This report, published during the Fare network’s #FootballPeople action weeks 2018, is the outcome of a seminar held in Ireland by a UEFA Study Group Scheme on the issue. It presents, on 45 very dense pages, 33 good practices from a total of 14 member federations (all of which, it must be noted, from Western European countries plus Malta and Greece).
The most interesting aspect, beyond the remarkable quality and impact of some of the initiatives presented, is the report’s structure. It is divided into 8 different sections, each of which actually responds or corresponds to what is perceived as the most pressing needs by actors of the field. Unsurprisingly, these needs are also among those identified by the partners of the FIRE project (see Chapters 4 and 5). This is coherent with the fact that the initiatives and programmes presented emanate directly from the different federations, most often in response to needs formulated at grassroots level (i.e. in the clubs).
For each initiative, there is not only a concise description of why it may be considered a “good practice”, but also a brief summary of the “lessons learnt”, in other words “useful takeaways”.
The report will be most useful for grassroots clubs from the national federations concerned (two of which are partners of the FIRE project), especially in case they were not already aware of some of opportunities described.
It must be said, though, that while this compilation offers excellent examples of actions, some of the advice remains superficial. For example, it is probably not enough to simply recommend “Do not be shy of taking the advice, help and support that is on offer from external groups”, when it comes to partnering with other actors from civil society.