06/01/2006 - Toronto, Canada:
Can 7,000 young soccer players across the country learn more than the skills of the game when they take to the pitch? SOS Children's Villages Canada (SOS Canada) believes that the very nature of the sport is what makes it an ideal medium for teaching young sports enthusiasts about global issues. Craig Forrest, Canadian FIFA for SOS Children's Villages Ambassador announced today that SOS Canada will partner with the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), Play Soccer and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, to launch the "Soccer for Development" Project.
Funded under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Public Engagement Fund, the initiative has been created to offer a sport and child-focused insight into International Development issues that relate to children around the world including Child Rights, Security and the Millennium Development Goals.
Organizers plan to recruit volunteers who will facilitate activities in 20 target communities across the country. These will include "Soccer for Development Ambassadors"-- active sports oriented youths with leadership qualities and Community Coordinators -- adults affiliated with the Provincial Soccer Associations. These volunteers will be trained as facilitators and provided with resources to carry out a variety of education, awareness and mobilization activities. A "Soccer for Development" Toolkit will include a wide range of information, exercises and skills development suggestions to engage and educate active young players.
The project will also go digital with "Soccer for Development" web pages hosted on the CSA and SOS Canada sites. These pages will offer a wealth of information and background on soccer as well as development issues in CIDA partner countries. "Soccer is a powerful medium for mobilizing our Canadian young people," said Mr. Forrest. "We have nearly a million active soccer players in Canada, and 80% of them are under the age of 18. We hope to capitalize on this active and engaged young audience to educate them about important world issues and how they can be active agents of change," he continued.
A role model for young soccer players across the country, Mr. Forrest was the star goalie for the Canadian National Soccer team in the 1990s. Playing for Canada since 1988, Mr. Forrest earned 56 caps, the most of any goalkeeper in the history of the team, before retiring from international football in 2002. One of the highlights of his international career was his key role in the Canadian 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup win where he was named tournament MVP. Now the popular analyst on Rogers Sportsnet's Soccer Central, Mr. Forrest has been front and centre for the FIFA SOS Children's Villages "6 villages for 2006" Campaign, the official charity of the FIFA 2006 World Cup.
Mr. Forrest was on Parliament Hill last year when the four partner organizations launched Canada's first time participation in the Global Peace Games for Children and Youth. Celebrated annually in more than 50 countries on September 21, the United Nations International Day of Peace, the Global Peace Games are a recreational opportunity for children and youth to show their leadership, commitment and personal involvement in support of the ideals of global friendship. The Games demonstrate the values that can be learned and practiced on the field and in daily life to make the world a better place. Last year young soccer players across Canada took part in soccer games and drills to mark the day.
"The Games last year were a great success and the will be central to our project this year," commented Kelsey Lemon, Partnership Coordinator for SOS Children’s Villages Canada and one of the organizers of the project. "This year, thanks to CIDA's support, we can take these concepts and ideas and apply them on a much larger scale. Sport has the ability to transform lives. In many developing countries it’s the only ticket out of a life of poverty and disease. But more and more, we are realizing that the concepts which we learn to help us be winning teams can also can be used to educate us on how to build a better world – ideas like sharing, tolerance, cooperation, understanding and respect," she explained. The "Soccer for Development Project" which will run for a year, kicks off later this month