CAUCASUS & CEC – ccpa

During 2003, the Open Fun Football Schools project for children became a reality in Armenia. The new sport schools with the new games, updated approach, and bright-coloured sport equipment attracted lots of children and resumed lots of interest in sports. It engaged boys and girls, children with physical impairment and diabetic children. In 2003, two schools were established in the capital city Yerevan on the bases of "Malatia" and "Pyunik" sport clubs with over 192 participating children in each. Leaders, instructors and parents took an active participation in the OFFS. Sport events were highly supported by the Armenian Football Federation.

In the past years, the government's encouragement and support for sports has made positive changes for children, parents and communities in Armenia. Sport schools, sport bases and camps have been restored. Sport federations started to gather sportsmen and associates around.

Our work in Armenia	2018	2004-2018 (total)
Partner since	2004
Number of OFFS	10	149 (+ 229 one day festivals)
Total number of children	1920	28,704
Girls	893
Boys	1027
Total number of volunteers*	260
Female volunteers	115
Male volunteers	145

Source: Internal statistics.

* Leaders, Trainers, Assistants, and others.

The Cross Cultures projects in Azerbaijan implements and advocates Open Fun Football Schools and other community-based children’s sport activities to facilitate peace, tolerance, gender equality, and inter-ethnic community building.

Sport is generally an important part of Azerbaijani culture with football being the most popular sport. Cross Cultures is conducting the education of coaches and leaders in cooperation with the neighboring countries Armenia and Georgia. The OFFS-program is mainly organizing activities in the countryside, where recreational activities for children are few. Among these activities is the project “Football in School Yards” where CCPA is facilitating self-organization and Fun-Football Festivals in residential areas.

Our work in Azerbaijan	2018	2004-2018
Partner since	2004
Number of OFFS	10	175 (+ 145 one day festivals)
Total number of children	1,600	32,961
Girls	407
Boys	1,193
Total number of volunteers*	173
Female volunteers	48
Male volunteers	125

Source: Internal statistics.

* Leaders, Trainers, Assistants, and others.

One of the most important goals achieved by the Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) in Georgia is the successful organization of Street Sport events and the follow-up activity, which includes children from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Cross Cultures managed to solve, maybe on the local scale so far, a very important matter - the living and training together of the OFFS instructors, leaders, and trainers from Armenia and Azerbaijan on the territory of Georgia during the OFFS seminars.

Our work in Georgia	2018	2003-2018
Partner since	2003
Number of OFFS	11	202 (+ 396 one day festivals)
Total number of children	2,170	38,080
Girls	811
Boys	1359
Total number of volunteers*	343
Female volunteers	104
Male volunteers	239

Source: Internal statistics.

* Leaders, Trainers, Assistants, and others.

Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) was introduced for the first time to Moldova in 2006. Cross Cultures' project has helped Moldova after the war conflicts in 1992 between Transnistrian region and Moldova, by using the virtue of football to prove the unity of people from all regions of the country possible, irrespective of religious, political, racial, sexual and national background.

Our female coaches provided 'positive role models' to the hundreds of girls who attended the football schools and inspiring them to take up the game. The Football Federation is now looking to invest more resources into the woman's game and all the female coaches involved in our project.

Nearly 30% of the participants at the football school were young females. There is still a lot of resistance amongst certain communities to the women's game, but many acknowledged that there is a need to implement female programs within the structures of the clubs. Open Fun Football School along with the Federation was able to demonstrate the high level of skill and motivation amongst the female players, coaches and bring together gender groups who at an early age have limited contact. One of our main goals in Moldova is to attract girls into women's football.

Our work in Moldova	2018	2006-2018 (total)
Partner since	2006
Number of OFFS	12	141 (+ 539 one day festivals)
Total number of children	2,304	27,072
Girls	1,486
Boys	818
Total number of volunteers*	310
Female volunteers	173
Male volunteers	137

Source: Internal statistics.

* Leaders, Trainers, Assistants, and others.

The project in Ukraine has a special focus on Crimea. Ethnic Russians make up the bulk of the population on Crimea, but there are also large groups of Ukrainians and Muslim Tatars, and the OFFS-program is developed to bring these communities together. Furthermore, another focus is on the border region to Moldova.

Cross Cultures focuses on bringing children in Ukraine of different ethnicity together at the Open Fun Football Schools promoting peace and reconciliation.

Our work in Ukraine	2018	2010-2018
Partner since	2010
Number of OFFS	55	272 (+ 1,450 one day festivals)
Total number of children	7,646	48,858
Girls	2,944
Boys	4,702
Total number of volunteers*	1158
Female volunteers	285
Male volunteers	873

Source: Internal statistics.

* Leaders, Trainers, Assistants, and others.