MORE THAN FOOTBALL AWARD NOMINEE – FC TWENTE

MORE THAN FOOTBALL AWARD NOMINEE – FC TWENTE

EFDN is presenting the candidates for the More than Football Award. From an array of high-quality submissions for the award, FC Twente’s ‘Integration of the Turkish Community in Twente’ has been selected for the initial 10 projects longlist.

The goal of the More than Football Award is to honour the best social initiatives in Europe delivered by a European club, league or FA by celebrating the work they do on and off-pitch on local, national and international levels. The winner receives not only recognition for having implemented the most innovative and impactful Community and Social Responsibility programme in European football, but also wins a complete branded Mini-Pitch System modular sports solution which will be developed in partnership between the winning organisation, EFDN and sponsor Musco Lighting.

The shortlist will be announced on the 5th of October. Shortlisted organisations will be invited to present at the 16th EFDN Conference in Breda, The Netherlands (9-10 November). EFDN members will decide on the winner by voting.

INTEGRATION OF THE TURKISH COMMUNITY IN TWENTE

With the objective of attaining social inclusion and developing harmony within the larger community in the region of Twente, the area around Dutch city Enschede, FC Twente have taken on the responsibility of integrating Turkish individuals and families into the Dutch society. It is reported that many people of Turkish ethnicity lag behind in language skills and knowledge of/interaction with the local Dutch culture as some families within the Turkish community isolate themselves from society. Their own culture is leading and the Dutch culture comes second.

This circle can be broken if the community, the immigrant community, takes action itself with support from a neutral football club FC Twente to develop a sense of urgency within its own circle and to take and support initiatives to improve and intensify socio-cultural integration.

According to the project’s main objectives, improvement of Dutch language proficiency, active involvement in cultural nuances, and orientation towards Dutch insititutions/labour market are priorities in the approach.The essence of this approach is that the Turkish community itself takes the initiative in socio-cultural integration

Keeping this in mind, the club has carried out the integration project successfully over the period of three years – supporting the socio-cultural integration of 51 participating families, accounting for 130 individuals across genders and age groups. This was done under FC Twente, scoring in the neighbourhood, the social foundation that is working for residents in the Twente region who could use an extra helping hand.

Research of the University of Twente showed that participants’ command of the Dutch language has improved considerably. 21% of the participants indicate that their language proficiency has improved greatly and 67% that it has improved slightly and that their knowledge of the Netherlands has improved considerably.

As far as social participation is concerned, the evaluation shows that participants have actively and partly successfully searched for paid or voluntary work: 19 participants have so far obtained a paid job and / or voluntary work thanks to the project and one participant has opened its own business.

Unique is FC Twente, with a neutral role and enormous appeal, which has managed to get the Turkish community in Twente moving by means of customization. This resulted in the participation of many Turkish families from several generations, who have lived in the Netherlands for years or decades, and have actually taken steps and are still working to better integrate into Dutch society. A great platform has emerged from scratch in a short amount of time.

MORE THAN FOOTBALL AWARD LONGLIST

See the full longlist here. Follow our EFDN social media channels for more updates on the award and CSR in football.