football3
football3 All over the world, a new kind of football is emerging. football3 is a special way of playing football in which players learn how to respect and communicate with one another. In mediated discussions before the match and after, in a specially designated ‘third half’, they decide on the rules of the game and reflect on their behaviour during play. They also award each other points for fair play. Played without referees, football3 encourages players to solve conflicts themselves through talking. The approach was first developed by streetfootballworld Founder and CEO, Jürgen Griesbeck, in Colombia, and has since evolved into a method that combines the physical and social benefits of football with an emphasis on fair play and mutual respect.
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Over one third of all streetfootballworld network members currently use some form of football3, and it is an integral part of all streetfootballworld festivals and events. The approach has reached a wider audience through the official incorporation of football3 tournaments at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, as part of the Football for Hope Festivals. football3 has steadily gained in popularity throughout the world and, while each organisation has adapted the rules to fit its specific context, the idea remains the same: creating a safe space for development and dialogue to empower young people.
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history On July 2, 1994, Colombian footballer Andrés Escobar was killed in his hometown of Medellín for having scored an own goal in the FIFA World Cup. Jürgen Griesbeck was in Medellín at the time as a guest lecturer at the Universidad de Antioquia, and was shocked and saddened by the murder. He began to wonder how football, a game based on teamwork and fairness, could lead to such extreme violence, and how the world’s passion for the game could be used to promote positive attitudes instead. In 1996, Jürgen introduced his solution: Fútbol por la Paz (Football for Peace). It was a way of playing based on the principle that fair play, dialogue and respect were just as important as athletic skill. That year, he invited criminals and young people from violent neighbourhoods to a football3 tournament in Barrio Antioquia, one of Medellín’s most dangerous areas. Of 16 teams, 10 were made up of armed gangs. The tournament was a great success, despite complaints from some of the male players about the game’s requirement of at least two females on every team, and that one of them must score their team’s first goal. The approach proved to be very successful in addressing violence and drugs on the streets of Medellín.
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The desire to play football in a safe space had become more appealing. Soon after the first tournament, security measures were no longer required. After just one year, 10,000 players on a total of 500 teams were using the approach, united in a game where respect and tolerance were just as important as scoring goals. Fútbol por la Paz was adopted by the Colombian government and continued to grow in the hands of Con-texto Urbano, an organisation Jürgen founded and headed before his return to Germany.
football3 and streetfootballworld streetfootballworld began to introduce football3 to a wider audience through two programmes which accompanied the 2006 FIFA World Cup™: World Cup Schools–Fair Play for Fair Life and the streetfootballworld festival 06. All of streetfootballworld’s events now include football3 as a central element, such as Eurocamp 2012, the Football for Hope Festival 2010, the East Africa and Latin America Festivals 2013, and more.
Straßenfußball für Toleranz Jürgen brought football3 to Brandenburg, Germany in 2000, under the name ‘Straßenfußball für Toleranz’ (Street Football for Toleranz) with the support of the federal government and the state government of Brandenburg. It was geared toward disadvantaged young people and those prone to violence in order to encourage them to take a stand against the extreme right in politics. Another success, the Straßenfußball für Toleranz project was handed over to Brandenburgische Sportjugend, now a member of the German Street Football Network.
Fútbol Callejero In South America, the concept spread across the continent under the name of ‘Fútbol Callejero’ (Street Football). Argentina was one of the first countries to boast a network of organisations that regularly hold joint meetings and work on a common agenda of improving communities through Fútbol Callejero. Today, national networks and leagues exist in several South American countries.
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basics The scene is familiar: a football, a pitch, two goals, two teams. But the rules, the teams, and the way the game is regulated are all slightly different; it takes more than a great shot to be a success. The key to football3 is dialogue. Through dialogue, players connect in a relationship of respect and mutual understanding. They also gain self-confidence and a sense of responsibility. Therefore, football3 incorporates three ‘halves’: a pre-game discussion, a football match, and a post-game discussion. A sanctioned space is set aside for dialogue, which is a part of the game itself and not an add-on. The topics for discussion vary according to the organisation and the players’ needs, and range from agreeing on special rules to addressing relevant social issues such as citizenship, discrimination or health.
Mediators In order to further encourage dialogue amongst players, there is no referee in football3. Players call fouls themselves by raising their hands, and disputes are resolved without appeal to a higher authority. Mediators are important in helping players in this process. Rather than interfering in the match, they play a more passive role: unbiased observer. They are trained to conduct, facilitate and mediate in discussions in order to empower players to come to mutually satisfactory, fair conclusions. Only rarely, in extreme situations, are mediators called upon to actually make decisions for the players.
A long-term process This particular method of using football for social change will not succeed overnight. The best football3 programmes work with players and communities over a long period of time to build the essence of the idea and to ease players into using the principles of the dialogue sessions in their lives off the pitch.
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“What I like best about football3 is that players are involved in making the rules. I also really like the fairness and fair play aspect. In normal football, there are insults, bad tackles, and quarrelling between players; in football3, fairness leads everything.” Josphat Oyamo, Young Leader from Nairobi, Kenya
Rules: In many cases, players use their pre-match dialogue to agree on the rules of the game, and then talk with each other about how well they respected their own rules in the post-match discussion. Some rules established by streetfootballworld network members include: • • • • • • • • • •
Play fair is a must–no fouls, no insults and respect for teammates and opponents alike Points for fair play are awarded and count alongside goals to decide the overall winner A certain number of males and females from each team must be on the pitch at all times All players must shake hands at the end of the match Goals only count if shot from within a specified zone Players who commit a foul must help their opponents back up again Players must be substituted after scoring a goal Goals scored by girls count double No/flying/fixed goalkeepers A girl must score a goal in order for any previous or subsequent goals to be counted (applies to mixed gender teams only)
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effects The most effective football3 programmes recognise that this is an approach that must be sustained to truly work. Participants cannot merely be shown how football3 principles are used in everyday life and then be expected to change their behaviour; rather, they must become accustomed to thinking about and applying these principles.
“The experience of football3 was very important to me. I learned new concepts that will help me in life, particularly about equality between men and women.� Mateus from Porto Alegre, Brazil 7
The implications of this approach are far-reaching. football3 not only provides physical and social benefits for players, but can have a positive impact on issues that affect an entire community, such as violence and discrimination.
football3 is unique in that it takes place within a football match. Other successful approaches to addressing development issues through football use the sport to draw participants into a development programme, or adapt football drills and use footballs to illustrate lessons about community issues. football3, however, was founded on the belief that the power of football itself is so strong that players can translate the life skills they learn through play into positive, empowered lives off the pitch as well.
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worldwide Bauleni United Sports Academy (BUSA) “Football for Change” BUSA is located in Lusaka, Zambia, and uses football to promote community cohesion. Their most important message is that all players and spectators should take care of their fellow communty members and treat each other with respect. How they play: Before the match, the players discuss the importance of teamwork and respect for fellow players. They also agree on the rules and extra points are awarded for sticking to them.
Espérance “Football AMAHORO” Various ethnic groups in Rwanda still struggle with the legacy of the genocide in 1994. Espérance uses football to reconcile differences and to raise awareness of HIV/ AIDS and other issues.
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How they play: Discussions are directed toward a pressing theme, such as AIDS, poverty, gender issues or conflict management. Common rules that teams set for themselves include non-violence, fair play and good manners. At the end of the game, teams award each other points in accordance with their respect of the rules. Sometimes spectators are also involved in scoring fair play.
football3 goes by many names, all over of the world!
KICKFAIR “Straßenfußball für Toleranz” KICKFAIR, located in Ostfildern, Germany, works with young people who have limited access to education, training and the job market. They coordinate joint projects with several other members internationally that use a form of football3. How they play: Girls and boys play together on a team. The mediators are called teamers. The teams award each other fair play points after a match for playing according to the previously established rules and these points count just as much as the points received for scoring goals.
Fundación Educere “Fútbol Callejero” Fundación Educere in Chile provides educational opportunities for the most underprivileged young people of Puente Alto, one of the poorest suburbs of Santiago de Chile. How they play: Girls and boys play together and the players themselves define what should be evaluated at the end of the match, e.g. teamwork, number of goals scored by girls, etc. In the after-match evaluation, a maximum of three points and a minimum of one point is awarded to each team for respecting the rules. Each team evaluates its own performance and suggests a score for the other team.
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