Manchester United Foundation students enjoy six days football and enrichment

By Jill Dando News

Manchester United Foundation participants have enjoyed six days of football and enrichment activity across Switzerland and Germany as part of the Scort Foundation’s special youth camp.

Eight students from two of the Foundation’s partner SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] schools were selected to represent Manchester United on the European stage, spending six days in the company of fellow young people from six other clubs in Germany and Switzerland.

The young people wore the Manchester United shirt with distinction and pride across three days of football training activity, before mixing with participants from other clubs for a EURO 2024 themed football tournament, held at the training facility of Swiss side, FC Basel.

The participants also took plenty of enjoyment from a wide variety of additional activities - including a visit to Rötteln Castle in Germany, zip-wiring and climbing in a nearby forest, a stadium tour of FC Basel’s St Jakob-Park and letting loose in a water park.

There were also many more activities that brought together young people from all participating clubs (FC Basel, FC Basel Nordstern, FC Köln, FSV Mainz, Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen) for social and team-building opportunities.

“We’ve linked up with the Scort Foundation and the Football Club Social Alliance for the second year in a row, playing alongside unfamiliar participants and developing new life skills,” said Conor Muldoon, SEND Schools Coordinator for the Foundation.

“Some of the young people have never been out of the country before, so it’s taking them out of their comfort zone, which is great for their own development. It allows them to create new friendships with other participants from different clubs and get an understanding of different cultures.

It’s making memories that will last for a lifetime.

“These eight students have represented Manchester United to the highest order. They have been excellent and professional throughout, and they’ve engaged throughout the whole week, showing great enthusiasm and character, allowing them to interact with other participants and staff from different teams.”

Scort Foundation is a charity based in Basel, Switzerland and, like Manchester United Foundation, was first founded in 2007 - harnessing the power of sport to improve the lives of young people. The annual special youth camp has been running for much of that time, with the Foundation now represented for two years in succession.

Paula Zucker, Junior Project Manager for Scort Foundation, said: “Even with the different languages, it was amazing to see how the kids mixed up and the solidarity they showed.

“This isn’t just another football camp, it’s for kids with disabilities and special educational needs. They can just come and spend a week here and they will be taken care of, they will mix with other kids and they will have this experience, which is completely new to them. They don’t have many chances to do that, so it’s important for us to continue doing that.

 “The camp is benefiting personal and physical development to a very great extent.”

A Foundation partner SEND officer works year-round in each of the Foundation’s eight partner SEND schools, with two of those schools - Brentwood Special School and Chatsworth High School - represented on the trip to Basel.

As part of the experience, students were accompanied by school staff and the two Foundation partner SEND officers who are based in Chatsworth and Brentwood throughout the year.

Alice Docherty, a teaching assistant from Brentwood Special School, said: “This year, we decided to give this opportunity to a group of four female students and I wasn’t sure what the girls would make of the experience, but it has been transformational, they’ve done us as a school and Manchester United Foundation so proud.

“The independence they’ve shown, not only on the football pitch, but through getting to know students in the other European teams, watching those friendships form without language or disability being a barrier, it was an amazing thing to see.”

Louis, a student from Chatsworth High School, added: “I’ve liked making new friends, which makes me happy. We’ve done football and I think I’ve got better - kicking, dribbling, passing and a tournament with other football teams, it was good. I joined in with new people.”

For more information about the Foundation’s disability and inclusion work, visit: mufoundation.org/InclusiveReds