"The power of football is unlimited. All together we must use this opportunity to raise more issues and help people feel integrated”, said FIFA Legend Samuel Eto’o after holding recently a training session with a group of young refugees from a programme supported by the FIFA Foundation in his home country Cameroon.

The Red Deporte Cameroun is one of the many organisations around the world who are part of the FIFA Foundation Community Programme. Once a year, the Foundation invites well-established not-for-profit entities to apply for funding to use football to address social issues impacting youths.

The Foundation can today confirm the list of 93 such organisations across all continents that will benefit from the Foundation’s support in 2019 for a total budget of more than USD 3.1 million. The range of social initiatives supported is very broad, including programmes in the areas of education, health, peace-building, refugees, leadership and gender equality.

In Cameroon, the Red Deporte delivers social services to refugees affected by the civil conflict in neighbouring Central African Republic with a focus on gender equality, health and environmental awareness. The project includes football-inspired health education sessions addressing malaria, HIV/AIDS and WASH and the distribution of mosquito nets and basic hygiene supplies to the beneficiaries.

On his visit to the Don Bosco centre in Yaoundé in his native Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o witnessed that football can be a powerful tool to bring hope and teach life skills in underprivileged communities.

“Football is like a school of life. What they can change is their future, and with FIFA and others we will try to support them with advice, I hope that meeting these kids will allow them to have a dream, that they will think that: 'if our 'Dad', our 'elder' Samuel has managed to succeed, why can’t we?'" the four-time African Player of the Year said. He engaged in a training session with the children in Yaoundé, before signing the jerseys of each one of the kids present, making this an unforgettable day for all the youngsters.

The FIFA Foundation Community Programme follows clear requirements. Applications for support are only accepted from not-for-profit non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are non-discriminatory, politically and religiously independent and that already run established programmes using football to address social issues and target children or youths. To ensure the legitimacy of all projects and the appropriate use of funds, applicants must provide fully audited financial statements and also guarantee that other donors will provide funding equal to or greater than the funding provided by FIFA Foundation.