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	2016	2004-2016 (total)
Partner since	2004
Number of OFFS	5	139 (+ 224 one day festivals)
Total number of children	960	26,784
Girls	355
Boys	605
Total number of volunteers*	162
Female volunteers	34
Male volunteers	128

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	2017	2004-2017
Partner since	2004
Number of OFFS	8	165 (+ 135 one day festivals)
Total number of children	1,531	31,361
Girls	464
Boys	1,067
Total number of volunteers*	244
Female volunteers	65
Male volunteers	179

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	2017	2003-2017
Partner since	2003
Number of OFFS	8	191 (+ 381 one day festivals)
Total number of children	1,536	35,910
Girls	547
Boys	989
Total number of volunteers*	222
Female volunteers	39
Male volunteers	183

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	2017	2006-2017 (total)
Partner since	2006
Number of OFFS	12	129 (+ 459 one day festivals)
Total number of children	2,304	24,768
Girls	1,754
Boys	550
Total number of volunteers*	310
Female volunteers	180
Male volunteers	130

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	2017	2010-2017
Partner since	2010
Number of OFFS	29	217 (+ 1,225 one day festivals)
Total number of children	5,488	26,784
Girls	1,867
Boys	3,621
Total number of volunteers*	875
Female volunteers	289
Male volunteers	586

Source: Internal statistics.

* Leaders, Trainers, Assistants, and others.