PLAY FOR GOAL 5
GENDER EQUALITY

To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential.

Today gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress.

Inequalities faced by girls can begin right at birth and follow them all their lives. In some countries, girls are deprived of access to health care or proper nutrition, leading to a higher mortality rate.

Regardless of where you live in, gender equality is a fundamental human right. Advancing gender equality is critical to all areas of a
healthy society, from reducing poverty to promoting the health, education, protection and the well-being of girls and boys.

• A handful of players are inside the circle without a ball and the rest form the circle, some with a ball some without.
• The players in the middle run towards someone with a ball (1).
• After calling for the ball the player receives it (2), plays it to someone without a ball (3), returns to the middle and then start again.
• Remind players that they can only receive the ball if they ask for it.

After a few rounds of simple communication challenge the players to say something different when asking for the ball: “My name is …”, “I have a VOICE”, “I am smart”, “I am strong” – they can identify something about themselves they are proud of and something kind about the person passing to them. You have many options with this game to develop technique.

Challenge the players with taking the ball out of the air with different body parts (head, chest, thigh). Use hands to adapt the game to other sports or practice goalkeeping. Mix it up!

• Why is it important to communicate on the field? What about off the field?
• What are examples of how you communicate in life?
• Do we all have equal voices in society? Why or why not?
• How can we create more opportunities for everyone to participate in sport and society?

by Becca Todd, United Kingdom

• Maximise the space that you have by spreading out right to the edge of the area.
• Keep moving and changing position to confuse the defenders and give yourselves more space to play.
• Pass the ball quickly but accurately so that it’s harder for the defenders.
• Communicate and support each other to keep possession.

• Pressure the player on the ball by running towards them and making them make mistakes.
• As the ball moves, keep moving from player to player putting pressure on them all.
• Stay low to keep your balance, and defend sideways on so that you can react and change direction quickly.
• Communicate with the other defenders to decide who will defend against which other players- be organised.
• Work hard until you get the ball back!

by Steven O’Reilly, Chelsea FC Foundation, Bangkok

• Organise a ‘normal’ football match and illustrate inequality with different goal sizes. 

• Divide the players into two teams. If you are teaching both girls and boys make a girl team and a boys team. Have the girls be only 4 against 7.

If you make 10 minutes matches this game can be a great warm up. Maybe start on just part of the field and using hands throwing the ball in the beginning.

by Coaches Across Continents 

• Women’s and girls’ rights in 15-30 minutes.
• Ask players to think of different rights of women and girls and label the cones.

• One player from each team runs to the middle of the circle. When they reach the middle of the circle, the two players do a handshake (or dance or something else creative).
• The coach call one of the rights and the players race to that cone, two new players come in the center.

There are so many great ways to create a game. Allow the players to be quite creative with this by introducing the goal at the beginning of the match and asking them how this could be included:  Do one team have a big goal and the other a small. Do everybody play with a glas of water or change a rule every minute. 

A simple way to bring in the Global Goals when playing a match, is that every time a team scores or make a save, or during a water break they can double their points or get a point by stating a Global Goal and what they could do to help promote this in their community. Easiest to play small side games with 3-6 players, so they can hear each other.

You can always have several games going at the same time. There are some rule ideas under Goal 17.

If you have time, give the players a chance to talk solutions, and how they them selve can do something in their every day.

• How did it fell to score on a big/smaller goal? What is the ‘small goal’ in your daily life?
• How did it feel to be limited? How did it feel to have more space?
• Do you experience inequality in your daily life, school, home, SoMe, TV etc.
• How you can reduce inequality where you live.
• What other global goals is supported when reaching this goal?

When you and your players create your own drills for the global goals, please share it. Every game counts.

Describe your game in a drawing and add a few words and send it to us.

As a thank you we will share your Impact Game under the relevant Goal here on the website and of course crediting you and your team!