April 6 is the International Day of Sport for Peace. April is also Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. We want to use these two incredible opportunities to help you move your community beyond bearing witness to genocide and mass atrocities to taking action through a 4 vs 4 Darfur United Soccer Tournament and Action Fair.
Soccer teams and communities around the world will organize a one-day 4 vs 4 tournament, provide education and action opportunities for participants and fans to end genocide, and raise funds to provide joy, hope, and trauma recovery to Darfuri refugee children living in isolated camps in eastern Chad and support peacebuilding initiatives in the Central African Republic.
Tournament Structure
Teams of 5 people will sign up to play each other. The goal is to have 8 to 16 teams total in each tournament, but you can play with as few as 3. Games will be 4 players vs 4 players using a field of 40-50 yards by 30 yards with goals 3-4 feet wide. Teams will play each other in elimination matches until the top two teams play in a championship game.
Uniforms: Encourage teams to wear matching uniforms or t-shirts with a message (chapters can reach out to other campus clubs and athletic teams to see if they want to participate and wear shirts that promote their own group).
Winning Team Award: As a chapter, reach out to local businesses to create a cool “winners’ basket. Ask popular restaurants or stores for gifts and items! Remember it will be split between 5 people.
Action Fair
Make it more than a soccer tournament! Turn the day into an educational and action opportunity for participants and fans. Have tables hosted by your group and other community and on-campus groups with educational materials and action opportunities to help end genocide and mass atrocities. Be creative with who you invite and what you display.
Contact us at kicksandhope@iactivism.org for more information
Host a Tournament
Anyone can host a Kicks and Hope Tournament, and we are here to support you. We’ve put together some resources to help you:
Download Tournament Guide
Download Tournament Samples
Sign Up to Learn More
Create Your Tournament Page
Contact Us
Act
April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. Join us as we move beyond witness and act to end mass atrocities. We encourage you to have education and action opportunities at your Kicks and Hope Tournament. Here are a few ways you can educate and empower your community:
CAR Peacebuilding Initiative
Moving Beyond Witness
Darfur United Soccer Academy Summary
DUSA Equipment Donations
Tournament Beneficiaries
Funds raised through Kicks and Hope Tournaments will benefit Darfur United Soccer Academies (DUSA) and Central African Republic Peace building Initiative
Central African Republic Peacebuilding Initiative
Following a violent coup d’état in March 2013, tensions in the Central African Republic (CAR) have run high. Though the roots of the conflict are not religious, recent violence has increased divisions between Muslim and Christian communities and militias’ attacks against civilians have forced thousands of civilians, many of them Muslim, to flee the country. Through a youth exchange program between CAR and Rwandan youth, and an on-the-ground peace education program in Bangui, we will create cross-continental dialogue between young peacebuilders, help confront identity-based tensions, and give seed money to young entrepreneurs aimed at growing CAR’s economy and integrating current and former child soldiers into CAR’s national economy. Money raised through Kicks and Hope Tournaments will support these programs and build a foundation for future peace.
Darfur United Soccer Academy
Using the power of soccer, the Darfur United Soccer Academy (DUSA) offers refugee children a safe place to play, move, heal, and be empowered. Through DUSA, male and female coaches become leaders in their communities, children ages 6 to 13 learn about health, education, and peacebuilding, and often for the first time, women and girls have an opportunity to play, and youth further develop their skills and chance of joining the Darfur United men’s and women’s teams. For every $10 raised for Darfur United, one Darfuri boy or girl living in a refugee camp in eastern Chad receives leadership development, attends two or more trainings per week and participates in 4 vs 4 tournaments. The $10 also supports the salaries of four full-time coaches in each camp.
Kicks and Hope Tournaments is an international campaign organized by i-ACT.
i-ACT empowers individuals within communities, institutions, and governments to take personal responsibility to act on behalf of those affected by genocide, mass atrocities, and crimes against humanity. i-ACT is a global team dedicated to putting a face on the numbers of dead, dying, and displaced while creating mutually enriching relationships between those in danger and those willing and able to act, fostering a new culture of participation. Please visit www.iactivism.org for more information.