On 8 March, the GFF Football Centre in Vake hosted the launch of a new project titled Football Unites. The festival, which marked the launch of the project, involved 70 IDP and refugee children. The initiative is supported by GFF and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and is funded by the UEFA Football and Refugees Grant.
Football Unites is a special project that was created for IDPs and refugees of various nationality living in Georgia. Its main goal is to use football and sport to integrate children, help identify their talent and skills, and promote a healthy lifestyle.
Within the scope of the project, licensed coaches in Tbilisi and Kutaisi will regularly hold free training sessions for IDP and refugee children of different nationalities aged 9 to 15 years. The project will be jointly implemented by GFF and the non-governmental organisation Healthy and Bright Future.
Apart from the licensed coaches, the project also involves sports psychologists, monitoring and evaluation specialists, who will work together on the children’s development.
During the football festival held on 8 March, girls and boys tested their skills in a friendly competition and spent several hours on the football field. At the end, participants received commemorative gifts from the Georgian Football Federation and its special partner Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia, while McDonald's Georgia treated the children to everyone's favourite McMenu and desserts.
