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Football for inclusion

The INTERNATIONAL HELVETIA CUP enables Switzerland’s young footballers to compete with top international teams. At the same time, the event provides the setting to get in touch with the social possibilities of football.

Teams from crisis or disadvantaged regions of the world are invited to the tournament to allow them to compete with the best in their age group. The European Special Needs Cup, a self-contained tournament for people with disabilities, takes place in parallel. In addition to winning competitions, the focus of this sports event is on inclusion and building mutual understanding. Joint training sessions between people with disabilities and people without disabilities are held. In this way, inclusion is not only theoretically explained – it is actively experienced.

 

Social Impact

Football promotes physical and mental health, teaches fairness, tolerance, respect, and discipline. In this way, football strengthens both self-esteem and self-confidence and helps to master difficult life situations – and at the same time to develop new possibilities for one’s own future. Football is also a social sport. Everyone can play football and understands the game. Many football games are more than just sporting events.

Uniquity of the project

The combination of a professional sporting event with a parallel tournament for people with disabilities is unique worldwide – and makes the INTERNATIONAL HELVETIA CUP something special. Through this combination, it promotes inclusion and acceptance. At the same time, the inclusion of the “special guest team” promotes intercultural learning, so that participation in the tournament is a first step towards sustainable development cooperation.

• The football pitch becomes an extracurricular place of learning for people with and without disabilities. The social participation of young people with special needs is made tangible in a playful way on the football pitch.
• The event is a unique meeting place for young people from special needs schools and disability football teams from national and international football clubs, and for their whole family.
• The focus is on the active exchange of knowledge between national and international trainers and coaches.
• All participants – youths, teachers, students, parents, coaches and support staff – will be offered workshops to enhance their knowledge of inclusion.