The end of the year is approaching, the holiday season is in full swing. The nicest and warmest period of the year where cosiness, family and togetherness are the key words. This feeling of solidarity and family is the ultimate goal of Younited Belgium. An organisation that helps people with a emotional backpack and brings them together thanks to … football.
How it all began
It all started with a couple of social workers from Antwerp who wanted to play sports with their folks. Online, they found the website of the Homeless World Cup, an organisation that uses football to inspire homeless people to change their lives. They saw potential there. Not much later, in 2009, when they were contacted by a production company for a TV programme, you could watch eight episodes of how Gilles de Bilde shared his life with his team for a year. How he prepared them to finally compete in the Homeless Word Cup. After this success, the Belgian Homeless Cup was born.
The Younited players
Athletes and supporters of Younited teams are experts in daily survival’, as Bert nicely describes it. They fight against vulnerability in the field of housing, mental health, welfare, poverty or addiction. In their team they find more than just teammates, they also find a home.
We want to give people the feeling of being part of a team, of belonging to a close-knit group. Our core business is not football. It is giving people a place in a sports team.
Bert Ballegeer
Becoming part of that team is not difficult. The players get to the teams through social workers who talk to them in the street or come along with a Younited player.
They train every week and prepare for matches and tournaments. They also keep the threshold low, for example if someone relapses or does not train for a few weeks, there is no rolling of the eyes or strange looks. Everyone is always warmly welcomed. “It is also very nice for the players, if they do not come to play football for three weeks, to receive a phone call from the coach saying that they are missed,” says Bert. As a team member you are irreplaceable.
Trainers of football, coaches of people
A life coach is the best way to describe the Younited coaches. They work on a close bond between the players and create trust. A chat during a nice warm meal after the training, giving an assist and going along to the psychologist’s door for the first time, they do that with pleasure.
The ultimate goal is to get people back on track and help them take the next steps in their lives. “Renting a flat, getting a job, or just having a lover,” Bert says, “that step is different for everyone but equally important.
But what we mainly try to achieve at Younited is “that people don’t spend an hour sorting out papers or dealing with their problems, that they just have fun”.
The training sessions and matches are a motivating factor, the players must not be under the influence. Bert says that sometimes a player is sober for only 1 hour before training, but gradually builds up to 1 day before the tournament and then tries to get rid of his addiction. All this thanks to the support of their teammates.
The Younited teams
About 30 teams train all year round, there is no winter break. They are all linked to an official club. “It gives an extra special feeling for those guys to say that they play for the Younited team of Club Brugge,” Bert says, “that’s not to be underestimated, that’s powerful.
They play in their club’s equipment, they are part of the club and they also get recognition there. The players also get to watch the club’s matches. They are proud to be part of the team and that, of course, motivates them not to relapse. They train either in sports complexes or in real stadiums like the team of Younited Standard and Younited Genk.
Football shirts with real sweat – for a good cause
But of course a good cause cannot do without funds. And so they can count on the Pro League again this year.
The Pro League’s Christmas campaign was kicked off last Friday. And this year again, DHL Express supports their action by delivering the shirts safely and quickly to the buyers. All matchworn shirts from the Jupiler Pro League and 1B Pro League will be auctioned for the benefit of Younited. The record amount was broken last year. 145 000 euros “Binneuh!” Frank Raes would shout into his microphone at the top of his lungs.
The top piece was the shirt of Charles de Ketelare from Club Brugge. The highest bidder had to pay €4100 for the coveted shirt. Who will score the highest amount this year? And how much will the campaign bring in? We are hoping for another record amount.
Also interested in a shirt? Grab your chance and participate in the auctions here! We will deliver the shirts safely and quickly to your home in January. More DHL news here.
