As part of that process the OFC Social Responsibility Department is introducing a new 34-session programme.
The new programme is currently being shared with the Just Play Project Managers and top instructors from around the region at the three-day Just Play Instructors Course in Auckland, New Zealand.
The four key messages – awareness of non-communicable diseases, gender equality, children with a disability inclusion and child protection – remain the focus alongside the promotion of fun physical activity.
Just Play technical coordinator Emmie Sope says coming up with the new content has been a long process, and it’s exciting to finally see that work come to fruition.
“The first overview started in 2012 and we got input from the Just Play Project Managers and Instructors,” Sope says of the development process.
“We trialled the delivery of social messages through capacity building workshops and found that further development was required.
Working closely with our partners, the Australian Government, through the Australian Sports Commission, Football Federation Australia, UEFA and UNICEF, to get their input on the social messages we were able to further refine the content.”
The new content now more closely relates activities to one of the four social messages that is under focus – a factor Sope says was crucial to the programme’s continued success.
“When looking at the 6-12-year-old age group, you have to be able to capture imaginations, and so we’re trying to tell a story through the activities we are delivering.”
Just Play is all about using sport as a development tool, in this case football, and Sope says while learning new skills is important, the overall aim is for the children to have fun.
“The messages are very simple and they combine well with the practical sessions that we have designed, but the activity is not as important as having fun,” she says.
Just Play is available in the majority of OFC’s Member Associations and Sope says it is important to note that the situation and social issues differs slightly in each community.
“Each country is affected in some way by the four social messages we work to improve awareness of, and each country also has different requirements when it comes to delivering those messages.
“With that in mind, we encourage our Just Play Managers to adapt the programme to their community, which is why we say it is constantly evolving.
“While we are rolling out this new 34-session programme, through feedback, evaluations and collaborations with our partners, we can keep building on it. What that means is that come the end of the year, it could change again.”
The Just Play Instructor Course got underway on Monday, 10 March and will conclude on Wednesday, 12 March. During the three-days participants are familiarising themselves with the new 34 session programme through both theory and practical sessions with the OFC Social Responsibility department.

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