During Fairtrade Fortnight 2005 Save the Children, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Active Faith Communities and United Co-operatives organised a Fairtrade Football Tournament for young people across Bradford.

This event brought young people from different faiths and backgrounds together to play football, learn about Fairtrade and meet each other. It involved around 80 young people between the ages of 12 and 16 from different parts of Bradford.

Process

Because the different agencies involved target different groups of young people, we were ideally placed for an event to bring people together. We recruited teams of players from different ethnic groups and parts of Bradford in three age groups: under 12, under 14 and under 16.

Prior to the event we sent each team an information pack about the tournament (including a timetable, rules (click for an example), and information about the agencies involved and why they are promoting Fairtrade). On the day with each age group we facilitated a brief introduction to Fairtrade, played a mini tournament and held a presentation ceremony, awarding certificates, medals and Fairtrade footballs to participants.

Evaluation

As a model of bringing young people together for a day's activities the event went really well, young people had a great deal of fun and all enjoyed participating. This event also works well for bringing people together around a shared interest as all were passionate about football. Through playing with Fairtrade footballs, displays and videos the children could also learn about Fairtrade at the same time as having fun.

A local Fairtrade activist said of the event:

"Your 5 aside football tournament highlighted Fairtade, exemplified fairness, and brought together youngsters from different ethnic groups to have fun. I cannot think of a better Fairtrade event this year".

Moreover the planning and executing of the event brought together different agencies. All involved have built good working relationships and have since worked together on other activities which sends out a really positive message about how people from different faiths can work together. Through working together on this event, sustainable relationships have been made between different faith and development agencies and this is key for building future work which incorporates the values of the Diversity and Dialogue project.

Project type

• Youth groups
• Interfaith

Region

• Bradford