The main goal is preventing social exclusion and radicalization among youngsters 14-18 by relying on the healthy power of football. The game will promote virtues and integration of youngsters at risk of radicalization into society, active social engagement, awareness of radicalization prevention. The Romanian Football Association (FA) will launch a training program for football coaches from problematic areas in Romania. Thanks to the involvement of UEFA Member Associations the training will also be carried out in Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Estonia. Romania was chosen because of its social environment (high risk of youth exclusion, poor education, weak social structures) but also as an example of peaceful coexistence of 20 ethnic groups. 

The action aims to use football to shape character and promote a positive environment where youngsters are accepted and included. Football becomes a tool fostering community spirit that brings together individuals from problematic city areas allowing to discuss personal and societal issues (e.g. inclusion of youngsters with fewer possibilities, children of convicts, discriminated women). Being engaged in a such a healthy environment will provide youngsters with strong values and prevent radicalization behaviors. 

Specific objectives: 

• Training coaches to deal with youngsters at risk of marginalization during training, to manage conflict and create a cohesive environment for social inclusion through football 
• Providing sport access to youngsters at risk of social exclusion: football as a means of social inclusion 
• Increasing awareness of football as a tool to prevent radicalization by organizing transnational meetings with coaches and young athletes based on football tournaments 
• Promoting youngsters’ active involvement in society and awareness of main social issues (e.g., gender equality, discrimination of all types) by forming coaches to relate such issues to football activities 
• Build-up a support network/platform of exchange between participants 
• Developing transnational networks that communicate about inclusion of disadvantaged individuals while also running football tournaments 
• Dissemination of the training course among the 55 UEFA Member Associations, to foster football as a means of social inclusion of youngsters at risk of radicalization throughout EU 

The project (30 months) is divided into 3 activities, 6 phases, 7 milestones: 

• Activity 1(m1-10)-Training program definition and implementation 
• Activity 2(m11-27)-Training activities 
• Activity 3(m21-30)-Experimentation and dissemination 

Description of activities 

Activity 1 divided in 2 phases: a) creation of the training program b) final implementation with validation of training activities Activity 2 includes the training phase of trainers and training of coaches and sports managers and the testing phase with young athletes Activity 3 concerns realization of an online course freely accessible and organization of public events to disseminate activities and results