ESC: Palla in avanti!

THE NATIONAL STREET FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION - ANFR (Associação Nacional de Futebol de Rua) was born in Portugal, Lisbon on November 29, 2007. It is a private, non-profit and national non-governmental organization, which aims to establish cooperative relations with Portuguese-speaking countries and other countries where associative activity is necessary. In view of the social power of sport and especially of football in current and globalized societies, the Association sees Street Football as a uniting factor between people. In a strategy of macro social intervention and social transformation, human development and promotion of healthy lifestyles, the target audience of this association are all citizens residing in Portuguese territory and in Portuguese-speaking countries. Within the scope of specific projects and with a micro-social intervention strategy, based on the prevention of social problems, the promotion of social inclusion and intercultural dialogue, ANFR works with migrant communities; people affected by poverty or social exclusion or affected by other persistent social problems in society and with children and young people of school age, affected by social exclusion and discrimination. Its main objective is, therefore, to restore football's roots to the promotion of healthy lifestyles and to develop Street Football as a social, educational and cultural intervention strategy, to promote human development and the social inclusion of citizens. With regard to youth work, ANFR has consolidated over the past 11 years, a lot of experience in promoting the social rights of children and young people in situations of social exclusion, discrimination and violence through the development and implementation of the 'Bola Pra Frente' project. This project started in January 2010, financed by the “Programa Escolhas” / High Commission for Migration, a National Youth Policy Program, which has the support of the European Social Fund. In January 2021, it started the Entra Em Campo project, also financed by the European Social Fund (PIEAS). The projects develop social and sports activities based on models of formal and non-formal education methodologies and use cognitive-behavioral methodologies, both psychosocial and community-based. They are based on the principles of empowerment, equal opportunities, participation and partnership, and investment in a social intervention strategy based on sporting potential (street football) as an innovative strategy for promoting the social rights of young people and combating discrimination, social exclusion and youth violence . They also aim to improve the skills of young people aged 5 to 25 in the Padre Cruz neighborhood in Lisbon, the largest social neighborhood in the Iberian Peninsula, who are in a situation of poverty, social exclusion, absenteeism and school failure. Identified as one of the activities of historical interest in this community and the area that most motivates children and young people, the practice of street football is the project's guiding strategy. Its mediation and street work power is recognized and consolidated by the community and public and private entities at national and local level, as an innovative practice in terms of social inclusion. Its basic principles are motivation, participation, citizenship, empowerment, autonomy, employability, entrepreneurship and is also committed to innovation through the development of coaching and mentoring systems as a basis for a systematic orientation of educational, socio-educational and pre-professionals of the participants. In addition, we have an ambition that the participants, at the end of the project, are able to recognize and fight for their rights and autonomously integrate various communities that already exist in the local territory. In addition, ANFR's social and sporting methodology of street soccer is publicly recognized as an innovative and inclusive practice in working with young people, granted by the government and civil society institutions at national and local levels. In recent years, ANFR has had several moments of recognition and public merit. Its intervention methodology was recognized and appointed at national and European level, for the dissemination of best practices through the development of manuals (good practices manual of the National Youth Policy Program “Programa Escolhas” and European SPIN Good Practice Manual Network - Sports Practice for Social Incussion). In 2012, ANFR was also awarded by the NGO Clínica da Educação, which every year projects for its excellence and performance in the area of ​​education, as one of the ten best non-formal education projects in Portugal. In 2021, it received the seal of good social intervention practices from the Lisbon social network.