That’s what football’s all about

“Little drops of water make a mighty ocean.”

Non Profit ID card: present your project/organisation/campaign

Questions answered by Bella Bello Bitugu, VIDC (Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation).FairPlay-?Sport and Development, Founding member of Football against Racism in Europe (FARE), European coordinator of the Football for Development project with four European and six African partners.

 

– Where are you based? I am based in Vienna.

– What are you called? Bella Bello Bitugu.

– What are you doing and why? I am a lecturer at the University of Innsbruck in education, African cultures and sociology. Apart from my activities as a lecturer at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, I am very much involved in projects to address all forms of discrimination and violence in football. I am an expert in football for development projects which use the strength and power of football to address development and other social issues.

The first black referee in Austria, I am involved on issues of racism, globalisation and development. I am currently the European coordinator of the Football for Development project with four European and six African partners.

I decided to tackle these issues because of my personal experience as a black man in Europe and as a referee in a small Alp region of Tyrol. In addition to this, as a social entrepreneur, a mover and a shaker, I can apply my knowledge to development and use the channel of sport and especially football, which has huge potentials, mostly in Africa where I really want to make a contribution.

– Do you have a website/email? www.vidc.org; fairplay.vidc.org/index.php?id=60&L=1

– What makes you so special? I do not know if I am special but I always remember where I come from, that is Ghana, West Africa. I have been trying to see how I can contribute to different problems, how I can be able to make a lasting and sustainable contribution that can be taken up. I also think I am a multitasker and talented person who can communicate without loosing the people who listen and who need to be listened to. My educational and professional as well as hobby backgrounds also make me a multi purpose person.

 

The turning point

– What was the turning point for you? The turning point for me was, as I was saying above, when I encountered much racism as a black referee in Austria. Coming from a privileged family, I thought there must be something wrong with the system as I could have everything and even more with many of my peers lacking these basic things for life, childhood and school. I therefore thought and knew something could and should be done. Little drops of water, they say, make a mighty ocean.

– How did you start? I started by working with FairPlay in Vienna and also being a founding member of Football against Racism in Europe (FARE), fighting racism in football in the first place and in recent years using football as a tool for development issues.

FairPlay is a VIDC campaign which uses the popularity and integrative power of football to fight racism and other forms of discrimination.

– What keeps you going every day? Motivation but most especially dealing with grass root level people on practical issues far from the theory of the class room, creating awareness and devising strategies against all forms of discrimination. All this just makes me feel I am doing something for the good of society.

– Who is your target? My target groups are youths, girls and women, those living at the edge of society, all forms of minorities etc.

– How are you financed? As usual such issues receive the least of support. In any case financing for the range of activities we have comes from different sources like the EU, the Austrian development agency, UEFA and other organisations.

 

The challenge

– A proud moment? Working at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany and when I was invited to receive the FIFA FairPlay Prize on behalf of the fans during 2006 World Cup.

– A problem you face? First of all finance, because I would really like to do more in Africa and also to involve more Africans on these issues. Another problem is how to persuade people about the power of football in addressing many developmental and social issues. People often associate football only with violence, men’s world and rich stars.

– Your personal motto when things get hard? Just keep on going because a noble cause has its hindrances especially in the beginning, but with perseverance things will work out.

– Another cool project/organisation/campaign you would like to recommend? The Football for Development project now forming and taking shape and also the action plan that we want to implement to ensure the sustainability of the project.

Here is the website of the project: www.footballfordevelopment.net

In addition to this I would like all the people to understand how the first FIFA World Cup in Africa can be used to address issues of poverty and violence and I also would like that the benefit of this mega event can last for a very long time.

 

www.vidc.org

fairplay.vidc.org/index.php?id=60&L=1

www.footballfordevelopment.net/

www.farenet.org/

 

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