More than a Football Coach
Football for Water Handbook
For WorldCoaches on their schools
v.0.7
August, 2014
1
Table of Contents
1. Football for water .............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 KNVB WorldCoaches ................................................................................................................ 4
1.2 What is Football for Water? ...................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Why Football for Water? ........................................................................................................... 4
1.4 Why life skills? ............................................................................................................................ 4
1.5 How does Football for Water work? ........................................................................................ 4
1.6 Football for Water Handbook ................................................................................................... 5
2. Football .............................................................................................................................................. 6
2.1 What is football? ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Learning and coaching football ................................................................................................ 7
2.3 KNVB vision on learning ........................................................................................................... 7
2.4 Who are the players? ................................................................................................................ 8
3. Life skills ............................................................................................................................................ 9
3.1 Wash-issues ............................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Learning objectives .................................................................................................................... 9
4. The role of the coach ..................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 As a football coach................................................................................................................... 10
4.1.1 How can the coach influence the players? ................................................................... 10
4.2 As a life skills trainer ................................................................................................................ 11
4.2.1 How can a WorldCoach contribute to WASH by teaching life skills? ....................... 11
4.2.2 What role can a WorldCoach play in life skills training? ............................................. 12
5. Design and deliver integrated training programs ...................................................................... 14
5.1 Design an action plan .............................................................................................................. 14
5.2 Deliver ........................................................................................................................................ 17
5.3 Learn .......................................................................................................................................... 17
Appendix 1: WASH-issues ................................................................................................................ 18
Appendix 2: Learning objectives ...................................................................................................... 23
Appendix 3: Examples of Football Exercises ................................................................................. 24
Appendix 3.1 Practice methods .................................................................................................... 30
Appendix 4: Examples of life skills activities .................................................................................. 33
Appendix 5: Format Integrated action plan ..................................................................................... 35
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Dear WorldCoach,
As a coach, you play an important role on the football pitch. It
is your job to teach kids how to play football. But you can have
an even greater impact on their lives by keeping an eye on
what happens beyond the sport, both on and off the pitch.
As a WorldCoach, you work with young people and teach them
football skills. Football is about technique, tactics and rules. But
it is also about respect, cooperation and decision-making.
These skills are of great importance off the football pitch as
well. They are called life skills.
This handbook is meant to show WorldCoaches like yourself
how to use football training to teach life skills as well. This
handbook is a tool that can help you find out what problems
your footballers face, decide what your role might be, and
actually make a difference in dealing with those problems. This
way, you can help kids who are confronted with issues related
to personal hygiene, HIV/AIDS, inequality between the sexes,
environmental pollution, crime and addiction.
A WorldCoach creates better footballers and a better society. I
wish you the best of luck!
Kind regards,
Aron Winter
WorldCoaches Ambassador
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1. Football for water
1.1 KNVB WorldCoaches
“ Every young footballer deserves a coach … a WorldCoach. “
Since 1997 the KNVB has trained football coaches in developing countries across the world.
WorldCoaches are educated so they can transfer their knowledge on football and social issues to
(school)children and future WorldCoaches in their area. From physical education teachers to former
professional football players, men or women: anyone can become a WorldCoach.
A WorldCoach teaches children in a fun and professional way to play (better) football and at the same
time informs them on important issues, related to the Football for Water program mainly focusing on
(personal) hygiene. In short, a WorldCoach is a role model: both on and off the field.
1.2 What is Football for Water?
Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and bad hygiene practices are a huge health risk at many schools
and communities. The Football for Water program uses the power of football to teach life skills to boys
and girls in primary schools - to live a healthier life. By combining this with installing drinking water
points and building toilets at schools, more than 700.000 children in Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique
will get access to clean drinking water and toilets, and will learn important lessons about hygiene and
healthy living. You, as a WorldCoach, will make your contribution by providing football training
sessions to the children in your school and teaching them necessary life skills.
Football for Water is a program in which seven Dutch organizations are cooperating: KNVB, UNICEF,
Simavi, Vitens-Evides International, Aqua for All, Akvo and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For
more information: http://footballforwater.nl/what-we-do/partners/.
1.3 Why Football for Water?
Good health and hygiene are crucial to every human life. As a WorldCoach, you are more than a
football coach. You, as WorldCoach, play an important role in the hygiene practices of your players.
You are a role model and you can be a source of health and hygiene messages to be delivered to
your players. You can show your team members the importance of hand washing and drinking safe
water. You can encourage them to develop good habits and to live a healthy life. The earlier children
and youths learn about good hygiene, the higher the chances of achieving a healthier generation and
community. And by doing this through football, the children can learn this in a playful way.
1.4 Why life skills?
Everyone needs life skills, both on and off the pitch. Not only you, but your football players as well! Life
skills are being taught in order to learn children to avoid risk-taking behaviours and adopting healthier
life styles. In the Football for Water program there is a specific focus on life skills related to (personal)
hygiene, but of course there are more.
1.5 How does Football for Water work?
Football is the basis of your work as a WorldCoach. And there is an inevitable link with life skills: the
importance of good hygiene behavior is one of things you learn during the KNVB WorldCoaches
Introductory course in the Football for Water program. After the course it is up to you! However, being
in a training course with other teachers and WorldCoaches is very different from being at your school
and giving classes all day. Now, the questions for you as teacher and WorldCoach are: What will
happen when you are back at your school? When and by whom are the water facilities and the toilets
being built? How can you make a success of Football for Water at your school? And first of all: How to
start? In this handbook we will give you guidelines to achieve this!
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1.6 Football for Water Handbook
This handbook will guide and assist you in making a so-called action plan. Probably, you will face
challenges along the way. Maybe your school management or colleagues are not aware of the
Football for Water program. Or maybe there are no proper football equipment or water and sanitation
facilities available. In this manual practical advice is given what to do in case of challenges. To make
sure you are well-prepared, you will develop a plan of action before starting your training sessions.
This manual will guide and assist you in making this action plan. So when you start training the
children, you know what to do.
With the ultimate goal to teach children on football skills and to live a healthy life!
Play and learn!
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2. Football
2.1 What is football?
Football is a game of 11 vs 11
Aim: to score more goals than the opponent: ‘winning the game’
Means: ball, pitch, opponents, but also to run free, passing, shooting
Influence of the rules of the game
Accepting the rules of the game
Football Language: Attacking, defending and changing possession (transition)
 Attacking
o build up & scoring
 Defending
o Disrupting build up & prevent scoring
 Change possession
o From defending to attacking & from attacking to defending
The logical structure of playing football
Team organization and players tasks
In football team organization is important. You achieve results as a team. All players have basic
tasks.These tasks are running free, passing, shooting, dribbling, give pressure, give cover, blocking
etc.
All the skills can be developed:
T
Technical, motoric, physical characteristic
I
Insight, awareness (vision)
C
Communication
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2.2 Learning and coaching football
The KNVB has developed a vision on the way children learn to play football. The KNVB believes that
for optimal learning you need the elements of the game in all exercises. Children learn football by
playing football. Practice is very important to learn and improve the skills of your players.
As a symbol of the Dutch Vision the training form 4 vs 4 was introduced in 1986. It is a simplification of
the game and it represents the way children learn to play football in the streets. Another possible
simplification of the game is to play 7 vs 7. You can vary in these methods depending on the size and
age of your group.
Characteristics of 4 versus 4:
less players
smaller space
simple rules
more ball contact
more intensive social contact
size of the goals in proportion to
the size of the child
Benefits for learning:
more enjoyment
more tension
better co-operation
better result
better vision
more learning moments
Simplify 11v11 to 7v7 and to 4v4
11v11
1 field
22 players and 1 referee
Goals 7,32 x 2,44 meters
7v7
2 fields inside 1 official field
28 players and 2 referees
Goals 5 x 2 meters
2.3 KNVB vision on learning





7
You learn what you do
Learning by: example – experience time – coaching
Learning football = playing football
Teaching football = coaching football
Simplify practice but it always remains football
4v4
5 small fields
40 players and 5 referees
Goals are cones 2-3 meters wide
2.4 Who are the players?
As a coach you have to think first about your players. How old are they? What do they know about
football? What challenges do they have?
Keep in mind:
 The group, but also each individual child
 The age and level of the group
 The enjoyment, kids enjoy football so play football with them
Working with different age groups
The football learning process and general goals/aims for the different age groups:
AGE
±
6-8 years
speed
AIM
CONTENTS
Ball-feeling
- to master the ball
- the ball and me
4v4
Skill games:
- direction
- accuracy
- speed
±
8-10 years
Basic-game-maturity
7v7
Technical skills by
playing simplified game
situations (basic forms)
±
10-12 years
Game maturity
11v11
Team requirements:
development of tasks and positions
by smaller and bigger sided
matches (and simplified
forms)
±
12-14 years
More mature in the game
Insight. More technical skills and
tactics
±
14-16 years
Competition maturity
To learn to perform in service of the
coaches ideas, communication
±
16+ years
Optimal maturity in
top football
Game coaching: efficiency and
mental aspects
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3. Life skills
Everyone needs life skills. Not only your footballers, but you too. You need life skills to deal with the
issues and challenges you face every day. Life skills are especially helpful when things get tough.
Life skills help you in many ways:



They build self-confidence and help you decide what you want.
They teach you to communicate with others and strengthen your commitment to those around
you.
They enable you to logically think situations through and make well-founded decisions.
Life skills help avoid risk-taking behavior and adopting healthier life styles. The Football for Water
program concerns six issues.
3.1 Wash-issues
The specific focus of the Football for Water program relates to water, sanitation and hygiene. Every
community and school is different and faces different problems regarding water, sanitation and
hygiene. The focus should be on the existing WASH issues affecting the school, community and
surroundings. It is important that you, as WorldCoach, think of the best solution to fit the specific
circumstances in which you coach football. In this stage you will determine which WASH issue will be
central in your specific school and school surroundings. This can be one (or more) of the following
issues:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Safe sanitation
Hand washing
Safe water
Food hygiene
Personal hygiene (including menstrual hygiene)
Environmental hygiene
Keep in mind the three first hygiene practices (safe sanitation, hand washing and safe water) are most
important to reduce the risk of disease transmission. These need to be adressed first before other
hygiene practices are introduced. In appendix 1 you can find a short introduction of these issues, why
they are important and what good behavior is.
3.2 Learning objectives
Connected to these issues are learning objectives. For each issue the desirable situation is improved
hygiene behavior.
Now
Current hygiene behavior
Desirable situation
Improved hygiene behavior
When setting learning objectives you start with analyzing the current situation. You do this by asking
yourself the following three questions:
1. Knowledge
What do children know about this specific WASH topic?
2. Skills
What skills do children have to practice good behavior regarding this specific WASH topic?
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3. Attitude and values
Are children willing to practice good behavior regarding this specific WASH topic?
When you have answered these questions you know which knowledge and skills children lack. Based
on this information you can set basic or advanced learning objectives (see Appendix 2).
4. The role of the coach
4.1 As a football coach
Naturally, a football coach wants to teach football. At the same time, as a coach, you are in a special
position. You have a bond of trust with your players. You have authority. You know the children, the
school and the community. You see which challenges to health, hygiene, and well-being they face.
You see what they learn about hygiene at home and school and whether they are able to practice
hygiene behaviors.
A coach:
 has knowledge of football and the football learning process
 organizes and plans practice sessions
 focuses not only on football but also on education
 is an example as a human, he/she is a role model
4.1.1 How can the coach influence the players?
Focusing on your role as a football trainer, you must develop and increase the football-performance of
the players. The KNVB sees that there are 4 steps for a coach to take when influencing or coaching
the players.
Step 1: Structure football in the main moments
 Possession (attack)
 Possession by the opponent (defend)
 Changing possession (transition)
Step 2: Observe and listen! (Read the game)
 Concentration
- Is there close attention?
- Is there atmosphere to perform?
 Technique
- Do the players master the ball (techniques) in relation to the objectives of the game?
 Insight in the game
- Do the players know the intentions?
- Do the players recognise the situation?
- How is the organisation, the formation and field-occupation?
- Is the space used optimally?
- Are the players positioned well in a relation to each other?
 Communication
- Do the players understand each other?
- Are the players working together?
- All the players alert?
Technique, insight of the game and communication can be distinguished from each other, but
can't be separated. They influence one another and are depending on each other.
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Step 3: Find the shortcomings (analyse the problems)
In youth football up to 11 years old mostly the technique can be considered as a shortcoming. In this
age-group the coach basically works on the improvement of the technical skills. In the older age-group
the emphasis will be more on insight and communication.
For example:
 Players aren't able to take a player on and next they can't score
 Players aren't capable of keeping the ball in their possession, create chances and score
 Players don't recognise the opportunities to shoot on goal and don't have an appropriate
shooting-technique
 Players aren't capable of out-playing the opponents in a man advantage situation and they
can't score
Step 4: Make the right choice for the correct practice sessions and the correct coachingremarks, so one can increase the football-performance and make the players’ football better.
Coaches must strive for an optimal learning-situation:
 football related-objectives
 repetition
 lots of fun
 many-coaching-opportunities
Coaches have to:
 Read the game
 Analyse the problem(s)
 Formulate the objectives & aims of the training
 Realise the training practice
 Evaluate after the next game
4.2 As a life skills trainer
You can be more than a football coach. You can be a source of health and hygiene messages to be
delivered on an on-going basis. You are a role model, who possesses first-hand information. You can
help your players to develop better hygiene practices to protect them from diseases. You are the one
who can encourage them to live a healthy life.
You can introduce daily practices that are demonstrations of good health and hygiene. You and your
players can perform these practices before, during or after the trainings. You can train and positively
influence girls and boys to make responsible decisions on issues that affect their lives and the
community. Every encounter between a coach and a child - or any community member - is an
opportunity to impart health education.
4.2.1 How can a WorldCoach contribute to WASH by teaching life skills?
A WorldCoach sticks to the following three rules when teaching life skills:
Rule 1: Combine football and life skills training
Football and life skills are closely linked. The strength of WorldCoaches lies in the fact that they are
able to integrate football training with life skills development to protect the children from diseases.
Children enjoy football. That is your basis. This means your football training is an ideal moment to
show the importance of life skills towards good hygiene practices. This is easy because some of the
basic principles that are vital to a good football training session are also necessary for successfully
developing life skills.
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For example:
Principles in football training
In order to play football well, you need to make
informed decisions based on what is best for
the game.
Football is learning by doing. By practising the
sport you will be able to develop yourself as a
better football player.
You need to form a team, help each other and
communicate with others to play football well.
You cannot score (always) on your own.
Principles in teaching life skills

To live a healthy life and to feel responsible
for personal, family and community hygiene
you need to make informed decisions on your
hygiene practises.

In order to practise good health behaviour,
you need to develop skills by training en
repeating. Acquiring knowledge only is not
sufficient.

You cannot improve hygiene within your
family or community alone. You need to build
latrines together and decide to not practise
open defecation.
Rule 2: Be a role model
As a WorldCoach, you are a authority. Therefore, your behavior serves as an example for the children.
A good life skills coach is aware of this fact and acts accordingly. Your credibility depends on
practicing what you preach.
For example:
 If you correct the children in your class on bad hand washing behavior, wash your own hands
at all critical times.
 If you teach your team about the importance of safe drinking water, do not use unsafe water
sources yourself.
 If you want to build a sense of responsibility for a clean environment, do not litter yourself.
At the same time, it is not always easy to do the right thing. For example, there are no latrines close to
you, water is not available or you just forget to wash your hands. It is important to show your players
that you understand that. WorldCoaches dare to show their footballers how they deal with, and
sometimes struggle with, the challenges of good hygiene.
Rule 3: Focus on the players
Show empathy with the youngsters in your team. They are the people you are trying to reach. You
must understand them well if you want to successfully convey life skills. What motivates them to come
and play football? How can you make football training as enjoyable as possible? How can you make
them happy and teach them good hygiene behavior at the same time?
In order to empathize, you need to:
 Stay in regular contact with the children, also off the pitch.
 Contact the children’s parents. Their parents do have a huge influence on the hygienic
conditions at home and the attitude towards hygiene of the children: they prepare their food,
teach them hygienic behavior and are responsible for the storage of safe water at their
households.
4.2.2 What role can a WorldCoach play in life skills training?
There are different ways to teach life skills regarding water, sanitation and hygiene. You can provide
young people information so they can make more well-founded decisions. One example of this would
be to explain what the risks are of drinking unsafe water. Another way to teach life skills is to refer your
players to professional institutions such as water and sanitation NGOs. No two situations are exactly
the same and each requires a different approach. As a coach, there are five roles you can play:
educator, trainer, mentor, confidential counsellor and referrer. In other words, depending on the needs
of the children in your school, there are various roles you can play to help them develop life skills.
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> Educator
If your footballers know too little about the risks of improper hand washing,, you can educate them. As
an educator you pass on (basic) knowledge to your players. This may be in one-to-one talks or in
group presentations. You can also invite an appropriate organization to do this for you. For instance, a
sanitation specialist visits the training session to explain how to use latrines in a hygienic way. Simply
doing this once is not enough. You should bring up the topic regularly. There are special tools and
activities regarding safe sanitation, hand washing, safe water, food hygiene, personal hygiene and
environmental hygiene to help you prepare.
> Trainer
If your players need specific skills, such as promoting hygiene skills at home or demonstrating proper
hand washing, you can bring up and practise these skills as part of a game. The tools in this manual
about safe sanitation, hand washing, safe water, food hygiene and menstrual hygiene provide various
examples.
> Mentor
If your team members need guidance with a problem, you can help them by being their mentor. In that
role, you look out for signs that point to particular hygienic issues and talk to players when you are
worried about them. You could also start a group discussion if you notice that the whole team lacks
knowledge about food hygiene or the risks of open defecation for example. You encourage your
players to make the right choices in their daily life.
> Confidential counsellor
Are players looking for someone they trust, with whom they can discuss their problems in private?
Maybe one of your female players had her first menstruation and do not know how to manage it
properly. If so, you can be a confidential counsellor. You can set aside time- before, during or after the
training session- when you are available to talk. You ensure privacy and guarantee that the
information you receive remains confidential.
> Referrer
If your footballers need professional help, like a doctor when they have diarrhoea for instance, you can
refer them to the most suitable institutions.
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5. Design and deliver integrated training programs
5.1 Design an action plan
What is an action plan?
An action plan will help you to make a success of Football for Water in your school. It describes step
by step which activities you will undertake with the children. You can make it by yourself or together
with others.
Why an action plan?
Although it is an honor to be a WorldCoach, it is not always an easy job. You will face some
challenges along the way; poor facilities or unsupportive colleagues. However, an action plan will give
you some grip; it shows you the steps to achieve your goals. Planning saves time and will make you
feel more confident and adapt more rapidly to changing situations. There is an inspirational adage that
says, ‘People don't plan to fail. Instead they fail to plan.’ An action plan will help you not to fail and to
structure your activities. It helps you to not overlook important details and to set realistic objectives. To
conclude, when the program is finished you can use your action plan to reflect on your activities.
In addition, you will be asked to hand in your action plans to the Football for Water program
afterwards. This can be through various ways, depending on your local situation:




Through your school head;
Trough the local implementing organization who is organizing the activities in your region;
Through the local co-instructor of the WorldCoaches Football for Water course;
Through your country coordinator;
In which way this happens, depends on the context in your situation. But please keep in mind that we
want to learn from all of your action plans together, and with that, make our program and approach
even stronger.
Furthermore, this allows the Football for Water program to have an overview what is happening in the
different schools, what activities are organized by WorldCoaches, and what the results are of these
activities.
What is a good action plan?
A good action plan is clear, complete and reflects the current situation. Ideally and action plan is
developed before you are ready to start your training sessions and activities. A good action plan
includes the following information:




14
What activities and games will take place? (for instance training session, competition,
community sanitation day or hand washing demonstration)
Who will carry out the activities (for instance you as WorldCoach, other teachers in your
school, local health workers, PE-coordinator)
When will the activities take place? How much time is needed? (for instance one training
session, two weeks)
What resources or facilities are needed ? (for instance football equipment, water and
sanitation facilities)
How to use your action plan?
Use your action plan as guideline for your training sessions, look at it regularly. Remember, an action
plan is always a work in progress. It is not something you can write, lock in your file drawers, and
forget about. Keep it visible: display it prominently.
How to start?
The first phase is to design your action plan. Therefore you have to take three steps:
Step 1:
Collect the ‘ingredients’ (Basics) of your action plan: time and space available, age group, number of
players, conditions of football equipment, WASH-issues, level of life skills, conditions of water and
sanitation facilities.
Step 2:
Based on the basics, determine what kind of football exercises and life skills activities are needed and
can be organized.
Step 3:
Put your football exercises and life skills activities in a planning scheme.
Below an example of a complete action plan is provided. This plan is just an example to give you
some idea what a Football for Water action plan may look like. It is likely your action plan will be very
different. In the end, your school is different and you are a different WorldCoach with different
preferences and ideas. This plan is inspired by field research in Accra, Ghana in 2013.
Football for Water action plan
Basics
General
Time
15
Name of school/community:
Osu Salem (Presby) Junior High
School
Name of WorldCoach:
David and Irene
Class:
4A
Start date:
March 2, 2013
End date:
May 3, 2013
Number of weeks:
8
Football
Life skills
Number of training sessions:
14
Duration of training session in
minutes:
60
Age group:
6-8 years / 8-10 years / 10-12 years / 1214 years / 14-16 years / 16+ years
(please circle)
Number of players:
25
Conditions of football equipment:
poor / medium/ good (please circle)
Central WASH-issue(s):
Hand washing / Safe sanitation / Safe
water / Food hygiene / Personal hygiene
/ Environmental hygiene (please circle)
Level:
basic/advanced (please circle)
Conditions of water and sanitation
facilities:
poor / medium/ good (please circle)
Planning
Date
Activities
Results
Week 1
Briefing head teacher about Football for Water
course
What resources/
organization?
Week 1
Introduction of Football for Water at the staff
meeting
Week 1
Establishment of a Football for Water working
group at the staff meeting
Week 2
Orientation/introduction of children to Football
for Water

Introduction activities during training
sessions 1 & 2
Week 2
Purchasing products and equipment for
Football for Water program (when needed)
Week 3
Hand washing activities during training
sessions 3 & 4
Week 3
School Hygiene Day
16
Week 3
Meet assembly man to brief him about Football
for Water
Week 4
Hand washing activities during training
sessions 5 & 6
Week 4
Community campaign
Week 4
Meet religious leaders in the community
Week 5
Safe sanitation activities during training
sessions 7 & 8
Week 5
School Sanitation Cup
Week 6
Safe water activities during training sessions
9& 10
Week 6
Start
Weekinterschool Football for Water competition
Week 6
Composing Clean Teams in the school
Week 7
Safe water activities during training sessions
11 & 12
Week 7
Food vendor discussion in the community
Week 8
Evaluation activities during training sessions
13 & 14
Week 8
Evaluation of Football for Water action plan
5.2 Deliver
The second phase is to prepare your training sessions and execute them.
5.3 Learn
The third phase is to assess the results of your training sessions and of your action plan as a whole.
First, a result will hopefully be that your players have learned new football and life skills.
Second, a result can be that you learn which exercises and activities do have effect on your players,
which exercises and activities do not, and how these exercises and activities can be improved.
Third, a result can be that you learn how your role as WorldCoach can be improved.
Fourth, a result can be that you learn which parts of the Football for Water program work and which
parts of the program do not work, and how the program can be improved.
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Appendix 1: WASH-issues
18
Issue
What is it?
Why important?
What is good behavior?
Safe sanitation
Sanitation generally refers to the
provision of facilities and services for
the safe disposal of human urine and
faces.Unsafe sanitation, like the
practise of open defecation, is a
major cause of disease. One of the
most significant diseases that arise
from poor sanitation is
diarrhea. Severe diarrhea leads to
fluid loss, and may be lifethreatening, particularly in young
children and people who are
malnourished or have impaired
immunity.
One gram of faeces may contain
10.000.000 viruses, 1.000.000
bacteria, 1.000 parasite cysts and
100 parasite eggs. Even a small dose
of excreta - transmitted via fingers,
flies, food or water - can make a
person sick. If people defecate in the
open, or too close to a water source,
the community is exposed to the
danger of infection and illness. Even
if just one person defecates in the
open, the entire community is at risk.
Human faeces and urine should be
completely removed from human
contact throughout all phases of
collection, transport and treatment.
The use of a latrine is the first and
most important step to separate
human excreta safely from human
contact.
Although people all over the world
wash their hands with water only, this
is significantly less effective than
washing hands with soap. Hand
washing with soap is one of the most
effective ways to prevent the spread
of infection and is the single most
effective way of reducing diarrhoeal
illnesses. Washing hands correctly at
critical times can reduce diarrhoea by
nearly 40%. Hand washing can also
help to reduce respiratory problems,
such as skin and eye diseases or
worm infestations.
Apply the following directions for
proper hand washing behaviour:
1.
Wet your hands with water
first;
2.
Apply soap and scrub for at
least 20 seconds;
3.
Scrub back of hands, wrists,
between fingers and under
fingernails;
4.
Rinse your hands well –
rinsing away all of the soap;
5.
Dry hands thoroughly with a
clean dry towel, preferably a paper
towel;
6.
Turn off water lever by using
your elbows or paper towel.
Hand washing
19
However, if people do not have
access to latrines, burying faeces in
the ground is then a simple step that
will improve hygiene.
Safe water
Human beings, animals, plants and
the rest of the living creatures
depend on water to maintain life:
Safe water is essential to life. Water
is safe when it comes from a known
clean source or when it received prior
efficacious treatment. Unclean water
often contains germs which spread
diarrhoea and other infections. Using
contaminated water for drinking or
cooking purposes causes common
diseases which become risks to the
health of your community, your
players and yourself.
Water becomes dirty in many ways. It
may contain faeces and urine, soap
from washing activities or chemicals
from industry. Diseases are spread
when the faeces of a sick person
contaminate the water. The faeces
from a person who has a stomach
sickness contain germs, which can
make other people sick as well.
When the faeces contaminate the
water, everyone who drinks the water
may get sick. Typhoid, cholera,
diarrhoea, amoebic dysentery, polio
and hepatitis are diseases that may
be transmitted this way.
Treatment of water at household
level is an important measure to
improve access to safe water, since
water can also become contaminated
after collection, either during
transport or storage at the home.
This may result from inadequate
storage vessels, water ladles that are
contaminated by the surface where
ladles rest, and direct contact with
hands or animals. The recommended
strategy therefore combines two
elements: water disinfection at the
time of water collection or time of use
and prevention of recontamination by
safe storage.
Food hygiene
Every day we need to eat our bread,
vegetables, rice, fruit and yoghurt.
Food is indispensable for us human
beings to generate the energy
needed to perform our daily activities.
We take our food from the
surrounding fauna and flora through
various processes, such as
collecting, storage, peeling of cereals
and legumes, squeezing, drying,
cooking and transporting.
During any of these processes food
can become polluted and
subsequently damaging to our health.
Despite being contaminated, food
might maintain its same form,
composition, color and taste. It still
remains very harmful for the person
who eats it. Millions of people fall ill
as result of eating unsafe food,
particularly at-risk groups, such as
infants, young children and elderly
people. Proper preparation and
storage of food can prevent many
diseases.
In general there are five key food
hygiene practices to keep in mind:
•
Keep clean;
•
Separate raw and cooked
food;
•
Cook thoroughly;
•
Keep food at safe
temperature or keep it less than a
day;
•
Use safe water and safe raw
materials.
20
Personal hygiene
Hand washing, bathing, hair washing,
brushing teeth, cleaning eyes, ears
and nose, clipping nails and
menstrual management. There are
many daily practices to maintain
personal hygiene and personal
health.
Personal hygiene helps to protect
you and your players against
diseases like scabies, Pediculosis,
fungi infections, intestinal parasites
and others. However, many young
children do not care a lot about
personal hygiene rules that include
hands, faces, heads, bodies and
clothes hygiene. Personal hygiene
behavior should be learned and
trained on in earlier stages since it
continues children throughout various
stages of life. Good personal hygiene
not only has a positive impact on
health, it also reflects positively on
the appearance and psychology of
you and your players. People feel
physically and psychologically
relaxed after bathing; they also feel
their morale is boosted.
Environmental hygiene
Pollution of the school compound,
streets and pitches. Places without
proper sanitation facilities. No flowing
water or electricity. Waste that is
dumped on the ground instead of in
dustbins.
Pollution of your school and
community environment causes
problems. Big dumps and obstructed
sewers can cause serious health
problems, like diarrhoea and malaria.
Therefore environmental hygiene
21
Good personal hygiene entails the
following hygiene activities:
•
Bathing at least twice a week
with special care of sensitive areas.
•
Washing face every morning
and washing whenever your face
gets dirty during the day.
•
Cleaning eyes daily.
•
Wiping eyes with clean
towels or cotton to remove the eyedirt/secretion after bathing.
•
Brushing teeth with
toothpaste twice a day and after
eating sweets/confectionery.
•
Cleaning the ears daily,
particularly after bathing.
•
Cleaning the neck when
bathing.
•
Washing hands at all critical
moments.
•
Washing your hands with
soap and water after using latrines.
•
Washing and drying up feet
daily, particularly prior to sleep.
•
Using hair shampoo and
rinsing hair when bathing.
Proper ways to maintain
environmental hygiene :
•
Throwing/dropping waste in
the dustbins, not in the playgrounds
and corridors.
•
Abstaining from throwing
practices are very important.
22
garbage from car windows; put them
in designated places.
•
Evacuating fecal excreta in
sanitation facilities and flushing water
after using the latrine.
•
Maintaining water sources
from pollution and rationalizing the
use of water.
Appendix 2: Learning objectives
Basic learning objectives
Advanced learning objectives
Safe sanitation
Children are able to..
● explain two (health) risks associated with open defecation
● explain two methods to dispose human excreta safe
● explain why and how to use (school) latrines properly
Children are able to..
● explain how open defecation contaminates the environment
● build a simple child latrine and teach younger children how to use it
● assist in the cleaning, operation and maintenance of facilities
Hand washing
Children are able to..
● explain washing hands in a correct way prevents illness
● mention the four critical times to wash hands
● demonstrate how to wash their hands correctly with soap
Children are able to..
● explain the role of hand washing in blocking disease transmission
● assist in cleaning, operation and maintenance of facilities
● advocate for proper hand washing with soap
Safe water
Children are able to..
● explain two (health) risks associated with use of unsafe water
● explain which water sources are safe and which are unsafe
● explain and demonstrate how to handle water safely
Children are able to..
● purify water in three different ways
● avoid practices which lead to water contamination
● explain how unsafe water leads to disease
Food hygiene
Children are able to..
● explain two (health) risks associated with a lack of food hygiene
● explain three factors that contributing to food contamination
● explain and demonstrate how to handle food safely
Children are able to..
● recognize and explain the signs of food deprivation
● demonstrate methods to make food safe to eat
● explain how diseases are spread due to improper food hygiene
Personal hygiene
Children are able to..
● mention three reasons why personal hygiene is important
● explain five elements of good personal hygiene
● explain the differences and different needs of boys and girls
Children are able to..
● assist other people to keep their bodies clean
● express themselves on sensitive issues
● approach menstruation as a normal and natural event, and not unhygienic in
itself/ manage menstruation hygienically (for girls)
Environmental hygiene
Children are able to..
● explain two (health) risks of poor environmental hygiene
● explain three factors contributing to poor environmental hygiene
● assist others in keeping the environment free of waste materials
23
●…
Children are able to..
● involve others in cleaning their environment
● distinguish between the impact of different preventive measures
● take actions to improve the school’s environmental hygiene
Appendix 3: Examples of Football Exercises
24
25
26
27
28
29
Appendix 3.1 Practice methods
30
31
32
Appendix 4: Examples of life skills activities
See below for several examples of Life Skills activities. Of course, these are just examples and here
applies too that you can develop own activities/exercises as well. Enjoy!
Movement activity
Traffic light
Organization
WASH issue:
Safe sanitation
Duration:
- 30 minutes
Your role: Educator and trainer
Number of players:
- 10 players at one time
Learning objective:
Children are able to explain which
hygiene practises regarding safe
sanitation are good and bad.
What you need:
- football pitch
- 6-10 balls
Directions
Introduction: Which sanitation methods are used in the school and the community?





What to do:
All players have a ball and are set up aside the line of the football pitch.
The coach stands in the middle of the pitch with his back to the players.
The footballers start dribbling to the other side of the pitch.
Suddenly, the coach turns around and says ‘open defecation’, ‘public toilets’ or ‘using own
toilet’. The players should stop (open defecation), dribble slowly (public toilets) or keep
dribbling (own toilet).
When a player makes a mistake, he should return and start all over. Which player will make it
to the other side without interruptions?
Debrief: Which sanitation methods are safe and which are unsafe? What is the most safe
sanitation method ? Why? Which method do you prefer yourself?
Basic: Children are not able to have full ball control. To ensure children have enough space to
practice, play this game with six instead of ten players at the same time.
Advanced: Pay attention to the technical skills of your players. See your football manual for
instructions.
Practical advice for the WorldCoach
Basic:
● Each child has a wildcard and is allowed to lose the ball once.
Advanced:
● One of the players tries to kick out the balls of the dribblers.
● Enlarge the play area.
● The players go back and forth.
Variation:
● Adapt this game to practicing penalty shooting: in the goal = using latrines, outside the goal
= practicing open defecation, on the pole = public toilets.
● Adapt this game to other hygiene issues. For instance, safe water (by calling a safe, less
safe and unsafe water source).
33
Life skills activity
High five
(Reference: Inspired by practice method 4 vs. 4 with 4 goals)
Organization
WASH issue:
Hand washing
Duration:
- 30 minutes
Your role: Educator
Number of players:
- entire group
- when needed, split up in 2 teams
Learning objective:
Children are able to:
- identify moments when germs can spread.
- explain hand washing is important to avoid
the spread of disease.
What you need:
- play area - paper
- pencils
Directions
Introduction: Ask your players: For what daily activities are you using your hands? What
activities are hygienic and which are not?
What to do:
 Children play 4 versus 4.
 Both teams can score on two smalls goals.
 When the ball is out, dribble in or pass in for the
three or pass for the four.
 In case of a ball behind the line/corner, start in the
middle between the four’s two goals.
 After a while, team A and B switch roles.
 When a team makes a goal and players give each
other a high five, ask your players what can happen
if hands are not clean. What happens when children have germs on their hands? How can
diseases spread? When does this happen in daily life (e.g. hand shaking)? What should be
done to avoid spread of germs?
Debrief: Ask your players: What have you learned from this activity? What are the four critical
times to wash hands? What can you do next training session to avoid the spread of germs?
Basic: You can deliver the same message by using other football practice methods. For this age
simplified games, such as 4 versus 4 (7 versus 7 if ± 8-10 years), are most appropriate.
Advanced: You can deliver the same message by using other football practice methods. For this
age practice methods such as 11 versus 11 (7 versus 7 if ± 8-10 years), are most appropriate
Practical advice for the WorldCoach
Basic:
● Place goals closer together to make defense easier
● Make the field smaller to make defense easier
Advanced:
● Place goals closer together to make offense more difficult
● Make the field smaller to make offense more difficult
Variation:
Announce at the end of the training session the children send their hands on a holiday for the rest
of the day. The players have to avoid touching anything with their hands. They should use their
hips to push open a door and move a book aside with their elbows. Explain the children they have
to take note of the things they could not avoid contacting with their hands. These are some of the
places where germs gather.
34
Movement activity
Keeping water clean
(Reference: Inspired by 5 versus 3 position game)
Organization
WASH issue:
Safe water
Duration:
- 45 minutes
Your role: Educator and trainer
Number of players:
- entire group
- team of 5 players and team of 3 players
Learning objective:
Children are able to
- explain that water can become contaminated
at different times and by different factors.
- explain how to avoid water contamination
What you need:
- play area
- 1 ball
Directions
Introduction: From what source comes the water you use at home? What happens after
collection of water (e.g. transport, storage, use etc.)? What are the risks?
What to do:
•
•



Divide the group in one team of 5 players and one team of 3 players.
The 5 player team must play the ball round 10 times, to get 1 point.
When defenders conquer the ball and control the ball (ball under foot
dribble outside the short side or when the 5 player team kicks the ball
out they are awarded 1 point.
When the 3 player team has 3 points, they substituted by three new
defenders.
Explain that playing the ball 10 times means handling water safely 10
times. When the defenders conquer the ball this means the water
becomes contaminated. This demonstrates that at many different
times water can become contaminated; it costs some effort to keep
water safe till the end (gaining 10 points).
Debrief: What have you learned about keeping water safe? At what moments and which
factors can water become contaminated? What can you do to keep water safe?
Basic: Children are not able to have full ball control. Let them start with playing the ball 5 times
Advanced: Pay attention to the technical skills of your players. See your football manual for
instructions.
Practical advice for the WorldCoach
Basic:
● Appoint less defenders.
Advanced:
● Appoint more defenders.
Variation:
● Make a position game of 3 versus 1, 4 versus 2, depending on the number of players in the
group.
Appendix 5: Format Integrated action plan
35
Appendix 5: Format Integrated Action Plan
Football for Water action plan
Basics
General
Name of school/community:
Name of WorldCoach:
Class:
Time
Start date:
End date:
Number of weeks:
Number of training sessions:
Duration of training session in
minutes:
Football
Age group:
6-8 years / 8-10 years / 10-12 years / 1214 years / 14-16 years / 16+ years
(please circle)
Number of players:
Life skills
36
Conditions of football equipment:
poor / medium/ good (please circle)
Central WASH-issue(s):
Hand washing / Safe sanitation / Safe
water / Food hygiene / Personal hygiene
/ Environmental hygiene (please circle)
Level:
basic/advanced (please circle)
Conditions of water and sanitation
facilities:
poor / medium/ good (please circle)
Planning
Date
Activities
Results
What resources/
organization?
37