How love.fútbol tackles the Sustainable Development Goals
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part of a global plan to build a better world for people and our planet by 2030. Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the SDGs are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the environment. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, equality, and job opportunities while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
OUR WORK AND THE SDGs
In our projects, we target the following SDGs:
#3 Good Health Well-Being, by promoting access to safe places for kids to play and lead healthier lives from an early age;
#4 Quality Education and #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, by creating platforms for educational programs focused on job skills and employability;
#5: Gender Equality, by promoting equal access to sports at the facilities we build;
#11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, by creating sustainable community-driven sports infrastructure, developed and managed by local communities;
#17: Partnership for the Goals by promoting cross-sector collaboration to achieve these goals.
Children during a community Build Day in Philadelphia (Tanner Duckrey Project). Photo by Playmakers Studio
IMPACT
Since 2006, we have reached 42 communities in 8 countries, and this year we're executing our first projects in Tanzania and the USA. We estimate that our projects have reached over 42,900 kids.
A love.fútbol field is more than a sports facility, but a community center capable of generating economic, educational, and security-related impacts. An external consultant - The Analysis Group - conducted an M&E study in 4 of our international projects. The main findings reinforce this perspective:
83% of parents and school directors reported better academic performance
70% of parents reported decreased drug abuse and gang involvement
67% reported higher economic growth
RECOGNITION
This year, we won the Sport for Sustainable Cities & Communities Beyond Sport Award. It recognizes organizations that use sport as a way to make community settlements or cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable; to create, build, or improve infrastructure; or to promote inclusive and sustainable development.
"love.fútbol creates play spaces that are open, inclusive, and that since the planning phase, brings neighbors to the center of the process. Our project is a good representation of what we want for our cities: to be participative, people-centered, with strong networks that can collaborate to take ownership over the development of their communities", explained Development Director Breno Lacet.
LEARN MORE:
love.fútbol receives award for using sport to make communities more sustainable