Grundfos Foundation becomes first contributor to the ForKBH Association

F.C. Copenhagen are delighted to welcome a new collaboration with Grundfos and the Grundfos Foundation, will use football as a platform for social inclusion. As part of the collaboration, Grundfos Foundation will become the first contributor to F.C. Copenhagen's new non-profit, the ForKBH Association.

The ForKBH Association has been founded by F.C. Copenhagen with the aim of strengthening the club's efforts to engage more children and youngsters in football's social communities, while also focusing on strengthening diversity in football across cultures and backgrounds. Now the association has received its first contribution to a specific inclusion project.

F.C. Copenhagen Dream Team
The association's first project is the establishment of the F.C. Copenhagen Dream Team - a football team consisting of young people between the ages of 16 and 20 with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

The Grundfos Foundation is behind the first fund donation to the ForKBH Association in the form of a Community Engagement Grant, which supports projects and initiatives, while Grundfos employees contribute with volunteer work.

The donation is linked to the Dream Team project and will contribute to young people with neurodevelopmental disabilities gaining access to the positive unity of sport. In addition, the experiences from the project will be documented and shared.

New opportunities for inclusion in football
F.C. Copenhagen Dream Team has been selected as a participating team at the Genuine Cup in Houston, USA – one of the world's largest inclusion tournaments – which also has the Grundfos Foundation as one of its main sponsors.

The Dream Team's journey to the USA will be documented  with support from the Grundfos Foundation's Community Engagement Grant, while Grundfos employees are actively involved in the preparation and running of the tournament.

As a prelude to the departure on 27 July, a training match will be played between volunteer Grundfos employees and the Dream Team at Parken in Copenhagen on 17 July.

"This project highlights in the strongest possible way how sport can create cohesion and great experiences for young people who are too often placed outside the communities that many take for granted," says Morten Bach Jensen, Division CEO at Grundfos and captain of the Grundfos team.

"With the financial support of the Grundfos Foundation and the commitment of the employees, we are proud to support an initiative that both gives the Dream Team an unforgettable experience in the USA and can inspire new opportunities for inclusion in football."

The commitment is rooted in Grundfos' DNA as a socially responsible and inclusive workplace - a company that has for years used the unifying power of sport, from employee events to professional sports commitments - to create unity across borders.

Football as a path into community
Despite Denmark's strong sports culture, certain vulnerable groups - such as young people with neurodevelopmental disabilities - are significantly underrepresented in organised sports. At the same time, research indicates that football's network can contribute to increased well-being among young people.

The ForKBH association works to strengthen the inclusion of young people in active communities with support from players such as Grundfos and the Grundfos Foundation, who share the ambition of greater inclusion in sports.

"We are very excited that F.C. Copenhagen has now chosen to establish an independent, non-profit association that allows us to support a more inclusive sports environment. The initiative is very much in line with our other inclusion efforts, where it is especially the attractive sports environments that can pave the way for new opportunities for the country's vulnerable young people," says Kim Nøhr Skibsted, CEO of the Grundfos Foundation.

The ForKBH Association has several initiatives in the pipeline, and the next activities will be launched in the coming months.