Força Foundation
We empower football coaches to build inclusive leadership to empower girls for life so that healthy girls can shape their own future far outside the football field.
Empowering
football coaches
to empower girls
football coaches
to empower girls
Força Foundation is an international foundation and movement enabling football coaches to become catalysts for girls' equal rights and opportunities, in order for all girls to shape their own future.
We engage, train and support voluntary football coaches to lead behaviour change in their local communities and empower girls. Coaches create safe spaces for girls in their football teams, improving girls' physical and mental health, and empowering girls with self-esteem, leadership and agency around their rights.
In parallel, coaches lead behaviour change in their local communities by involving girls' family members and local stakeholders to change harmful norms and attitudes that today prevent girls from reaching their full potential, to ensure girls' long term equal rights and opportunities.
We engage, train and support voluntary football coaches to lead behaviour change in their local communities and empower girls. Coaches create safe spaces for girls in their football teams, improving girls' physical and mental health, and empowering girls with self-esteem, leadership and agency around their rights.
In parallel, coaches lead behaviour change in their local communities by involving girls' family members and local stakeholders to change harmful norms and attitudes that today prevent girls from reaching their full potential, to ensure girls' long term equal rights and opportunities.
Our impact
A global foundation catalysing a local movement of change leaders.
1.987
COACHES
30.680
GIRLS
993
COMMUNITIES
30
COUNTRIES
Força Foundation
We empower football coaches around the world
to lead behaviour change in their local communities and empower girls to shape their own future.
to lead behaviour change in their local communities and empower girls to shape their own future.
We engage, train and support voluntary football coaches around the world to lead behaviour change in their local communities and empower girls.
At our Center of Reference in Mozambique, where Futebol dá força was founded in 2012, our programs are integrated in the national public school curriculum to advance girls' rights through football.
Our values
- EqualityEveryone has equal value and rights, and should have the same opportunities to reach their full potential and contribute.
- DeterminationWe have the courage and determination to be different. We dare to change and to lead change with our methodology guiding us towards our vision
- Sustainable CollaborationWe know that we are stronger together. By collaborating with local stakeholders and integrating our methodology in traditional football we can create long term impact.
Our Story
Our founder Cecilia Safaee tells the story
of how the Força Foundation was born.
of how the Força Foundation was born.
the problem
Girls lack the possibility to
make strategic life choices
make strategic life choices
Girls all over the world lack equal opportunities to exercise their rights and choice in strategic life choices, limiting their agency and opportunities to make informed decisions in the interest of their well-being and to live a life they value.
Girls are not given equal opportunities to exercise their rights or to develop their full potential.
Girls do not have equal access to safe spaces within sports, or to role models, that can support them to develop and live healthy lives.
Girls especially lack safe spaces where they can develop confidence and agency around sexual and reproductive health and rights.
21%
of women globally between 20-24 years old were married or in an informal union before the age of 18, resulting in lost childhoods, early unwanted pregnancies and school drop outs (UN, 2018).
16%
of girls globally meet the WHO physical activity recommendations to live a healthy live - highly correlated with girls' lack of mental wellbeing (WHO, 2018).
20%
of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 who have ever been in a sexual relationship experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner (UN, 2018).
Our solution
Leading behaviour change
through football
through football
Força Foundation's vision is a world where all girls can shape their own future. To maximise our contribution to this world, we engage, train and support football coaches to lead behaviour change in their local communities and catalyse girls' equal rights and opportunities.
Força Foundation coaches work with our evidence-based methodology to empower girls with self-esteem, leadership, physical and mental health, and sexual and reproductive health and rights in particular, for girls to build agency and shape their own life and future prospects.
At the same time, coaches work with and engage local stakeholders that influence girls' lives and decision-making, i.e. girls' family members, local government and civil society stakeholders, as well as the wider community, to lead behaviour and attitude change to end harmful practices such as child marriage, violence and abuse, early unwanted pregnancies and school drop-outs, and ensure that girls' rights and opportunities are respected in the long run.
Força Foundation coaches work with our evidence-based methodology to empower girls with self-esteem, leadership, physical and mental health, and sexual and reproductive health and rights in particular, for girls to build agency and shape their own life and future prospects.
At the same time, coaches work with and engage local stakeholders that influence girls' lives and decision-making, i.e. girls' family members, local government and civil society stakeholders, as well as the wider community, to lead behaviour and attitude change to end harmful practices such as child marriage, violence and abuse, early unwanted pregnancies and school drop-outs, and ensure that girls' rights and opportunities are respected in the long run.
| Learn more about our methodology |
Award-winning innovation and
methods with proven impact
methods with proven impact
Futebol dá força has received recognition through many awards and prizes, among others by the H.M. the Swedish Crown Princess Couple and H.M. the King of Sweden.
Join us to develop your leadership and capacity to empower girls both on and off the football field!