UEFA Foundation for Children donates aports equipment to children in Serbia and the region

The successful three-year cooperation between the Development Center for Youth and the DEKI5 International Football Camp, founded by renowned football star Dejan Stanković, in partnership with the UEFA Foundation for Children, has resulted in another important initiative benefiting children involved in sports and educational activities. This initiative includes the donation of sports equipment and training gear, which will be distributed by the partnership across Serbia, as well as through partner organizations in North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Special focus has been placed on vulnerable groups in sport—girls in football, young Roma boys and girls, children without parental care from social welfare institutions, and children from less developed communities. The goal is to contribute to making sport accessible to everyone and to enable participation for all interested children, which is at the core of the “Creating life champions” concept,” emphasized Aleksandra Knežević, program director of the Development Center for Youth, during one of the activities.

So far, sports equipment has been provided to children in Arilje, Belgrade, Valjevo, and Veles, while in the coming period it will also be distributed to children from the Center for the Protection of Infants, Children and Youth in Belgrade, as well as to children in Prijedor, through local sports actors and structures. Borec Veles women’s football club, FK Budućnost 1920 Arilje, the Roma sports club Mladost in cooperation with the Roma initiative for sustainable development, and the “Senjak” Football cchool in Valjevo have supported and facilitated the local distribution of the equipment.

Alongside the distribution of sports equipment, the values and activities of the “Creating life champions” concept are actively promoted. This concept has been developed over recent years with the support of the European Commission through the Erasmus+ Sport programme and the UEFA Foundation for Children.

Development Center for Youth and the DEKI5 Camp will continue their cooperation into 2026, aiming to include an even greater number of children from various vulnerable groups in sports and educational activities.