Remembering Srebrenica is calling on UK secondary schools to take part in The 8-3-7-2 Tournament, which aims to unite 8372 young people in 380 schools to play football on the same day – Friday 5th June.
The tournament aims to encourage pupils to learn lessons from the genocide, with the figure 8372 representing the number of individuals who lost their lives during the atrocity at Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina in July 1995.
Bosnian international goalkeeper and 8-3-7-2 Tournament ambassador Asmir Begović is backing the flagship event, which will see young people within each school play in a football game of 11 vs 11 students.
Two winning teams will be given the opportunity to meet the Premier League soccer star and a further 15 winning teams will be invited to participate in our national Srebrenica memorial event at Westminster Abbey on Monday 6th July.
The Stoke City goalkeeper, who was himself forced to leave Bosnia as a child during the 1992-1995 conflict said:
“The Srebrenica genocide was the worst war crime in Europe since the Second World War. It happened 20 years ago this July in my home country of Bosnia-Herzegovina. I’m proud to support Remembering Srebrenica’s 8-3-7-2 Tournament which brings young people together through football to remember the victims and survivors. It’s a really powerful way to help the next generation to learn about the importance of tackling hatred and intolerance. This will help us to build a stronger society around the world.”
There will be a one minute silence before every match to remember the victims and survivors of the genocide and reflect on lessons to be learned to help build stronger, more cohesive communities in the UK. Organising teachers can also read a short piece of scene setting text supplied by the charity.
Beyond this broad framework individual schools can tailor the event to their requirements – for example they decide who takes part, when the match kicks-off and how long it lasts.
Remembering Srebrenica will provide resources such as assembly aids prior to the tournament, stickers for every player and a certificate of participation for every school. The teams attending Westminster Abbey will be drawn randomly from the pool of winning teams.
Benefits for schools include:
- Participation in the UK’s national 20th Anniversary commemorations of the worst war crime in Europe since the Second World War;
- Powerful opportunity for young people to come together through sport to consider the possible outcomes of racism, intolerance and division;
- Active participation in a project designed to illustrate the importance of tolerance, respect for other cultures and the rule of law, we help to strengthen modern British society; and
- Opportunities for pupils to participate in high-profile national and regional memorial events.
Sign up your 22 players, our next generation, to stand alongside us in uniting against hatred. Help them to remember Srebrenica through football and make ‘Never Again’ a reality.
To apply to join the 8-3-7-2 Tournament, teachers should email aidan.stonehouse@srebrenica.org.uk
by Friday 1st May. Please write 8-3-7-2 Tournament in the subject line and include the following information in your email:
- School name
- School contact details
- Local Authority Area
- Address to deliver materials
- Contact information
- Contact individual
To enquire further about the project please contact us on 0121 454 3343.
