What we do

Play31’s football (soccer) tournaments bring communities together to introduce human rights, children’s rights, and conflict resolution, and to facilitate trauma healing. We work closely with local communities and plan our work with them to ensure local ownership and leadership.

Play31’s flagship initiative, Football for Reconciliation, brings together communities that have been torn apart by war. Each community in the tournament is represented by a children’s, women’s and men’s team. On a typical match day, games are played throughout the day. After the matches, players and fans get together for communal dinners, and the day ends with a big “disco” with dancing and music until sunrise. The host community allocates huts for the guests ,and as such the participants end up not just playing, dining and dancing together, but even spending the night in the same village. These activities are oftentimes the first steps toward reconciliation for people who have been torn apart since the war.

Play31’s “Peace Ambassadors” educate people in human rights, children’s rights, conflict resolution, and trauma healing. We select local leaders—such as the Mami Queen, the village chief, and the captains of the football teams—and educate them to become Peace Ambassadors. They then go on to share their knowledge and skills with their friends and peers.

Since we started our work in 2008, we have reached around 50,000 people across communities in three districts in Sierra Leone as well as in Guinea and Liberia through our Tri-Nation Tournament.