ULFC AND SOAS BEYOND BORDERS ARE PROUD TO PRESENT
THE INAUGURAL LONDON INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
23rd - 30th JULY 2011
Welcome to the official blog for the inaugural ULFC and SOAS Football Beyond Borders International Universities Tournament.
ULFC is the representative football team of the University of London, the largest federal university in Europe, with a student body of 135,000.
SOAS Beyond Borders uses football as a common medium through which to engage in cross-cultural dialogue, faciltating understanding and experiential exchange, with a focus upon building lasting links between international students, communities, and educational institutions.
In the summer preceding the London 2012 Olympic Games, ULFC and SOAS Beyond Borders will be hosting an event which will see student-footballers from across the globe come to London in order to participate in an international football tournament with a difference.
Each 'Gameday' will comprise afternoon or early evening matches, followed by a chance for the players to change and shower, before all heading back together to the UoL and SOAS campuses in Bloomsbury, central London for a communal dinner, in which teams will eat and socialise with their opposition.
The evening meal will be followed by lectures, debates, seminars and cultural presentations. Each visiting team will have the chance to chair one evening's events, and to choose the topic and focus of debate. The evenings will encourage and stimulate cross-cultural dialogue, experiential exchange and discussions concerning the future of our global society.
On free days between matches, and during the aforementioned evening events, we will be engaging community groups and grassroots social initiatives from London and beyond, so that they can become involved with and benefit from the Beyond Borders project. We will also be hosting special events such as open training sessions and educational activities.
The project will be extensively documented, with a view to producing a short documentary and photo exhibition, both of which will be touring educational and community institutions in 2012.
Bringing together future leaders from across the globe, and students from both the global 'North' and 'South' will bring into sharp focus both the differences and similarities between students from across the globe.
The issues we now face are global ones, and the nature of our financial system means that global students and communities are increasingly interlinked in ways which are not always immediately obvious. Yet, even at a highly cosmopolitan university such as the University of London, we have yet to explore the global links possible with students around the world.
This project hopes to;
- Engage in cross-cultural dialogue, understanding and exchange
- Create closer links between international educational institutions
- Highlight and engage constructively with the UN's Global Compact of 2000
- Provide a unique opportunity for students to participate in an event with international scope
- Get local community groups and social enterprises involved with an international project
- Expand and circulate the Beyond Borders initiative within the British and international community
- Use football to foster friendships and alliances between global students
- Inspire students and young people to become involved in social enterprises
- Offer the opportunity for London to host an international sporting event of precedence in the prelude to the 2012 London Olympic Games
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