From Belfast to Banjul: Football 4 Peace celebrates 25 years uniting communities across the world's conflict zones

With the eyes of the world turning to football’s biggest stage, Football 4 Peace is celebrating 25 years of using the beautiful game to transform lives in some of the world's most divided communities. Founded in 2001 by University of Brighton academics Professor John Sugden and Dr Gary Stidder as a way of bringing together Israeli and Palestinian communities, the programme has since reached more than 8,000 young people and 600 coaches across four continents, from the streets of Banjul in The Gambia to the hillsides of Colombia and communities in Northern Ireland and Ireland as well as South Korea and South Africa.

Football 4 Peace is a distinctive 'values-based coaching' methodology built on five core principles: equity, inclusion, respect, trust, and responsibility. The programme’s first cohort brought together Jewish and Arab children in the Galilee region of Israel to play together. 

Professor John Sugden, Abbas Suan and Dr Gary Stidder.

The model has since been refined through more than two decades of academic research, field evaluation and community partnership across the globe.

Now in its 25th year, University of Brighton staff and student coaches are currently working alongside local coaches and young people from diverse ethnic and community backgrounds in The Gambia, demonstrating that the sport's power to transcend division is not merely symbolic.

Dr Gary Stidder, Principal Lecturer in Physical Education at the University of Brighton and co-founder of Football 4 Peace said: “The key emphasis of the values-based model is the teaching and practical application of core values in socially fractured societies. This approach to physical education is designed to be flexible and can be used to help resolve conflict, promote community reconciliation, develop inter-personal skills, build cultural bridges and develop positive relationships among young people, ultimately with the aim of promoting an appreciation for diversity in society.

“Testament to its success is its footprints around the world in countries such as South Korea, Colombia, Northern Ireland and The Gambia, involving thousands of children and community sports leaders, as well as University of Brighton students."

In The Gambia, Football 4 Peace assigns leadership roles to young people from previously marginalised ethnic groups and works across community boundaries in one of West Africa's most diverse nations. The programme has demonstrated that sport can be a catalyst for social change - not just on the pitch, but within communities, families and institutions.

Clara Foster, a first year Physical Education student who recently returned from The Gambia, said: “The connections we formed with the children were especially precious and rewarding, as they allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of their lives, culture, and day-to-day experiences. The programme brings everyone together not only physically, but emotionally as well, as you support, encourage, and collaborate with one another through every experience and challenge along the way. 

"This creates an incredibly strong sense of belonging, which really establishes the idea of a Football 4 Peace family. The bonds formed throughout the trip become far more than friendships, creating relationships and memories that can genuinely last a lifetime.”

This feeling is shared by many former participants of the programme including James Clarke, a member of the earliest cohorts to Israel in 2003. James, who is now the Lead Physical Education Tutor across the Swale Academies Trust, said: “On the first day, the young players from the different communities weren't even able to look at each other, let alone communicate and play as a team. By the end of the week they were teammates, working together, overcoming problems, communicating, smiling, and valuing each other as people. That was extremely powerful: an insight into how powerful football could be. I've carried that into my teaching career ever since.”

The programme has shaped policy as well as practice. It was officially recognised by Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sport in 2019 and has contributed to debate at NATO on conflict prevention, cultural relations and the role of sport in building resilient societies.

Through partnerships with the British Council, The Football Association and the German Sports University in Cologne, Football 4 Peace offers a replicable, evidence-based model for peacebuilding through sport. Its mentoring and 'ripple effect' structure ensures that skills, values and coaching methodology are transferred to local leaders and institutions, creating sustainable change long after University of Brighton staff and students have returned home.

At a moment when global football is unfolding amid political tension, polarisation and renewed conflict, Football 4 Peace offers a powerful counterpoint: evidence that the game can still create understanding where division exists and build relationships where politics often fails. As the World Cup captures global attention, the programme’s message, that football can unite young people across cultural, religious and national boundaries, feels more important than ever.

Staff related to this story

Dr Gary Stidder

Principal Lecturer – School of Education, Sport and Health

Dr Thomas Carter

Reader – School of Education, Sport and Health

Centre for Spatial and Social Justice, Sport and Leisure Cultures Research Excellence Group

Dr Gillian Teideman

Subject Lead Sport and Physical Act. – School of Education, Sport and Health

School of Education, Sport and Health