Chelsea Foundation Join Football Programme for Jewish & Arab Children
July 16, 2021
The Chelsea Foundation has teamed up with the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and the Israeli Football Association to further develop and expand the Peres Center's Playing Fair, Leading Peace programme which fosters connections between Arab and Jewish children across Israel through football.
The programme of the 2016 Beyond Sport Global Award winner bridges divides between Jewish and Arab children who have grown up in the heart of the Israel and Palestine conflict, where communities have been deeply divided for 54 years. Since 2016, it has brought together students from diverse backgrounds to for leadership and team building activities supported by the Israeli National Football Association, UEFA Foundation and Laureus Sport for Good.
The partnership between Chelsea FC, the Peres Center and the IFA was developed following Chelsea Women’s visit to Israel, where the team took part in football and education workshops with Arab and Jewish girls, promoting communication and teamwork and bringing different communities together through sport.
“During our visit to Israel in 2019, we saw first-hand the power football can have in bringing together communities and breaking down barriers," said Bruce Buck, Chelsea FC Chairman. "We hope that this new initiative will empower children to harness the respect and fairness in football and use those values to promote greater tolerance, unity and inclusion in society.”
Using a ‘training the trainers model’, Playing Fair, Leading Peace recruits Jewish and Arab university students to take part in a football-based, anti-discrimination and leadership training programme. During this training, they work in mixed Jewish-Arab pairs to implement inclusive football activities for mixed classes of Jewish and Arab school children.
The new partnership with Chelsea Foundation will enable an expansion of the programme, reaching more than 1,000 Jewish and Arab children and young adults across Israel during 2021 and 2022. The partnership forms part of Chelsea Foundations' ‘Say No to Hate’ initiative, which was launched earlier this year to celebrate diversity and support equality action, funded by club owner Roman Abramovich. They will integrate their values of fair play, respect and discipline into the programme along with their coaching staff.
“This important partnership is set to elevate the Playing Fair, Leading Peace project to new heights, offering participants an unparalleled opportunity to build their capacities as leaders and community changemakers. The Peres Center is proud to expand this initiative, promoting diversity and inclusivity through sport and bringing Jewish and Arab young leaders and children together work towards a common goal of peace,” said Chemi Peres, Chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.
IFA President, Oren Hasson, added: "This groundbreaking collaboration is a testament to the partner’s belief in the power of football to be a connecting bridge on the pitch and everywhere. No barrier, natural or artificial, will prevent the common future of us all in the field of football and in every other aspect in life."
The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation won the Beyond Sport Global Award for Leadership in Sport and were previously shortlisted for the Sport for Conflict Resolution Award. Most recently, they were partners and speakers at Beyond Sport House from Home 2020, hosting a 'Mini Mondial' exploring sport in peacebuilding in the Middle East and globally.