F4P International Festival

Over 100 children from secondary schools around Sussex took part in the Football 4 Peace annual festival which took place last month. The festival was the culmination and finale of a week’s long training camp for potential recruits to the programme.

The University’s Football 4 Peace (F4P) programme, which has operated in Israel, Palestine, Northern and Republic of Ireland, The Gambia, South Korea, Colombia and South Africa since 2001, uses football to help resolve conflict between communities. The festival provided opportunities for new recruits to apply the methodology and put theory into practice with children aged 11 – 12.

Principal Lecturer in physical education and co-founder of F4P, Dr Gary Stidder, said: “The primary task of the F4P training event was to provide an opportunity for teachers and coaches from socially divided communities to learn how to use the F4P methodology and curriculum and implement this within their own communities.”

Participants played matches, underwent training, and were motivated through verbal and physical actions including high fives, team handshakes, team cheering, group huddles, goal celebrations, team talks, and learning someone else’s physical greeting.

The principles of the project are based on common values: equity and inclusion, respect, trust, responsibility and competition.