Preventing violence through football

The social protests in Colombia in 2021 and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic have turned the city of Santiago de Cali into a scene of widespread violence. Young people have been badly affected within the community. While there are already around 240,000 children in Colombia who have dropped out of school and have connections with armed groups or other criminal activities, the homicide rate has increased by 97% since the social unrest in the city of Santiago de Cali.

In this context, the Sidoc Foundation has adopted a methodology using football as a tool to provide psycho-social support to young people, and thereby help them make better decisions and encourage their gradual return to the education system.

AFD has been able to support this project through the “Sport for Mental Health and Social Cohesion” (SMHSC) call for projects co-financed with FIFA and GIZ. The project has targeted five specific areas in the city affected by the social unrest. It has implemented the following activities:

• The launch of a football school for at least 200 participants, with two weekly coaching sessions;
• Support for community workers and the transfer of psycho-social methodologies to give them the tools to prevent violence through football;
• The organization of 15 football tournaments and a final tournament for young people from these neighborhoods, conveying a message of peace, opportunity and self-improvement;
• The implementation of the methodology through football to educate young people during these tournaments.

• 200 children benefit from an improvement in their social-emotional skills and social cohesion in neighborhoods affected by high levels of insecurity and social problems;
• Revitalization of the community ecosystem for sports and games.