Football: SFF community outreach children’s festival |19 April 2023

Children's interest in sports leads to a healthy lifestyle

Football as an equal platform for all

As part of its mandate, other than promoting and administering local football, the sport’s local governing body ‒ the Seychelles Football Federation ‒ along with other partners is committed to spreading positive values, equip children, especially the under-privileged, with fundamental social skills, allowing them to interact comfortably with each other in a friendly and conducive atmosphere.

To promote that spirit, the SFF, along with the Rotary Club of Victoria Coco De Mer, and the Ministry of Education will be hosting a football festival for kids on Saturday at Stad Popiler.

According to SFF consultant Georges Bibi, who is also a member of the Rotary Club of Victoria Coco De Mer, the event, which is a community outreach, is open to children from all schools, while emphasis is being put on those who are on the dedicated fund from the Foyer de Nazareth and the President’s Village.

Mr Bibi said emphasis is being put on the underprivileged children since they do not, most of the time, get the chance to take part in mainstream activities, while it is also to increase children's interest in sports and promote a healthy lifestyle.

In 2019, football’s world governing body ‒ Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) ‒ launched a new global programme to enhance child safeguarding standards in football, setting up guiding principles and minimum requirements to ensure child protection as part of its overall vision.

The Fifa toolkit aims to support the implementation of the Fifa Forward 2.0 Development Programme which obliges its 211 member associations (MAs) to take measures to protect and safeguard children from potential abuses and to protect their wellbeing within football.

It sets minimum requirements for all Fifa members on child safeguarding, that is defined as an umbrella term encompassing the prevention of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect of children.

It also recognises child protection, as an essential part of safeguarding that refers to the action taken in response to a specific concern for a child or children who may be suffering or is/are at risk of suffering harm or abuse.

It is based on five principles, including ensuring the best interest of each child, respecting and promoting children’s rights as per the Convention on the Rights of Children, applying its principles to all children and without any discrimination, and safeguarding children, as part of everybody’s responsibility.

Saturday’s activity will begin at 10am.

 Compiled by Roland Duval