December 15 – Khalida Popal, Juan Mata and the German Football Association (DFB) will all receive UEFA #EqualGame Awards this week to celebrate their work in promoting inclusion and diversity in football.
They will be honoured at the UEFA Nations League draw tomorrow (December 16).
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “Each of these three #EqualGame Award winners is a fine example of how football can be used as a catalyst for positive change. They can and should be very proud of their achievements and I would like to personally thank them for their exemplary leadership that will, hopefully, inspire many others.”
Popal, 34, had to leave her native Afghanistan, where she was founder and captain of the women’s national team, ten years ago. While in refugee centres in both Norway and Denmark, she used football to help her and other women to overcome stress, trauma and depression.
She is founder of the Girl Power organisation and an ambassador for the Street Child World Cup, and has worked to help evacuate and resettle players from Afghanistan following the recent change of regime.
Mata co-founded the Common Goal charity in 2017 which aims to make positive change in socially challenged communities, using football’s power and popularity to tackle gender inequality, promote inclusion and provide more opportunities for underprivileged children.
He led the successful drive to get fellow players to commit 1% of their salaries to the project.
The DFB through its Football for All programme, is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment where everyone can enjoy the game. The DFB was one of the first football associations to actively support refugees, initially offering opportunities for refugees to play football in an initiative that turned into a huge inclusion programme. The DFB now also runs a leadership initiative to provide qualifications and integrate people from different backgrounds into their administration and volunteer programmes.
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