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The power of mixed football
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Etnoliga has been paving the way in sport for inclusion in Poland since it's founding in 2004. The football league that runs for four months has 19 diverse teams playing, and is a beacon for inclusion throughout the country.

Etnoliga is a long-term inclusion sports project, the biggest of this kind in Central Europe, run by Fundacja dla Wolności. It started in 2005 as a one-off tournament, a spontaneous event for refugees and students in Warsaw. Soon it became clear that for the best integration results we should insist on regular meetings. Thus in 2010 a stable league with weekly activities was created.

What makes Etnoliga unique?

In the first place, we address refugees and migrants: so far we have worked with people from over 100 countries. To avoid rivalries between communities, we set the rule of a minimum of 3 different nationalities in every team. We also engage other disadvantaged groups, ethnic minorities, football ultras, institutions that deal with discrimination on local grounds (for example the Polish ombudsman's team) and more.

Secondly, we promote gender-mixed football – there is quota of women for every team to meet. Through various affirmative actions we have increased the number of women from one in 2005 to nearly one hundred in 2019.

Last but not least we engage in anti-homophobic campaigns.

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Etnoliga has been designed to empower participants, involve them in decision-making processes, and organisational aspects. Off-pitch social events such as cultural presentations, cooking, or workshops are equally important for the projects' completion as games.

The league council that consists of players, staff and volunteers discusses daily issues and new concepts; some of these concepts has developed into standalone projects such as a day care centre for refugee children.

Fundacja dla Wolności is a member of Fare international network, UEFA social responsibility partner and leader of anti-discrimination practices in football. In 2017 Etnoliga was shortlisted for the Sport Global Awards.

Krzysztof Jarymowicz is a project manager and a board member at Foundation for Freedom, a Polish NGO. He is a psychologist and anthropologist by profession. Since several years Krzysztof is one of the few people in Poland who systematically deals with and promotes social inclusion of migrants through sport.

Tags

Country
Poland
Region
Europe
Sport
Football (Soccer)