Basic Information:

  • Founded in: 1994
  • Located in: Chaco Chico, Argentina

Short Description:
Playing a bit of football together instead of just hanging around formed the beginning of Defensores del Chaco. In 1994 a cultural and sports centre was built in Chaco Chico, a neglected suburb of on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The centre is now visited by around 1200 children and young people and offers art and music courses alongside football and other sports. In addition, young people can train to become football coaches or cultural workers.

Since its humble beginnings, Defensores del Chaco has become one of the main stakeholders in the global streetfootballworld network. The organisation, a member of the streetfootballworld network since 2002, has been able to start new street football leagues on a regional level while providing support and know-how to organisations in Argentina and across South America. By attracting greater interest in the street football methodology 'Fútbol Callejero', Defensores del Chaco promotes social integration, education and community development for a large number of children and young men and women in Argentina and across the continent.

Target Group:
The activities offered by Defensores del Chaco are targeted to children and young people in the economically depressed suburb of Buenos Aires, Chaco Chico. Young people involved in the organisation have the opportunity to both profit from the programmes on offer and to create and run their own activities.

Thematic Fields:

  • Children's Rights and Education
  • Health Promotion
  • Anti-Descrimination and Social Integration

Support in the Framework of the Football for Hope Movement:
Under the leadership of Defensores del Chaco the "Liga Nacional de Fútbol Callejero" (LNFC) was founded in early 2007 in Argentina. The LNFC, supported by Football for Hope, is the national equivalent of what has already occurred on the South American level: the birth of a network of community-based NGOs that together strive to establish and promote a sustainable system of local street football leagues using the Fútbol Callejero" (street football) methodology. The methodology seeks to engage youth into public participation processes and to celebrate their role as responsible actors in civil society. Currently, 4 regions are represented in the LNFC where a total of 5 "reference organisations" are coordinating the development in the regions. Defensores del Chaco functions as the coordinating body on the national level. Through Football for Hope's support, three significant developments are taking place within the LNFC: the expansion of the network, the strengthening of the reference organisations and the facilitation of regional and national network meetings and tournaments.

In 2006, Defensores was supported through Football for Hope in a coaching exchange with Centro para el Desarrollo de la Inteligencia from Paraguay, a fellow member of the South American Street Football Network.

Contact Details:
Organisation: Defensores del Chaco
Name: Fernando Leguiza
Address: Padre Varvello 4800
Post Code: B1742ITR
City: Paso del Rey, Moreno, Buenos Aires
Country: Argentina
Tel.: +54 237 4664023
Email: mailto:fabian@defensoresdelchaco.org.ar
Website: http://www.defensoresdelchaco.org.ar/