Sustainable football in the Amazon

adidas and Common Goal team up for an environmental project in Colombia 

The global activation of Move For The Planet, a campaign from adidas and Common Goal, in partnership with Fundación Tiempo de Juego, a football for good organisation, was supporting a multidisciplinary and environmentally focused project in Caquetá, Colombia.

In the Amazonian region of Caquetá, residents' work opportunities are often connected to activities that damage their ecosystem. Not only this, the municipality of Florencia in Caquetá faces another major problem that obstructs the growth of the sport in the area and the preservation of the environment: plastic waste.

Due to the repeated and painful loss of endemic tree species, as well as practices and resources such as single-use plastics that damage the Amazon, the project developed a plan with two core actions to mitigate the environmental problems that most affect the area.

Turning recycled materials into sports infrastructure:

The project focused on the collection and recycling of plastic waste as an essential part of the construction of the infrastructure came from recycled plastic bottles.  

This space includes a spectator’s stand, a lighting system, new pots for  urban farming, and the remodelling of the sports field to reconfigure places for children to play and grow through football. This also involved planting endemic trees to participate in the restoration of a damaged environment.

Education on environmental sustainability and sports:

For a long-lasting change and positive impact beyond the lifespan of the project, the programme ensured education on sustainability through the training of 15 young community members in reforestation, forest care and recycling techniques.  

The sports sessions focused on environmental awareness and protection for 200 children and young people using the Football3 methodology which is born out of dialogue and fairplay. Those sessions uplift the goal of sharing and uniting through football for the planet.  

“As long as football exists, there is hope,” said Andrés Wiesner, founder and president of Tiempo de Juego.

Fundación Tiempo de Juego completed leadership training programmes and has collaborated with Fondo Acción to conceptualise and develop "Ecogames", a pedagogical tool aimed at connecting sports and environmental education. Through the creation of the virtual platform “Ecogames”, they've executed around 30 games. This initiative, supported by Move for the Planet, aims to foster environmental consciousness among youth leaders and enable the replication of these activities in different territories.

“We played a game resembling a snake where we had to pass a ball without knocking over cones, symbolizing trees,” said Laura García, a programme participant. 

“These ‘Ecogames’ taught us to protect nature and educate others. Additionally, our outdoor activities, like tree planting, not only taught us about the environment but also offered enjoyable experiences and very tasty food,” added the 13-year-old participant.