YOUNITED BELGIUM
Whether it is the warmth of the changing room or the adrenaline on the field, the high of victory or the despair of a loss, we share the good and the bad at Younited Belgium. Players bond with their teammates and consider the Younited-team a ‘home’. Regardless of where they come from, what age they are or what life-style they have, the feeling of coming home on entering the changing room is universal. It gives the Younited-team players wings, a positive identity and energy to redirect their lives.
The Younited teams coaches want to offer their players a chance to build their confidence, to improve their self-image, to restructure their lives, to feel the support of the group and to feel that all-important sense of belonging. The team helps the players take crucial initial steps towards a new beginning. Football is just a means, but what a means. No other sport has such a broad base of support. Our network of social organisations, football clubs and municipal services bear witness to the process-driven way the teams work, locally and nationally, always keeping one eye on the social goals and one eye on the ball.
Our activities
The Younited-teams train weekly: the recruitment and coaching of the players and supporters is done by the social organisations. They train with an eye to their participation at the Younited Belgium tournaments, which are organized throughout the year. The tournaments are highlights in the calendar for the players and the supports and the opportunity to participate here increases their motivation to attend the weekly training sessions and to fit in with the team as best they can. Some tournaments are in public locations for a good reason. A public tournament offers our players the chance to show what they are capable of, and at the same time we increase public awareness of social vulnerability and exclusion.
Besides organizing the events, Younited Belgium also:
Starts up and supports the Younited teams
Trains and supports coaches in the Younited teams
Runs communication campaigns
Our players
Our players and supporters are experts in daily survival. We chose to build on their strengths rather than to label them with the problems they face. Our participants fight issues such as housing, mental health, wellbeing, poverty, migration or addiction. Their team offers them more than teammates, it offers them a sense of belonging.
We believe that every person who finds the courage and strength to do something about their situation is a winner. Every person in a difficult situation is a fighter, a survivor. We are convinced that everyone has weaknesses but also strengths, that everyone has talents and possibilities, that no one is 'hopeless' or 'lost' to society. By using the power of sport, a reintegration process is started. This process can be social (a step towards assistance, building up self-confidence and a positive self-image) or professional (training, employment). Progress is also made physically, by working on a better condition and health.
Teams
The basis of Younited Belgium are the Younited teams, this is where the power of football and of people really works: at the crossroads of welfare, sport and poverty reduction. Getting people to reconnect with society starts with connecting them to a small, positive minded group, in our case a football team.
From here our players progress down a pathway, this process can be social (improving trust in social workers, building self-confidence and positive self-image) or of a professional nature (education, employment). Physical progress is also made, by working on a better condition and health.
Each Younited team is a collaboration between a football club and social organisations such as streetcorner work, almshouses, social welfare, shelters etc.
“Star player or not,
male or female,
young or old,
everyone is welcome!”
Tournaments
The Younited teams train weekly ahead of their participation in the Younited Belgium tournaments. These are true high days for players and supporters and the chance to take part in them increases their motivation to come to training every week and contribute as much as possible to the group spirit. Throughout the year, tournaments take place where Younited teams participate. Some go on at the infrastructure of professional clubs, others in indoor venues. The icing on the cake comes at the end of the season: thanks to our collaboration with the Royal Belgian Football Association, we can give all players the ultimate devil experience! The Proximus Basecamp, home base of the Red Devils, will also be our home base for one day. What a location for a final tournament!
Do you want to tell us your story? Do you have any questions?