Sports community identifies a vital need to develop digital solutions for future generations

New international award to highlight best online football practices 

Football for Friendship (@f4fprogrammegramme), the International Children’s Social Programme launched by Gazprom, has established the first award in the world highlighting virtual initiatives in the field of children’s football. It will enable the football community to gather the best practices of fostering love for sports and universal human values in youngsters in the digital era.

The International Football for Friendship Award aims to identify all possible online ideas for sports, young football players training, cooperation in the field of children’s football, and promote these ideas globally. Now, the sports community has found a vital need in developing digital solutions for future generations. The Award’s goal is to attract attention to the problems of children’s football development in the context of global digitalisation and build a strong community of changemakers in this field.

Representatives of football academies are welcome to share their ideas, projects, and products dedicated to children’s football and social initiatives in this area. The entries will be evaluated independently by the Expert Council. The best projects will be shortlisted and presented publicly within the 2020 Online International Football for Friendship Forum via videoconference.

All activities will take place within the F4F Digital Platform. For the first time in history, the events of the programme will be held in a new digital format. The Eighth Season will be marked by the first F4F еWorld Championship with over 10 000 players of all ages from 100 countries.

The International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship is implemented by Gazprom since 2013. Over the previous seven seasons, the programme has united over 6 000 participants from 211 countries and regions and over 5 000 000 supporters.

Young Players and Young Journalists are the participants of the programme – boys and girls aged 12 including children with disabilities. Young Players represent different countries and cultures united in the mixed teams. They show that nationality, gender, and physical abilities aren’t a barrier to becoming a team. Young Journalists cover the events of the programme in the International Children’s Press Center. All participants become Young Ambassadors of the programme and continue to share their Football for Friendship experience and promote universal human values: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.

UEFA, FIFA, football federations and the world’s leading football clubs, international charity foundations, famous athletes, politicians, and artists support Football for Friendship. The project has received multiple national and international awards in the field of social responsibility, sports, and communications, including the world record for the most nationalities in a football training session in history.

In 2020, Football for Friendship will be held in the online format. A special digital platform will unite over 10 000 players of all ages. It will become the home for international children’s competitions and a playground where anyone will be able to train, join into the international mixed teams and play their favourite game in the Football for Friendship format without leaving the comfort of their home.