YOUNITED BELGIUM

Our activities

The Younited-teams train weekly: the recruitment and coaching of the players and supporters is done by the social organisations. They train with an eye to their participation at the Younited Belgium tournaments, which are organized throughout the year. The tournaments are highlights in the calendar for the players and the supports and the opportunity to participate here increases their motivation to attend the weekly training sessions and to fit in with the team as best they can. Some tournaments are in public locations for a good reason. A public tournament offers our players the chance to show what they are capable of, and at the same time we increase public awareness of social vulnerability and exclusion.

Besides organizing the events, Younited Belgium also:

• Starts up and supports the Younited teams

• Trains and supports coaches in the Younited teams

• Runs communication campaigns

Our players

Our players and supporters are experts in daily survival. We chose to build on their strengths rather than to label them with the problems they face. Our participants fight issues such as housing, mental health, wellbeing, poverty, migration or addiction. Their team offers them more than teammates, it offers them a sense of belonging.

We believe that every person who finds the courage and strength to do something about their situation is a winner. Every person in a difficult situation is a fighter, a survivor. We are convinced that everyone has weaknesses but also strengths, that everyone has talents and possibilities, that no one is 'hopeless' or 'lost' to society. By using the power of sport, a reintegration process is started. This process can be social (a step towards assistance, building up self-confidence and a positive self-image) or professional (training, employment). Progress is also made physically, by working on a better condition and health.

Teams

The basis of Younited Belgium are the Younited teams, this is where the power of football and of people really works: at the crossroads of welfare, sport and poverty reduction. Getting people to reconnect with society starts with connecting them to a small, positive minded group, in our case a football team.

From here our players progress down a pathway, this process can be social (improving trust in social workers, building self-confidence and positive self-image) or of a professional nature (education, employment). Physical progress is also made, by working on a better condition and health.

Each Younited team is a partnership between Younited, a football club and one or more social organisations working with socially vulnerable adults, such as streetcorner work, social welfare, homeless shelters, drug centers etc.