Football 4 Peace International features in the ‘UK’s Best Breakthroughs’ list, part of the new ‘MadeAtUni’ campaign that celebrates the impact universities have on the wider community.

The list of 100 highlights ground-breaking projects and research which have transformed lives. Universities UK is the representative organisation for all UK universities.

Gary Stidder, co-founder of the initiative with Professor John Sugden, said: “I have been really proud to have been associated with Football 4 Peace International for nearly 20 years. As an educationalist I believe that the multi-dimensional research, education and social engagement platform that utilises physical education and sport has had a major impact in areas suffering from high levels of cross-community conflict and various forms of political disorder and social disintegration. Continue reading →

More than 200 children from secondary schools around Sussex will be taking part in a football festival next week.

The University of Brighton’s Football 4 Peace (F4P) programme, which has operated in Israel, Palestine, Northern and Republic of Ireland, The Gambia, South Korea and South Africa since 2001, uses football to help resolve conflict between communities.

Last year children from around East and West Sussex and delegates from Ghana, South Africa, South Korea, Democratic Republic of Conga, Iran, Sudan, Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, took part in the F4P International Festival which is held at the University’s Falmer campus. Continue reading →

One of the University of Brighton professors who co-founded Football for Peace has been invited to advise the United Nations.

Professor John Sugden

John Sugden, the University of Brighton’s Emeritus Professor of the Sociology of Sport, will be part of an expert group supporting the Division for Social Policy and Development of the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

He will fly to the UN’s New York headquarters in June for a meeting ‘Strengthening the Global Framework for Leveraging Sport for Development and Peace’ in preparation  for a report to the 73^rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Professor Sugden said: “This is an honour for all those at the University who have helped build and promote Football for Peace International. It is also evidence of how the programme is contributing to global policy in and through sport. Continue reading →

Professor John Sugden and Dr Gary Stidder were interviewed on At the Foot of the Cross; a BBC show broadcast on Good Friday.

To listen to the interview scroll to 59 minutes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09wgd2c