Mastercard & the UEFA Foundation for Children

To bring this initiative to life, Mastercard and the UEFA Foundation for Children have partnered with NGOs from the six countries:

Alacran is an NGO that helps children in precarious circumstances to acquire skills and learn positive values. The main activity is the soccer program, which focuses heavily on the involvement of girls and gives the children access to a free sporting activity. The football programme is supplemented by socio-educational support and healthy leisure activities.

Bloomsbury Football was founded to ensure that all young people have access to the numerous benefits of playing football on a regular basis. Thanks to the excellent coaches and inclusive financial support model, 5,000 young people across London are now enjoying the physical, mental and social benefits of the beautiful game.

The Bloomsbury Strategy for Girls in Football calls for 10,000 girls to be coached by 2028. The number of girls who train them is currently in the thousands. Therefore, they are very interested in starting a project like Girls4Football that would support their goals. As they have many links with schools across London, they recommend hosting the football sessions in schools, with the classrooms serving as a suitable venue for the financial education workshops.

Play for Change is an international non-profit organisation for "Sport for Development" with the aim of improving the life expectancy of children and young people in precarious situations. They achieve this through inclusive and sustainable sports and education programs to develop more integrated communities.

They believe that sport is a fundamental right for all and a catalyst for social and cultural change. Sport is crucial for the cognitive, emotional and physical development of children and provides an educational model for disadvantaged youth. It is also a platform for integration and association, creating an ecosystem for the economic development of communities.

Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (Libraries Without Borders) is an international non-profit organization that supports people in vulnerable situations by providing them with access to education, culture, and support.

Operating in more than 50 countries, BSF creates innovative cultural spaces and learning spaces that enable people affected by crises or vulnerable people to learn, play, build communities and their future. A large part of her work focuses on children's education.

UNITYED implements projects that combine life skills and sports in an interdisciplinary way. These projects are based on their own pedagogical approach with the dual concept of education and movement. This structure, which combines classroom seminars and sports pedagogical activities, encourages participation and improves learning and concentration.

The educational projects focus on financial literacy, understanding of the world and cultural awareness, as well as promoting the personal development of young people.

UNITYED also provides the finance literacy curriculum for all five countries.

The Northwest Switzerland Football Association oversees 92 clubs and 23,000 licensed players in Basel and nearby areas. It manages leagues and training for coaches, referees, and officials. Its Football Development Department focuses on nurturing young talent and instilling values in children's football, while the Club Development Department promotes fair play, inclusion, integration, and leadership, with a strong emphasis on advancing women's and girls' football.