The Mary Foundation and the Danish Boldspil-Union (DBU) are launching a new initiative in collaboration to try to solve the problem.
It is called Antibulli Football and is based on the Mary Foundation’s experiences from Antibulli Handball and Antibulli Swimming.
– It is an important issue for me, because it is important that focus is placed on this problem, says the Danish national football team player Pernille Harder.
Together with national team goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, she is an ambassador for Antibulli Football.
And for him to see it is really bad that there are children who have stopped playing sports because they have felt left out.
– We do not want to see children opt out of sports because they feel bullied or outside – they must enjoy playing sports, says Kasper Schmeichel.
Antibulli consists of a mobile-adapted page, which can be downloaded and used as an app. Here are exercises, advice and guidance for the coaches that they can use when they are out on the training field.
Research has shown that it is not the individual child who is the problem. It is the culture of a group of children that is the cause of bullying. And this is where Antibulli comes in.
The study also shows that the language can be especially harsh in the football clubs – and especially among the boys.
This is also the focus of DBU’s side, says Bjarne Christensen, who is chairman of the children’s group in DBU.
He explains that DBU does not work with children’s football being either broad or elite. It just has to be for kids.
Kasper Schmeichel agrees:
– When we talk about children’s sports, it’s about them having fun. That’s the most important thing, he says.
However, both Kasper Schmeichel and Pernille Harder can nod in recognition that they themselves were very competitive as children and that the language could become harsh.
– My own tone has even been too harsh when I was younger, and that’s something you come to think of when you get older, says Kasper Schmeichel.
Source: The Nordic Page