Football is as much a part of the Salesian Order as a Church or chapel
Football and the Order of the Salesians of Don Bosco are closely linked – so closely that almost every Don Bosco location has its own "playground" with a soccer field. "All you need is a field and a ball, and you're in," Salesian Father Johannes Haas, head of youth ministry for the Salesians of Don Bosco in Austria, explained the low-threshold approach.
For children and young people, it is often the only place where they can spend their free time without the pressure of performance and competition. "Just as there is a chapel and a church, there is a sports field," said Father Johannes Haas in an interview with the news agency Kathpress. To this day, soccer often serves as the first point of contact with a Salesian institution.
In addition to fairness, team spirit, and friendship, the sport promotes learning the rules, "which are part of every game and of life, in order to live and get along with one another." Soccer fields can have a positive impact on the lives of young people, as projects in South America demonstrate. Father Haas cited, for example, the "Ciudad Don Bosco" sports project in Colombia, which aims to protect young people from the dangers of slums.
Pope Francis also played soccer.
Sports can provide a meaningful afternoon activity that helps people get off the streets, the religious said. Pope Francis also played soccer as a child and teenager in the Salesian recreational facilities in Buenos Aires, as a recently published autobiography reveals.
The "playgrounds" with soccer fields play a major role in the youth work of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Although there are now even several professional Don Bosco soccer clubs and their own soccer schools, the message has remained the same since the order's founding: "You don't have to be perfect; you're good just the way you are," said Fr. Haas, describing the concept as practiced, for example, in the open children's and youth center "Sale für Alle" in Vienna's third district. "Unlike clubs, you can just come to the Salesians. There are no entry requirements," he said of the recreational education program.
Space for freedom
"In a time when many children are overprotected, the playgrounds are often the place for children to have freedom," Fr. Haas said, citing a theme specific to Austria. The Salesians' program enjoys a high level of trust from parents thanks to their youth work over the past decades. Parents allowed their children – regardless of origin or religious affiliation – to attend Salesian youth projects.
Football also connects people across national borders within the order. For example, around 800 young people from twelve nations met in Genoa at the European Don Bosco Sports Tournament in May. The Austrian Salesian soccer team from Fulpmes, Tyrol, achieved eleventh place. The tournament will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2025.
Salesians should play along
The "playground," so named by the order's founder, Don Giovanni Bosco (1815-1888), is one of the four pillars of his pedagogy, which also include faith, school, and a home. "He wanted to provide low-threshold access to young people and a place for growth," said Father Haas about Don Bosco's educational philosophy. This also includes the fact that "Salesians don't stand on the sidelines, but rather play along," explained the religious, who is also known for the YouTube format "Ask the Don."
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