My EURO 2016

To coincide with the start of the school year in France, the French Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Researchand the French Football Federation (FFF) are launching an initiative entitled 'Mon EURO 2016' ('My EURO 2016').

The scheme will be rolled out in every school and secondary education institution across France in partnership with the primary and secondary education establishment sports union (USEP) and the national union of school sport (UNSS).

It is designed to reinforce and strengthen long-term links between schools and the football world, will benefit from the support of the ministry of sport, the ministry of agriculture and the French Olympic Committee. It also has the backing of France's Catholic schools sports union (UGSEL), the French parasport federation (FFH) and the French federation of sport for people with learning difficulties (FFSA).

The objective is threefold: to enable children to play football at school; to make football a tool for educational success; and to encourage young fans to engage with UEFA EURO 2016 as a celebration of football.

The FFF and its partners will deliver training sessions for volunteer primary and secondary teachers backed by qualified instructors (federal coaches and teacher trainers). The classes that are enrolled in the FFF sessions will receive toolkits specifically designed for school usage, with the aim being to emphasise an approach that is both fun and educational.

The focus will be on ensuring each boy and girl has the chance to play football, irrespective of their previous knowledge or practical experience of the game. In that spirit, children will also be encouraged to learn about disability football and disability sport.

For primary schools, teaching materials jointly developed by the FFF and the USEP will also be made available online to teachers that wish to make use of them. This will enable them to not only run football sessions as part of their PE classes, but also to use football as a learning tool for other subjects such as science, geography, civics and French.

In secondary schools and agricultural colleges, the initiative will be piloted by sporting associations from the educational establishments in the region, as well as by the UNSS.

Several studies have shown that sport can improve children's overall performance at school. Football can be used as a fulcrum for numerous learning opportunities and discussions on topics such as Europe, a respect for rules, the human body, history and the arts.

In addition, to encourage and reward students' creativity, a competition will be run offering the chance to win prizes, which could possibly be connected to UEFA EURO 2016. The launch of the initiative is scheduled for the start of the new school year in September.