Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 2019: FIFA President Gianni Infantino and a number of footballing legends visited schoolchildren in Lebanon earlier this month to host several interactive sessions to mark the start of the second pilot project for the FIFA Football for Schools programme.
Infantino and football stars Kaka, Samuel Eto’o, Tim Cahill and Marcel Desailly along with coach Jose Mourinho were part of two workshops which were a precursor to the Football for Schools programme which is to be launched early next year.
The first pilot project began in Puerto Rico last month.
Nearly 300 schoolchildren from different schools took part in the interactive life-skill lessons promoting values through football at Mount Lebanon and Bir Hassan Technical College in Beirut.
As part of the FIFA Football for Schools programme – a new initiative set to be implemented around the world by the FIFA Foundation from early 2020 – participating schools will help to deliver a variety of fun and interactive sessions designed to educate boys and girls from four years to 14 years about important life skills and positive values.
The lessons will also aim to address some of the social challenges facing young people in the world today, including bullying, staying in school and leading a healthy and active lifestyle.
Infantino said: “Football and education play a vital role in nurturing talent and young people in society today. As we launch this second pilot project here in Lebanon it marks an important step forward for the programme that aims to teach boys and girls around the world important values and life skills through football.”
As part of the session in Chouf Stadium, 36 teachers from local schools also participated. The lessons also trialled several online resources and mobile applications that have been developed by FIFA for teachers and schools to be delivered as part of the school curriculum and extracurricular activities.
Source: FIFA