Every four years The Ball starts in Battersea Park in London, where the first ever official football match with modern rules took place. The Ball’s destination is the country that hosts the current FIFA World Cup.
“One Ball, One World” is our motto. It emphasizes the unique power of a ball, which, spherical like the earth, brings people together and inspires them. A common spoken language itself doesn’t matter because with a ball at your feet language is not necessary for interaction. We truly believe that football is a universal language.
During our journeys through more than 50 countries all over the world – visiting famous footballers and their clubs, political and social leaders, schools, foundations and NGOs – the idea of “One Ball, One World” is translated into the languages people use in the places we visit. Everybody regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation of intellectually capacity can participate in our activities and sign their name on The Ball.
In the end, the “Spirit of The Ball” – a fair and respectful way of dealing with our fellow human beings and an understanding of the diverse cultures of this world – is passed on to everyone who comes across The Ball. We then integrate experiences from The Ball’s journeys into our educational projects and TOTs for children, youths and adults alike.
More about The Ball’s journeys
Travel diaries from The Ball’s journeys
Collaboration with project partners ensures that The Ball reaches sustainable goals outside the borders of Germany. Those who understand and concur with the values of The Ball, after heading it, can join thousands of others and sign their names on it.
A big THANK YOU to all of our partners who supported The Ball in 2018:
Our Network
About Us
Spirit of Football e.V. is committed to openness and against exclusion of any kind. The core values of our non-formal educational work are based on the trips by “The Ball” to the FIFA World Cup. Since 2002, The Ball has reached over 40,000 people through the universal language of football and its intercultural power. These experiences inform the school curriculums and extracurricular educational offers that we have been implementing since 2010.
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Latest News
Ulrike Enders wrote a new post, Kick-off im März für neues Projekt "Future Ball", on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 2 weeks ago
Fußball und Nachhaltigkeit – passt das zusammen?
Nicht unbedingt, aber wir müssen darüber reden! Über Reisen zu den Spielen, Produktionsketten bei der Bekleidung, das typische Essen im Umfeld der Partien. Und e […]
Hanna Görgen wrote a new post, The Ball im Interview, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 3 weeks, 4 days ago
The Ball hat es in die Zeitung geschafft!
Unter dem Titel „Wenig Budget, viel Herzblut“ ist in der Thüringer Allgemeinen von Journalist Jakob Maschke ein Interview mit Spirit of Football Gründer Andrew […]
Benni Grünewald wrote a new post, DOPPELPASS: THE BALL trifft Weltmeisterinnen, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 4 weeks ago
Die US-Amerikanischen Spirit Botschafter (Familie Stenger und „The Ball“) haben in den USA die (noch) amtierenden Weltmeisterinnen getroffen: The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) rund um Welt […]
Sven Söderberg wrote a new post, Stellenausschreibung – SoF sucht Sozialarbeiter*in für Projekt "S.U.N.", on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 1 month ago
„Projekt „S.U.N. – aktive Demokratieförderung im Erfurter Südosten“
Stellenausschreibung: Projektleiter*in (m/w/d)
Spirit of Football e.V. sucht ab 01.04.2023 eine Person für die Projektleitung im Rahmen eine […]
Iris wrote a new post, Spirit of Football in Jordanien 2022 – Fairplay-Fußball, Textilkunst und Upcycling-Innovationen, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 1 month, 2 weeks ago
Das letzte Projekt in Jordanien Spirit of Football war im März 2020 gewesen. Obwohl unsere Teams gerne ihre Arbeit im Azraq-Flüchtlingslager in Jordanien fortgesetzt hätten, konnten während der Cov […]
Benni Grünewald wrote a new post, Der verlorene Schlüssel – The Ball – Tour de France, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 1 month, 2 weeks ago
Unsere Tour de France beginnt an einem regnerischen Samstag im Oktober. Unser Car-Sharing Partner teilAuto stattete uns mit einem Kleinwagen aus. Vorab erkundigten wir uns nach der Möglichkeit, mit einem […]
Sven Söderberg wrote a new post, Methodenkatalog – Football for climate action, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 2 months, 1 week ago
Unser Methodenkatalog für Menschen, die sich für interaktive pädagogische Methoden an der Schnittstelle von Fußball und Nachhaltigkeit interessieren, entstand 2022 im Laufe unseres Projekts “One Ball, One Wor […]
Iris wrote a new post, Partnering with teilAuto to reduce our carbon footprint, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 2 months, 1 week ago
Spirit of Football has been using teilAuto for a long time when getting to projects in Germany. For example, we hold sport and football activities for marginalised groups in rural areas in Thuringia. Recently, […]
Iris wrote a new post, Azraq Refugee Camp Project Calendar 2023, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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Der 2023 Spirit of Football-Kalender zeigt Highlights unseres Fairplay, Teamwork, Kunst & Upcycling-Workshops, den wir im November und Dezember 2022 mit unseren TeilnehmerInnen aus dem […]
Iris wrote a new post, Spirit in Jordan 2022 – Fairplay football, textile art and camp innovations, on the site Spirit of Football e.V. 2 months, 2 weeks ago
It had been three years since the last Spirit of Football project in Jordan in March 2019. Although our teams would have loved to continue their work in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, the Covid 19 pandemic […]