Program for Social Cohesion and Mental Health in Sport Sees Success After Six Months
Program for Social Cohesion and Mental Health in Sport Sees Success After Six Months. FIFA, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), working on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, have completed the Sport for Mental Health and Social Cohesion project. This was the product of their exceptional collaborative effort (BMZ).
The goal of this initiative, which took place for six months in 13 different nations around the world, was to use football in particular and the values and advantages of sport in general to combat the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative social effects, which include damaging social cohesion and causing serious mental health issues in addition to killing millions of people worldwide.
According to Susanne Gaerte, a GIZ advisor for sport for development, this collaboration between three significant international organizations is extremely exceptional. ‘We’ve proved our ability to react swiftly and adaptably to the COVID pandemic’s effects, which are both very important and inadequately addressed. We have dealt with these problems pretty effectively thanks to sport.’
‘The subject of mental health is pretty fresh in Africa,‘ said Celine Zigaul, manager of FIFA’s development program for the continent. ‘We had to initially justify why that topic was the project’s main focus. As the months passed, however, both the trainers and the recipients were able to recognize its worth. Work on spreading awareness was necessary to some extent.’
‘I went to Côte d’Ivoire, where I spoke with a representative of Tackle Africa, one of the NGOs working on the program. They were seeing football and games as a teaching tool to promote awareness of the impact of mental health on people’s lives in a straightforward and enjoyable manner.’
Mental health problems are commonly thought of as physical disorders rather than something that starts in the brain and then affects the body.
When it comes to interacting with a disadvantaged and isolated audience, the sport has shown to be a potent and effective instrument. The different seminars and competitions have not only allowed individuals to meet up but have also raised awareness, according to Myriam Bessibes of the NGO La Guide, which coordinated the program. ‘It is frequently difficult to unite these groups over the long term and develop coherence,’ she said.
‘I was able to speak with a number of beneficiaries, but very few of them had even heard of the term mental health‘. When psychologists were present, those who required assistance may receive it and establish a follow-up procedure. The program was made available on three additional continents in addition to Africa. Matthieu Valot, the Sport and Development Manager at AFD, continued, ‘This exceptional relationship has enabled us to geographically diversify, in South America and Asia, as well as in the Balkans.’
‘Our teams on the ground have observed the dynamic it has produced within the people. We want to carry on with the experience because it is so positive. We’re already debating whether to issue a fresh request for projects, perhaps with a bigger budget and a longer deadline.’
Despite the fact that it is still too soon to draw firm conclusions from the program—which will be the focus of in-depth reports in the coming weeks—the program’s high level of favorable feedback after only six months has logically convinced FIFA, AFD, and GIZ to extend their relationship.
‘Gender equality is one of the topics we are looking at as we evaluate further collaborative projects,’ said Zigaul. Six months is never enough, especially for such novel issues, according to Gaerte. ‘However, we would like to operate on a long-term basis and use these pilot initiatives as a source of inspiration to advance the situation. We had to introduce new concepts because of COVID, and now that we have, we can address these issues in more depth and over a longer time frame while working to improve relations between the participating nations and the various partner organizations.’
Program for Social Cohesion and Mental Health in Sport Sees Success After Six Months.