Sunday 25 June 2017, 11:14

Participants arrive at the 3rd edition of the Football for Hope Forum

The first participants of the third edition of the Football for Hope Forum have arrived in Kazan, Russia. From June 26 to 28, representatives of community, football and international organisations will meet to discuss the challenges, needs and realities for development through football on the ground and explore the contribution of football to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Forum in Kazan is part of FIFA’s Football for Hope initiative. Launched in 2005, it aims to collaborate with community-based organisations globally that use the power of football to provide children and young people with valuable tools to actively make a difference in their own lives. By addressing the most pressing issues in each community, the organisations are contributing to positive social change on a global scale. FIFA supports their activities with funding, equipment, training and special events.

The outcomes of the exchange with the different stakeholder groups invested in social development through football will help further develop FIFA’s Football for Hope initiative. The event is taking place during the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 and is part of the FIFA World Cup Sustainability Strategy.

"It is a great pleasure for us to welcome such a diverse group of experts from around the world to the FIFA Confederations Cup and to the third edition of the Forum," said Federico Addiechi, FIFA Head of Sustainability & Diversity. "The discussions and exchanges of the next three days will help us further shape FIFA’s social responsibility work to use the power of football to bring about positive change."

“Football for Hope is relevant, inclusive and fair," said Dr. Vladimir Borkovic, streetfootballworld Network Director. "Based on good practice, it fits the needs of community organisations. The Forum will be a great opportunity to further reflect its relevance and future."

“I am very excited to be here for these three days of training and workshops," added Simon Koh, Senior Director – Operations, Special Olympics Asia Pacific. "I am very much looking forward to it on many fronts: One is the networking and I also hope to learn from best practices and success stories from across the globe on what works in different environments so that, some of this, we can not copy and paste but learn enough about it that it will benefit whatever we do to integrate football as a catalyst in social development projects."