Scort aims to have a positive impact on the well-being of children and young people around the world.
We assess our contribution to this impact through our Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems. As a result, M&E forms an integral part of the way we operate. It allows progress to be monitored, learning to be captured, and projects to be enhanced.
With over 15 years’ experience of designing and delivering sport-based initiatives around the world, in collaboration with local and international partners, we have accrued a wealth of knowledge and experiences.
It is through our M&E that we are able to assess, from different perspectives, the direct and indirect impact of our work on a variety of target groups, including young adults, children, and youth, as well as local and international organisations. This allows us to make informed decisions based on data and information that has been collected through surveys, interviews, informal discussions, and observations. Additionally, in our projects we also use more creative forms of data collection such as video-based observations and children’s drawings to complement the evaluation process.
Take a moment to read extracts from interviews about how our activities are impacting individuals, organisations, and communities around the world:
„The children gain a lot of benefits because I don’t teach only football. I don’t teach only sport, but I shape the kids. I like the kids to behave well. I like kids who can be a role model for somebody else… So how can they be a role model. I used to talk to the kids, showed examples…”
Clara, Young Coach, Tanzania Project
“It is very important to have the Young Coaches because they have supported us, especially for the protection of children. They always organise festivals and the children really like it. So, it is a good opportunity for us to share some topics related to child protection, prevention of other things, or the importance of attending school…”
Theodore, Protection Co-ordinator, Plan International Rwanda
“Football keeps me safer here than outside of the pitch. Because when I am away from the pitch, there are a lot of things that happen there. For example, fighting and conflict…So, when I am here, I feel safe, I feel happy, I enjoy with my team and my coaches because I learn a lot of things here.”
Female youth aged 17 years old, Rwanda
“The exchange with the other Tandem partners is very valuable. Learning with and from the Young Coaches also helps us to see the whole picture from a different perspective. The exchange with the instructors is also very helpful, because they have years of experience that we can benefit from.”
Gökhan, tandem partner DFB Foundation Sepp Herberger / DFL Foundation
“During the Young Coach Education, I learnt a lot and I want to make sports accessible and inclusive for everyone. Although I used to be afraid of working with children with disabilities, the positive experience during the festival made me more comfortable. I now want to make football truly inclusive for all, regardless of age, gender, or abilities. It will be a challenge, but I’m going to try my best.”
Katarzyna, Young Coach, Ukraine Response Project
“…Here we use football as a tool to teach soft skills such as communication, teamwork and co-operation, as sport creates a family and community atmosphere. The various workshops also contain psychological aspects and address the specific needs of our Young Coaches from their different countries of origin.”
Leigh, Instructor FK Austria Wien
“I have noticed changes in myself but also in the kids. In the way they understand the trainings sessions and in the attitude towards it… they are learning life skills through sports, so those changes are notable. And myself, I see the interaction with other coaches is making me more comfortable and a better person. So, I see that the changes all the way through since I started this course.”
Vanessa, Young Coach, Colombia II Project
“The most important thing [I learnt from my Young Coach] is to carry sport as a passion and to do it in the best way, carrying a message not only in a sporting environment but also to carry sport hand in hand with principles and values that contribute to children and each person who practices it to grow in a healthy environment.”
Alejandro, Peer Young Coach, Colombia I Project
At a global level, through our project and advocacy work, we harness the positive power of sport to contribute to 6 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Click on the different goals to find out more:
We contribute to SDG 3 by delivering coaching and leadership educations that actively promote access to sport and play-based activities. This not only has a positive impact on the well-being of the Young Coaches being trained but also the thousands of children and youth who attend their activities.
To-date, over 120,000 children have accessed opportunities to play, learn, and interact together as result of our Young Coaches’ activities.
Research between 2018-2020, conducted by the University of Basel, found that children and youth benefit in a variety of ways as a result of attending coach-led, sport and play-based activities. Specifically, the benefits could be divided into 3 core areas, all of which positively impact a child’s health and well-being, including: Individual benefits (e.g. cognitive, emotional, physical); Relational benefits (e.g. social skills, co-operation, integration, play); and Institutional benefits (e.g. discipline, norms and values, individual/group identity, communication skills and risk avoidance).
We contribute to SDG 4 by investing in quality coaching and leadership education of young women and men in crisis and developing regions. By connecting football coaching with life and soft skills education, our Young Coaches are equipped with the expertise to transform the behaviour and life choices of children and promote a culture of peace and non-violence in their communities.
Since 2007, 914 young adults have directly benefitted from our education programmes in 22 project locations around the world.
We contribute to SDG 5 by actively empowering young women to become community leaders. Our female Young Coaches not only challenge gender stereotypes but are also mentors and role models for the children around them. Past project data has shown that female coaches are important for increasing access to sport for girls.
Since 2007, we have trained 288 female Young Coaches to deliver safe and inclusive activities for children and youth. Females represent 32% of all coaches trained.
Nonetheless, we recognise that more needs to be done to achieve gender equality. As a result, since 2019, females have represented 52% of the Young Coaches being trained in our Young Coach Educations.
We contribute to SDG 10 by increasing the opportunities available to children and young people from marginalised groups, including those with disabilities and refugee children. By providing opportunities to actively participate in activities, we break down barriers, reduce discrimination, and promote social inclusion—helping to shift perceptions and challenge stereotypes.
For example, creating sporting opportunities for persons with disabilities has been central to Scort’s mission since 2007. To improve access to disability football, we recognised a need need to train coaches, both with and without disabilities. Since 2007, we have trained 226 young people, half of whom have a disability, to be coaches in disability football.
We contribute to SDG 16 by using sport as a tool to promote peace and social cohesion in communities around the world.
Through our holistic projects, which combine coaching with life and soft skills education, Young Coaches are equipped with the expertise to deliver safe and inclusive activities for children and youth in conflict and crisis-affected countries.
For example, in the context of forced displacement, our project data suggests that activities often bring together children and youth from the refugee and host community, creating opportunities for positive interactions that help to promote social cohesion.
Furthermore, depending on the project context, Young Coaches learn about locally relevant topics connected to promoting peace within their communities e.g. how to deal with conflicts within or outside of their activities, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, how to identify and prevent human trafficking, and more.
We contribute to SDG 17 in a variety of ways. Firstly, working in collaboration with various partners is at the heart of everything we do. In 2007, Scort created the Football Club Social Alliance as a way for football clubs to become sustainably engaged in international development projects. Over 15 year later, we have successfully brought together more than 300 partners from the world of football and those involved in development to implement projects in 22 countries around the world.
As co-convenor of the Sport for Refugees Coalition, in 2023, we helped bring together over 140 entities (including member states, International Federations, National Olympic Committees, NGOs, private sector organisations) to commit to improving the lives of persons affected by forced displacement between 2024-2027.
Furthermore, in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), we developed a policy brief along with key recommendations to help organisations and individuals promote safe online spaces for children, in and through sport. We continue to work with the ITU to develop resources and advocate around child online safety.
Did you know you can use videos and drawings to assess the benefits that sport-based activities have on children? You can check out an article we’ve co-authored about such methods here.