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Children’s sports to defeat pandemic: 2020 Football for Friendship Forum presents most successful projects to support children’s football
Over 25 successful projects to adapt children’s football to the 2020 pandemic were presented during the Eighth International Forum, which was held on November 30 – December 3 as part of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship.
The International Football for Friendship Forum was held for the 8th year in a row, for the first time in the online format. The Forum is a unique platform for exchanging views on the development of children’s football in various countries around the world. At the Forum, coaches, athletes, public figures, and heads of sports organisations identify the best practices for supporting children’s sports and discuss the most effective ways to promote the key values of Football for Friendship in the world. The best practices are published with open access and become the basis for the free courses of the Football for Friendship Coaches Academy.
“Football is a social game that teaches important values. These include respect, honesty, fairness and devotion to a set task”, pointed out Frank Ludolph, UEFA Head of Football Education Services, Head of the Expert Council of the 2020 International Football for Friendship Award. “The idea behind Football for Friendship is to promote innovation in online learning, emphasize the social role of football and promote local community building to inspire more children around the world”.
In 2020, projects include successful application of organising online classes using video communication services, messengers, and social media. The SLSFA Sri Lanka Schools Football Association and the Sri Lanka Ministry of Education presented an online concept of competitions and contests for children of all age groups. The Brazilian Football Confederation launched several social projects, including those aimed at training goalkeepers, providing social services, and supporting a highly active lifestyle during the pandemic-related period of self-isolation. In total, over 100 football academies and federations submitted applications to participate in the Football for Friendship Forum. Projects were presented in the following nominations:
- Changing the World: Educational Activities
- Stadium Is Where I Am: Improving Football Skills
- Earth is a Ball: Providing Football to Everyone
- Driving the Planet: Building Football Community
All the projects were evaluated by the International Expert Council, which included world experts in the field of football education: Frank Ludolph, Germany, UEFA Head of Football Education Services, Head of the Expert Council of the 2020 International Football for Friendship Award; Pablo Cesar Torres, Uruguay, President of Youth Football and Scouting at Club Atlético Peñarol, Mike Puig, Spain, CEO of the Soccer Barcelona Youth Academy; and three Football for Friendship Young Ambassadors: Ananya Kamboj, India, Mohammad Yusuf Moazzam, Pakistan, and Sheqayli Ascencion, Aruba.
For the first time in the history of the world football movement, children assessed “adult” projects on equal terms.
“All the projects followed the values of Football for Friendship. And each of them has benefited children in uncertain conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic”, noted 15-year-old football player Yusuf Moazzam, a member of the jury, Young Ambassador from Pakistan. “Judging several projects at the international level was amazing, I really enjoyed it!”
All the projects presented at the International Football for Friendship Forum are open to the public on the programme’s official website https://footballforfriendship.com/experts-forum/. Those who initiated the projects hope that the best practices will be replicated in different countries, benefiting as many children around the world as possible.
On December 9, during the live broadcast of the 2020 Football for Friendship Season final, the best projects in the four nominations will be announced and given the Football for Friendship Award.
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Apollo Games
REEVO Announces a New Partnership with Apollo Games
REEVO has announced a new partnership with Apollo Games, a Czech game studio renowned for its distinctive fruit and joker-style slot games. This collaboration marks another exciting step in REEVO’s continued expansion, further enriching its aggregation platform with proven, entertainment-driven content that appeals to players across multiple markets.
Through this partnership, Apollo Games’ portfolio is now available on the REEVO aggregation platform, providing operators with seamless access to a collection of engaging titles through a single integration. The addition reinforces REEVO’s commitment to delivering a diverse content ecosystem that combines established player favourites with innovative experiences from leading studios.
At REEVO, building a world-class aggregation platform means partnering with studios that understand what keeps players coming back. Apollo Games has established a strong reputation for combining classic casino appeal with modern mechanics, intuitive gameplay, and memorable entertainment. This makes the studio a valuable addition to REEVO’s growing portfolio of premium content providers.
As REEVO continues to expand its global footprint, every new partnership strengthens its ability to offer operators greater variety, stronger player engagement, and scalable content solutions through a single integration.
Daniel Cuc, Head of Account Management at REEVO, said: “Apollo Games brings a style of content that has stood the test of time while continuing to evolve with today’s players. We’re excited to welcome them to the REEVO platform as we continue building an aggregation ecosystem that combines trusted content with fresh experiences. Every new partnership is about giving our operators more opportunities to succeed, and Apollo Games is another excellent addition to our growing network.”
Robert Mikudik, CCO at Apollo Games, said: “We are truly excited to begin this new chapter with REEVO. This partnership will significantly strengthen the distribution of Apollo Games’ portfolio across multiple markets and help us bring our games to an even wider audience. I would like to thank everyone from both teams who contributed their time, energy, and expertise to successfully bring this project to life. A special thank you to David Ciolovan and Daniel Cuc for their dedication and for playing a key role in making this deal happen. We are very much looking forward to everything we can achieve together.”
This partnership reflects REEVO’s continued momentum as it expands its aggregation platform with providers that combine quality, innovation and commercial value. By growing a carefully curated content ecosystem, REEVO remains focused on helping operators deliver outstanding gaming experiences while supporting sustainable business growth.
The post REEVO Announces a New Partnership with Apollo Games appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Bacta
MGD – the Tax That Could Cost Britain its “Great Seaside Holiday”
Bacta has warned how an increase in Machine Games Duty will have a devastating impact on the country’s seaside piers and arcades forcing closures and undermining the appeal of the Great British seaside holiday.
The warning comes after research conducted by VisitBritain showed an 18% year-on-year decline in trips to England’s coast, an alarming down-turn that has seen it launch the domestic coastal campaign – #AllOnTheCoast – which encourages the supply chain of seaside businesses and partners to share videos and social posts to inspire Brits to discover England’s seaside and coastal destinations.
Commenting on the VistBritain campaign against the backdrop of the recent Social Market Foundation proposal to increase Machine Games Duty, Bacta President Joseph Cullis said: “Such a decline in trips to the coast, as reported by VistBritain, is extremely concerning.
“What’s perfectly clear is that any increase in the tax burden for already under pressure destination venues such as piers and coastal arcades will directly impact the appeal of a trip to the seaside as businesses either close permanently, are forced to pass on tax increases to holiday makers or have to reduce the hospitality offering. However individual businesses respond, the outcome is inevitable – a significantly reduced and more expensive experience that will serve to either transform two or three- night breaks into a day trip, and/or encourage families to holiday abroad.”
Increasing the tax burden would also have a significant impact on regional economies.
“Many seaside piers and amusement arcades rely on the income from their gaming areas to stay viable year-round. That income helps keep staff employed beyond the summer season and it helps maintain the attractions and buildings that are part of Britain’s coastal heritage. Take it away and the damage spreads throughout the broader business community of bars, cafes, newsagents, restaurants, convenience stores and B&Bs. Healthy, well-maintained piers and sea-front arcades make the difference between resort status and simply being somewhere that visitors go for a coastal walk,” noted Cullis.
“A pier does not survive on warm words about heritage, an arcade cannot pay wages with nostalgia and games creators aren’t able to invest in new products if the market is taxed into decline. It would be painfully ironic if the government chooses to implement a destructive tax regime that will destroy the Great British seaside holiday at the same time as funding VistBritain’s #AllOnTheCoast campaign.”
The post MGD – the Tax That Could Cost Britain its “Great Seaside Holiday” appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Andreas Hackl
Bet-at-home Goes Live with Fast Track
Bet-at-home, the European online sports betting and gaming operator, has gone live with Fast Track, using the platform to manage player engagement across its sportsbook and casino.
Founded in 1999 and listed on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard), bet-at-home operates online sports betting and gaming across European markets, with Germany among its core markets. The agreement is the next step in bet-at-home’s player engagement strategy, as the operator continues to deepen the experience it delivers to players across regulated markets.
Fast Track gives bet-at-home’s team a single real-time customer model across CRM, Rewards and Greco, enabling the operator to scale player engagement, gamification and loyalty strategies, and build a gameplay intelligent bonus strategy from one connected platform. bet-at-home also uses Fast Track AI to power fully agentic CRM workflows, allowing its team to work with the platform in natural language and delegate end-to-end CRM tasks to AI agents.
“We needed a platform built for the realities of operating in regulated European markets, with the data foundation and agility to engage players consistently across our brands. Fast Track gives us exactly that, and we are excited about what this partnership will let us build for our players,” said Andreas Hackl, Head of Operations at bet-at-home.
“bet-at-home has built one of European betting’s most recognised brands over more than two decades, and across exactly the kind of regulated, competitive markets Fast Track was built for. We are looking forward to the work ahead together,” said Simon Lidzén, Co-Founder and CEO of Fast Track.
The post Bet-at-home Goes Live with Fast Track appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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