In early May 2021, the FIFA Foundation Campus Programme was launched in Yerevan, Armenia. This program sought to provide underprivileged youth with the opportunity to learn football from top players and coaches while engaging in social and emotional learning. Foregrounding sports as a vehicle to achieve UN SDGs, the Campus Programme also hosted workshops run by UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, and Armenian NGO My Forest Armenia on topics including mental health, gender and equity, nutrition, and climate change.
Speaking about the FIFA Foundation Campus Programme, FIFA Foundation CEO Youri Djorkaeff said: “This has been an unforgettable week not just because we launched the Campus Pilot Programme but because we saw the difference it can make. The skills and talents these kids discovered and developed this week, from our work on and off the pitch, are going to stand to them in life. They have discovered a new source of happiness and joy, football, and our next step will be to bring this programme to other needy communities of kids around the world and continue to use football as a force for good.”
Learn more by viewing the video below.