Football for Schools shoots to top of class in 2023
An impressive 71 of FIFA’s 211 member associations have successfully introduced the Football for Schools Programme this year, compared with 32 in 2022
The FIFA-run initiative has had a positive impact on over 31 million children
Building on this success, the programme will be relaunched in 2024
By the end of 2022, 32 FIFA member associations had implemented Football for Schools (F4S), a programme designed to make football more accessible to youngsters by incorporating football activities into the education system. One year on, the total number of participating nations has risen to 103. As that figure suggests, the initiative has gone mainstream.
“2023 has been an intense and challenging year of achievements for the F4S team,” said Football for Schools Director Fatimata Sidibe. “But in terms of the joy shown by children and parents – in schools and communities – who have benefited from the programme, we have well and truly accomplished our goals.”
“I’d like to thank the F4S team for their unwavering commitment, but also all our partners and colleagues within and outside FIFA, without whose contribution millions of children would not have had smiles on their faces.”