Football at the correctional institution

Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion organised its “Football at the Correctional Institution” camp for a sixth consecutive year with the support of Sofia Municipality and private donors.

This project brings together two groups of marginalised young people: young men in the correctional institution at Boychinovtsi and participants in the “House of Opportunity” Programme. In addition this year some young people from SOS Children’s Villages Bulgaria also joined in. Each morning of the camp these young people travelled to the correctional institution for football games and afterwards returned to their base in Vratsa for workshops and leisure activities.

This year the start of the camp coincided with the start of the World Cup, but apart from the obvious emotions around the football games at the correctional institution, and on the TV, there was also lots of non-sports-related excitement. Along with the fun there was learning and heated discussion, and new friends were made too and the four-day camp was often emotionally challenging as the young people shared their experiences and learned from each other.

FSCI’s team uses sports as the main means for reaching out to the young men in the correctional institution and helping them think more carefully about the dangers of criminal life. The team also talk about the alternative –  about building a life around work and family, and how the “House of Opportunity” could help them transform their futures.

In 2018 Sofia Municipality provided BGN 1813 for partial coverage of the costs of the camp, as part of the Programme for the development of the physical education and sports in Sofia Municipality (Programme priority: Projects, related to free time sports for children and students – programme “Holidays”).