2020 More than Football Award Shortlist Announced
The European Football for Development Network (EFDN) is proud to present the five projects of Club Brugge, Legia Warsaw, Borussia Dortmund, Pro League and Malmö FF that have been selected for the shortlist of the More than Football Award 2020. The award will honour the best community and social responsibility (CSR) initiative in European football. Normally just four projects get on the shortlist but this year, five projects earned the same number of points from the members of the jury.
The applicants selected for the shortlist are invited to make a 15-minute presentation of their project at the upcoming 14th EFDN “#Morethanfootball” Conference which will be organised online from 9th – 11th November. After all five presentations, the attending EFDN members will choose the winning organisation. Clubs, Leagues and FAs can register for the conference here.
Club Brugge: The Bear and his Scarf
The Bear and his Scarf is a children’s bedtime story produced by Club Brugge, that hopes to teach what loving your club means. It’s a story about respect, values and principles targeted at both kids and parents. This book features daddy Bear and baby Bear, Club Brugge’s mascots, who go to a football game together for the very first time and meet a lot of other mascots from other Belgian first division football teams. All the mascots wear a scarf in the colours of their team. All animals think these colours are what distinguishes them from each other. But the more the animals talk to each other, the more it becomes apparent that they actually have so much more in common than initially thought. They’re all crazy about football and their teams, and they all hate be treated disrespectfully.
By publishing and disseminating this book, Club Brugge aims at promoting respect for all supporters, players, referees and any other parties involved, no matter what colours these people prefer. The club makes a clear and powerful stand against hooliganism, racism, abuse discrimination and disrespect. 5,000 physical copies have been printed and given away. More than 55,000 people have read the bedtime story online. The entire campaign reached more than 4,800,000 people through social media.
Legia Warsaw – #GotowiDoPomocy (Ready to Help)
Legia Warsaw has launched a comprehensive aid programme in Warsaw, providing much-needed support to seniors during the coronavirus pandemic. The club invited companies, institutions, charity organisations, as well as citizens to participate in this crucial programme. Legia stadium was transformed into the central base for this social campaign. Legia Warsaw has become the biggest charity organisation in Warsaw during the pandemic. Due to the hard work of the volunteers and corporate partners, the club has been able to provide meals, medications and daily-assistance to beneficiaries. During a period of social isolation and loneliness, Legia was able to provide seniors with an opportunity for human interaction.
The support scheme reached 2,415 beneficiaries in over 1,000 locations across the city. In total, 32,000 meals were delivered. The record number of meals delivered over one day was 1,530. Over 400 volunteers from various backgrounds joined the project.
Borussia Dortmund – United by Borussia
Borussia Dortmund supporters not only associate the club with sporting success but also local roots, coexistence and personal enthusiasm. Borussia Dortmund uses this access to its fans to proactively stand up for human rights, democracy and anti-discrimination and to strengthen these values in the club and its environment. In the past there have been many attempts by right-wing extremists to use Borussia’s fan culture, especially on the imposing Yellow Wall, to recruit and spread their message of hate. Some of the organized BVB fans maintain regular contact with right-wing extremists. Borussia Dortmund is aware of this and has taken steps to tackle the particular issue and discrimination in general. The club has developed and successfully implemented a large number of measures under the umbrella of ‘United by Borussia’.
During the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks, the German club also announced to adopt the international working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and announced a project to put BVB fans, employees, partners and sponsors in conversation about antisemitism and hate.
Pro League – Younited Belgium
Pro League and Younited Belgium believe in the power of football and the power of people. Younited Belgium is a social organisation that uses football for the reintegration of adults struggling with issues such as housing, mental health, wellbeing, poverty or addiction. Each Younited team is set up through the collaboration between a football club and a social organisation such as street workers, day centres, neighbourhood sports centres and homeless hostels. Almost all professional football clubs in Belgium have a Younited team.
It is a national partnership that covers the entire Belgian territory. During the ongoing season, the logo of Younited Belgium will be printed on all match tickets and appear on the backdrop for all national TV-interviews. The name of the Jupiler Pro League (the first division competition) will be changed again to the Younited Pro League for an entire matchday during the Christmas period. The shirts of professional Pro League players will be auctioned and all proceeds donated to Younited Belgium.
Malmö FF – Grundskolefotboll mot rasism (School Football Against Racism)
What started as a branch of Malmö FF’s tournament “Football against racism” has grown into a large meeting place for Malmö’s schools. The activities begin in the classrooms and end with a large manifestation against racism at Eleda Stadium. This year, the club celebrates the 10th anniversary. 10,000 individuals have participated in the concept since the start 10 years ago. The initiative is a collaboration between Malmö FF and the municipality as well as “Tillsammans I förening”, and has its origin in the convention on the rights of the child, especially in the four basic principles of the Convention.
By using the UNESCO democratic education perspective (Learn about, Learn through and Learn for), the programme benefits from students’ experiences and perspectives. Between October 2020 and June 2021, over 1600 children from 30 schools in Malmö will participate in the programme. This year, the club collaborates with the famous Swedish artist Jason Diakité who is the author of a book about children’s rights.
The goal of the More than Football Award powered by Musco Lighting is to honour the best social initiatives in Europe delivered by a European Club, League or FA by celebrating the work they do on and off-pitch on a local, national and international levels. We will hand out the Award for the best project promoted during the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks (15.09. – 11.10.2020), which will be assessed not only on the quality of the project but also on the level of promotion and engagement.
The winner of the 2020 More than Football Award powered by Musco Lighting will not only receive recognition for having implemented the most innovative and impactful Community and Social Responsibility programme in European football, but they will also win a complete Mini-Pitch System™ modular sports solution. The club-branded mini-pitch will be developed in partnership between the winning organisation, EFDN and Musco.
