Football for peace in Syria and Iraq with Oleguer Presas

Under the    ame Hope League a pioneering initiative is being launched that puts football at the service of peace in a region marked by war Jointly led by the Barça Foundation, La Caserna, the NOVACT Institute for Nonviolence, UPP, Doz International, IDare and Casa Nostra Casa Vostra, the project sport as a tool for social transformation in two key regions: Iraqi Kurdistan and Northeast Syria.

The main goal is to promote social cohesion and prevent future violent conflicts and radicalisation processes among new generations —with special attention to the sons and daughters of victims of the Islamic State— through community football schools that promote a culture of peace dialogue, and coexistence. This initiative seeks to counteract narratives of hatred and violence before they take root, offering positive alternatives for identity and belonging. It places a strong emphasis on the empowerment of children and adolescents, especially girls and those from marginalised communities, such as displaced or refugee populations, rural residents, and ethnic minorities.

In a first joint mission carried out in April 2025 in Syria and Iraq, former FC Barcelona player and member of La Caserna, Oleguer Presas led several training sessions for the future coaching teams of the community football schools. These sessions served to share pedagogical methodologies, reinforce the educational role of sport, and lay the common foundations for the rollout of the project.

Schools in six locations with an international horizon

The schools will be established in six locations:

—    Northeast Syria: Kobane, Hassakeh, Raqqa, and Tiberspiye
—    Iraqi Kurdistan: Erbil and Suleimaniya

From 25 June 2025 until October 2026, the participating groups will attend regular football school sessions and take part in two large gatherings planned for early 2026.

More than football: research, training, and advocacy

The Hope League distances itself from competitive approaches to sport and promotes a cooperative practice that fosters values such as teamwork and collective effort, with the aim of transferring these beyond the pitch.

The project is structured around three main lines of action:

1. Research and development of an innovative model of peacebuilding through sport, based on the methodologies of La Caserna and the SportNet programme of the Barça Foundation.

2    Training of trainers and strengthening of local grassroots organisations working on peacebuilding, with a gender-sensitive approach.

3    Implementation    of    community-led    initiatives:    football    schools    that
self-managed and not reliant on future international funding, becoming spaces of collective resilience

A model in the making, with long-term vision

The partner organisations see this project as a pilot experience that will be subject to ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and learning The community football model being implemented will be adapted to local contexts and needs, with the aim of becoming a replicable methodology in other areas of the world where social reconstruction and coexistence  needed Hope League aspires to become both    seed and    laboratory for model of sport that places the values and strength of community life at its core.

Inclusive and representative participation

The project envisions the direct participation of over 600 children and young people (ages 8 to 14), with criteria ensuring gender parity, ethnic diversity, and inclusion of refugees and rural populations, who will gather weekly to play football The registration process combines open enrolment with targeted outreach to guarantee the inclusion of the most vulnerable groups.

This project is made possible thanks to funding from the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, which has committed to an innovative model of peacebuilding rooted in sport and community ife. t also benefits from the voluntary involvement of various actors committed to promoting global justice, coexistence, and human rights.