2023
During 2023, thanks to the generous support of AEK Athens and Athens Comics Library, we were able to take children aged 7-11 from Ritsona camp to a local football pitch. Here they were able to train with the AEK technical team, meet players, and take part in various educational activities. This partnership embraced the power of sport, especially football, to foster social cohesion, develop skills, and enabled the children to take part in life-enhancing experiences.
With the help of grants from the FIFA Foundation and the European Union (through the Erasmus+ programme), Lighthouse Relief started our first dedicated girls’ and women’s football sessions. These proved extremely popular, and gradually also led to more girls taking part in the mixed children’s football sessions. Overall, throughout 2023 and 2024, our football sessions achieved a female participation rate in excess of 30%.
In particular, from late 2023 until early 2025, Lighthouse Relief took part in a collaborative project (“Beyond the Pitch”) involving two other organisations which use sport for education, inclusion and integration - Second Chance Sport Association (Hungary) and Association Sport 4 All Suceava (Romania). The project was part-funded by the EU through the Erasmus+ programme, and its main aim was to promote the social integration of displaced children and host community members through sport. Key actions included developing a comprehensive "Gamebook" of best practices and exercises (available in multiple languages), delivering "Train the Trainer" programmes, and holding Stakeholder Events to share results.
The project was highly successful, delivering 125 sport-based sessions to nearly 400 unique participants from displaced communities, with a total of over 3,000 engagements. More than 30 coaches from diverse backgrounds, with mixed experience levels working with displaced populations, were trained. In addition, multiple Stakeholder Events reached 70 different organisations/individuals, with a diverse range of actors involved, from major international organisations to small NGOs using sport as a tool to drive inclusion and change.
The Gamebook which was developed as part of this project was thoroughly tested and adapted to maximise its impact, and the English language version is available to download from the “Policies & Materials” section at the foot of this page.
Overall, the project effectively built local capacity for sports-based integration, fostered knowledge-sharing, and created sustainable tools and methodologies for use by NGOs and sports clubs engaging with displaced children and young people.
