Life skills + Soccer for 350 boys in Brazil

In order to produce the data in this report, we did a survey with 92 boys spread across the 3 public futsal courts and from the 3 partner elementary schools we worked with during the year; overall we had 342 boys participating in our classes. In order to do this, we used a web based App and software called Teampact (www.teampact.co) which we also use to register student attendance and to follow up on children missing classes. The questionnaires were answered by the children themselves using the teacher’s cellphone. The regular futsal classes delivered by the coaches and youth monitors were complemented by the delivery of two workshops given by our Safeguarding Manager, Andressa Silva during the year. The first workshop was about violence – identifying, denouncing and avoiding and the second one was about sexuality – puberty, avoiding unwanted pregnancies & STDs; the workshops were developed in an age appropriate way and according to local social realities (to contextualize, in a class of under 11s boys futsal, 70% had drunk alcohol and or an energy drink at least once in the previous week).

During the Covid-19 pandemic the children of our community spent almost two years without regular schooling and, wanting to protect their children with a lot of misinformation being spread, most families kept their children locked up at home for the whole period even when adults went back to work and also had social lives outside the home. In São Paulo State, parks and sporting venues were the last places to be opened to the public, long after shopping centres, bars and restaurants. This meant that children’s social circles were reduced to family members and use of cellphones with social media and also in the first year of lockdown, most adult drug and alcohol use moved into the family homes exposing children to them on a daily basis. Since schools opened back up fully in 2022, there are high levels of absenteeism from schools in all age groups and children have shown great difficulty with their interpersonal relationships with a great increase in violent interactions and also suicidal thoughts and actions. In the survey we did with the boys we therefore looked to understand the role that the futsal classes have had in improving their social skills, reducing isolation and also providing them with tools for healthy interactions even in adverse situations.

We are happy to report that as can be seen in the graphs, the vast majority of the boys’ social and emotional well being has been greatly improved by participating regularly in the futsal classes and activities that we have delivered to them throughout the past year.