Football | Uefa awarded a Finnish club founded by children, whose background includes the millionaires of Supercell

Uefa that is, the Uefa Foundation for Children of the European Football Association has chosen FC Melts from East Helsinki as one of its projects to be awarded this year.

Foundation tells on its website that it shared the one million euro prize with 23 projects. In this way, each awardee receives a good 43,000 euros.

FC Meltsi is a football club founded in Mellunmäki in 2020, which involves around 130 children and young people.

The players are between the ages of 7 and 15, and 40 percent of them are girls.

“We have reached out to children from a wide range of different families”, the CEO of the Me Foundation, which is responsible for the implementation and financing of the club’s activities Tiina-Maija Toivola tells.

Supercell entrepreneurs Ilkka Paananen and Mikko Kodisoja founded the Me Foundation in 2015. Community activities in Mellunmäki started four years later.

“We founded Melts, a children’s and family house there, which offers various low-threshold activities for children and families,” says Toivola.

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“We have reached out to children from a very diverse range of families.”

The Me foundation the goal is to reduce inequality, promote equality and prevent marginalization. The desire to play football comes directly from the children.

“They wanted to be part of a soccer team and play soccer seriously,” Toivola says about the starting point.

“Fortunately, we had a physical education pedagogue in the team then Mostafa Asadi, a passionate soccer player and coach. He founded the first team with the children.”

The majority of FC Melts players feel that the activity had a positive effect on their well-being. No negative effects have been experienced according to the collected data.

“95 percent of our players feel that they belong to a group that is important to them and they have at least one good friend,” adds Toivola.

“The feeling of belonging to a group that is meaningful to you is one of the most significant protective factors against exclusion.”

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“95 percent of our players feel that they belong to a group that is important to them.”

FC Melts the goal is not only to teach soccer skills. The desire and purpose is to build a community and involve everyone.

“Football is our way to get there. We are also able to offer other support in all different areas of life and involve families,” says Toivola.

For example, homework clubs and game nights are organized in the community space named Me-talo Meltsi.

“If at some point football is something you leave out of, we have the opportunity to participate in other activities alongside it.”

The club’s practices also gather other children who want to join the field. Toivola says that the activity has grown according to the needs of the children and through the children.

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“We are also able to offer other support in all different areas of life.”

UEFA the projects awarded by the children’s foundation strengthen the position of disadvantaged children and young people with the help of football.

60 percent of FC Melts’ players have a family background such as low income, parents’ low level of education or single parenthood.

“We make a free hobby possible for everyone, but we still give the opportunity to grow, develop and play more goal-oriented,” says Toivola.

The club’s players speak about 20 different home languages.

“It is important information for us because we are able to communicate in an understandable way and keep parents involved in the activity as well,” says Toivola.

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“We also give the opportunity to grow, develop and play more goal-oriented.”

Football Association will hand over the prize check from the UEFA Children’s Foundation on Friday in connection with the Finland-Slovenia match. The information about the award was received in the club with joy.

“The initial reaction on our training grounds and among the Melts team was jubilant,” says Toivola.

“It was wonderful to see the joy of the children and our assistant coaches.”