Eastbourne is an elegant, attractive resort but it also has rising levels of racial intolerance, in part fuelled by the number of asylum seekers and economic migrants who have moved there over recent years. This project aimed to help improve community relations through sport. It brought together young people from Eastbourne’s émigré groups and from the indigenous population for football coaching sessions. Project Outline

F4U2The sessions enhanced football skills and also provided important opportunities for social contact across community boundaries, promoted mutual understanding, and instilled in the participants a desire for, and a commitment to, peaceful coexistence.

The project drew on F4P (Football for Peace), a project for young people from the Jewish and Arab communities of Northern Israel, in which the university has been involved for five years. This has shown that sport has the potential to break down community barriers, combat discrimination, and raise standards of behaviour and social interaction. Project Partners

Chelsea School, University of Brighton

Eastbourne Borough Council

Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club Report

Project Self Evaluation Report - see below