Goals don’t count in football, at least not in football3, which is played with different rules and aims to positively impact the lives of the boys and girls who participate.
So, how is it played?
The teams are made up of both boys and girls, and the game is divided into three halves: the pre-match discussion, the game itself, and the post-match debate. This is how the name comes about. After warming up, all players gather to discuss and agree on the rules for that particular match. This is the ideal time to introduce a discussion on a value. For example, cooperation. Players could agree that for a goal to count, the ball must have been passed by at least three players from the same team. Once the teams agree on the rules, the game begins.
After the match, players from both teams discuss their own and their team’s behavior, evaluating themselves and the opposing team with the support of a mediator. The mediator is a teenager who understands the game and its methodology. Each team gives points to the opposing team for fair play, which are added to the match score to determine the overall winner.
From January to May 2024, Football3 was played in 14 secondary schools in Attica, Thessaloniki, Evia, and Thesprotia.
Football3 is a methodology in which physical education teachers and students from the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki were trained through the European Program DIALECT3, coordinated by ActionAid under the initiative Sports For Inclusion. The teachers applied the methodology during their lessons in schools across Greece.
Football3 is not only focused on physical fitness but also on students’ social and emotional development, serving as an experiential tool that helps prevent the perpetuation of stereotypes.
Football3 has been played in 14 secondary schools in Attica, Thessaloniki, Evia, and Thesprotia from January to May 2024. A total of 36 stable football3 teams, consisting of 478 students, were formed, while another 721 adolescents were introduced to and familiarized with the program. Initially, there were some reactions, mostly from boys, about the mandatory participation of girls, the requirement for at least three players to touch the ball before scoring, and the rules of fair behavior toward teammates and opponents. However, everyone gradually adapted to the rules. As Eleni Andreou, Physical Education Teacher at the Intercultural High School of Evosmos in Thessaloniki, states: “The benefit for all students was significant as it reinforced the values of acceptance and solidarity, which are the program’s main goals.”
DIALECT3 is funded by the European Commission’s CERV-Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values program and is implemented in Greece by ActionAid, the National Center for Social Research (EKKE), and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).
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