Football for all: The drive for inclusion in Romania
Saturday, March 1, 2025
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On Zero Discrimination Day 2025, we showcase how the Romanian Football Federation is proving that football is for everyone through initiatives that give people with disabilities, minority groups, refugees and prisoners the chance to enjoy the beautiful game.
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The overarching strategy of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) is centred on one thing: the player.
That means developing players to improve their performance, but also using football as a tool for social responsibility and inclusion, to bring more participants into the sport.
Since 2014, the FRF has established numerous initiatives to make football more accessible to all, while using the beautiful game to make society itself more inclusive.
An average of 2,000 people take part in these initiatives every year, with funding provided by UEFA through HatTrick – the development programme that redistributes revenue from the men's EURO to national associations – and various international organisations.
A safe space for children with autism
The 'Neuroatipic League' is a special space at Bucharest's national stadium for children with autism to watch football and take part in organised activities.
Launched by the FRF in November 2024 in partnership with the Neuroatipic Foundation, Neuroatipic League is a dedicated viewing area with space for ten children, and is in place for all home matches of the Romanian men's national team and FCSB, who have qualified for the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League.
"The FRF gives high importance to social responsibility programmes because we want to give as many people as possible access to football," explains FRF President Răzvan Burleanu.
"It’s one of very few such spaces in Europe and has managed to bring football closer to more people. That’s why we regard it as a success."
Getting amputees active
Increased social isolation among people with disabilities can impact their physical and mental health, and 'Nobody Offside' is a social inclusion project that aims to get young amputees across Europe more physically and socially active.
Organised by the European Amputee Football Federation (EAFF) and co-funded by the EU, the FRF runs one of many local projects across the continent.
They have formed a Romanian national team of young amputees, which has taken part in three training camps at the FRF's National Football Centre in Mogoșoaia, followed by a friendly against Turistul București, a fifth-division side.
Eleven players and two coaches also travelled to Belgium for the seventh EAFF Nobody Offside Junior Camp, hosted by the Club Brugge Foundation, with a total of 112 participants from 14 countries taking part.
"Not many people in Romania understand that a disability is only one part of a person's or family’s life. What football shows is that such a disability is not the end of the world. We can do and achieve a lot of things, including football, at a very high level."
Football for all
Combatting discrimination
The fight against racism and discrimination has been another long-standing focus for the FRF.
Established in collaboration with the Romanian government, the 'Diversity Cup' brings together around 250 players across multiple adult and children's teams from different societal groups.
In 2024, the sixth edition welcomed two women’s teams and two teams comprised of Ukrainian refugees for the first time.
Reintegration into society
Finally, the 'Twinning Project' – in partnership with the Romanian National Prison Authority – has recently been set up to help imprisoned people reintegrate into society by promoting footballing values such as fair play and discipline.
FRF experts and specialists started work in the Jilava prison at the end of 2024, with 17 imprisoned people taking part in the inaugural edition.
This was the first step towards the expansion of this programme at a national level, following in the footsteps of the UK, USA, South Africa and Italy, where this project has already been successfully implemented.
On Zero Discrimination Day 2025, learn about UEFA’s efforts to tackle discrimination and highlight the importance of equality and inclusion.
Three ways UEFA is tackling discrimation
FootbALL programme
FootbALL highlights stories from across European football to emphasise the diversity within our game and convey one simple message: everyone is welcome.
A multilingual toolkit to engage children, young adults, parents, coaches, and team staff in an active dialogue around how to address homophobia, refugee discrimination, sexism, racism, online abuse and disability discrimination.
We run an active online abuse monitoring programme during all of our finals and tournaments. The system identifies abusive content and flags it to social media platforms for removal and further action.
For more information on UEFA’s work to tackle discrimination, read the UEFA Respect Report 2023/24.
