The program which contains 29 audiovisual capsules, was created to accompany families during confinement by Covid-19 and encourage the practice of physical activity in confined spaces. Ultimately, it ended up being chosen as one of the four winning actions in the innovations category during the pandemic.

The other recognized initiatives were ‘Run Free’ which seeks to build bridges between refugees, local residents and partners in order to realize collaborative opportunities. Meanwhile, JUNO, from Germany, aims to give refugee women a voice and space so that they can develop and grow from new opportunities.

“It was such an honor receiving the Integration of Refugees Through Sport award for innovation during COVID at the MOVE Congress, organized by ISCA in Brussels, on behalf of the whole Futbol Mas family, most notably the refugees whom we work with and for. I believe this award will allow us to engage in more partnerships and conversations that will allow us to create better and more impactful programmes building on the potential of sport as a tool for integration of refugees and host communities in Europe and beyond”, said Seppe Verbist, Regional director of Europe and Africa in the Futbol Mas Foundation.

The award was applied for by the Futbol Mas Foundation office in France, where the work has focused on working on integration of young people into French society through the Green Card Philosophy which is central to the Futbol Mas methodology. Throughout the last two years in France, we have worked with young people in a program called AGIR, together with Emmaus and the French Ministry of Labor, to contribute to their integration in the labor market by developing their life skills and practical knowledge of French.