing real long-term commitments, with significant budgets. There is a genuine desire for action and change. Today, no sponsor commits for less than three years, which makes a big difference.

The players for their part did not wait for the Foundation to get engaged. Some were already very involved in their communities. But today, if they need it, the UEFA Foundation can support them. There has been a real change, as players do not hesitate to donate some of their bonuses to the Foundation for projects they are keen to support.

Simon Bardet – Peace and Sport

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