OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net note: A youth football league that combines sports and education has transformed the lives of thousands of children in Honduras while reducing soaring crime rates in one particularly troubled neighborhood of the capital, Tegucigalpa.

• Young footballers, who play in the Fútbol Para la Vida league, a programme that uses sport to improve young lives, line up during a break in practice at a ball field in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. © Chris Niles/UNICEFIn Nigeria, a similar initiative called Project Excel not only teaches kids to play football, but also provides them with clothes, food, and counseling. The goal of the program is to foster social change by buidling youth's confidence and self-esteem and giving them the tools to succeed later in life.

• The UN Sport for Development and Peace Mandate recognizes the beneficial impact sports can have on peace building and economic and social development. Several UN children's and health agencies have teamed up with sports associations around the world, such as FIFA and the NBA, to engage disadvantaged youth in sports-related development initiatives. In 2003, a UN task force called for sports to play a greater role in UN development efforts and the drive toward the Millennium Development Goals.

• The International Olympic Committee and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched their second "Giving is Winning" campaign in early July to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. The campaign encourages Olympic athletes to donate sportswear to children in 10 different refugee camps worldwide. Previously, the campaign gathered over 30,000 pieces of clothing for refugees and had a significant impact on children in the camps. "For once, they felt they were not forgotten. For once, the glory of sports rubbed off on them and made them feel important," said UNHCR representative Marion Hoffmann.

The power of football to improve young lives

From: UNICEF

By Chris Niles

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, 11 August 2008 - When he scored against host country Spain in the 1982 FIFA Wold Cup, Héctor Zelaya grabbed the attention of football fans worldwide. Today, in his home country of Honduras, his influence on the lives of children is no less profound.

The former star, who earned the nickname "Pecho de Águila" (Hawk Chest), is the founder of the wildly successful children's league, Fútbol Para la Vida, which he started in 2002.

"It's one of the strongest programmes in the world, and it's growing. Right now we have more than 10,000 children enrolled. Altogether, more than 25,000 children have gone through the programme and are now living better lives," Mr. Velaya said.

Fútbol Para la Vida is one example of many successful programmes that UNICEF works with to harness the massive potential of sport to improve the lives of children.

Lives transformed

One of the many benefits of sport is that it gives vulnerable children a concrete alternative to drugs and violent crime - two issues that Honduras struggles with.

Ander Vasquez, age 14, is one of the thousands of children who have benefited from Fútbol Para la Vida. He lives with his family in Villaneuva, a neighbourhood in Tegucigalpa known for violent gangs.

"Before, we walked the streets barefoot. But now all we do is play," he said.

Ander's life has improved in other ways as well. He studies harder because good school grades are one of the conditions of joining Fútbol Para la Vida. The programme is also educating Ander about how to avoid drugs and HIV.

"I like football because it keeps me away from drugs and bad habits," Ander said.

New ambitions for children

The programme is making a notable difference in Villaneuva as well.

"This neighbourhood used to be one of the most dangerous in Honduras, but now it is different. The crime rate has gone down," said coach Ever Antonio Ponce Medina.

Ander's father, Giovanni Antonio Saenz, has seen the change in his son's outlook.

"Sport has raised awareness in kids that they can have a new ambition. They want to have a healthy body and mind and stay away from drugs," he said.

"The football brings the children in, but the aim is to educate them so they can help our society," said Mr. Zelaya, who remembers growing up poor and playing football without shoes.

"Something to be proud of"

Mr. Zelaya intends to take Fútbol Para la Vida nationwide, and says UNICEF's support has played a critical role in the programme's success.

"I tell the children they have something in common with FC Barcelona," he said, referring to UNICEF's alliance with one the world's most legendary football teams. "I tell them it's something to be proud of."

To read more about sports, youth, and development, visit UNICEF.