News

Football across the divide

Published 27 March 2012

Can football contribute to world peace? Hundreds of Eastbourne children will find out this weekend when they take part in an ambitious sports initiative which has brought 135 Arab and Jewish sports coaches to Eastbourne.

The Israeli and Jordanian sports coaches and colleagues from Ireland and across the UK are in Eastbourne for the annual Football 4 Peace training event at the University of Brighton's Chelsea School of Sport.

Islraeli and Jordanian sports coaches in Eastbourne

Football 4 Peace training in Eastbourne at the University of Brighton's Chelsea School of Sport

On Monday, nearly 200 schoolchildren from the East Sussex area enjoyed a free Festival of Coaching. This weekend (2-4 April) hundreds of local children will take part in a free training session at the university in association with Eastbourne Town FC.

Football 4 Peace aims to use sports and related recreational activities to build bridges between fractured communities in regions where political and ethno-religious divisions promote sectarian separation and conflict. Currently Football 4 Peace operates in Israel, Jordan and cross border in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

The residential UK training event involves value-based football coaching session and team building exercises supported by a range of lectures and cultural activities.

The project began in 2001, and co-founder Dr Gary Stidder said: "This sports festival allows young people to enjoy learning and playing football together in non-threatening settings. The activities and coaching devised by the initiative promotes interaction, allowing longer-term relationships and cross-community understanding to flourish."