How football can help score multi-faith goal

By Sir Trevor Brooking
Published: 29 May 2008

http://www.totallyjewish.com

One of The FA’s major goals is to open the doors of participation to everyone who wants to play football regardless of race, religion, background and sexuality.


Events such as the “One Ball, One Game, One Community” day that took place at my old West Ham stomping ground on Monday are a fantastic example of this – Different communities from the local area coming together and united in their passion for playing the game, regardless of ability.

The event was part of the Shared Futures project which is being delivered by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and they’re certainly reaching out to different faiths across London.

It was great to see Jewish youngsters making new friends with Muslim and Sikh children and to see them all enjoying sport made it a great day for everyone involved.

Parents play such an important role in introducing football to youngsters - It’s great to score goals and win games but, at a young age, it’s more important to enjoy the game with friends and having fun.

The FA recently launched its vision for the next four years and we’re determined to make football the nation’s favourite game and that mean’s supporting events that make a difference such as “One Ball, One Game, One Community.”

From an FA perspective, we’re nearly a year into The FA Tesco Skills Programme which is aimed at youngsters aged 5-11 years old and designed to get boys and girls enjoying football, exercising and improving their physical literacy.

We’ve had over 340,000 children in primary schools across the country take part so far and we’re determined to take that number across the million mark by the summer of 2010 which means more children enjoying both football and a healthier lifestyle.

Not only did the “One Ball, One Game, One Community,” event reach out to different religions but it also showcased girls football, which, for along time, has been the fastest growing sport for females in the country.

Our England Women’s squad are proving to be great role models for girls who are looking to play the game on a regular basis.

Managed by Hope Powell, England reached the Quarter Finals of the World Cup last summer and are in the driving seat for qualification to next year’s European Championships in Finland.

The team have even caught the attention of Olympic double gold medallist Kelly Holmes who met up with the squad for a chat ahead of their crucial Euro qualifier in Belarus recently.

The talk must have worked because England ran out 6-1 winners!

For more information on The FA Tesco Skills Programme log onto www.TheFA.com/skills.

Sir Trevor Brooking is Director of Football Development at the FA