FCK and Heart Association stage annual Hjertebold football school

The annual Hjertebold (Heartball) football school was held last weekend with 50 children and their parents participating in the community initiative.

Hjertebold is a collaboration between Denmark's Heart Association (Hjerteforeningen), F.C. Copenhagen, DGI Football, Rigshospitalet and Comwell Copenhagen Portside.

Last weekend, there was once again plenty of football played in Fælledparken, as 50 children with heart conditions from all over the country participated in this year's edition of Hjertebold.

The football activities took place, as is tradition, on the fields of Boldklubben Viktoria in Fælledparken – right across from Parken Stadium. Comwell Copenhagen Portside provided accommodation and meals for the children and their parents.

The aim of the annual football school is to give children with congenital or early acquired heart disease the opportunity to experience the joy of physical activity and become part of a community on their own terms.

The weekend offered football training, new friendships and experiences both on and off the pitch.

On Friday evening, a few special surprises awaited. First, former Royal Ballet dancer Magnus Christoffersen danced football celebration scenes with the children, and then singer and guitarist Nicklas Sahl gave an intimate mini-concert for the children and their parents.

During the weekend, the children also got up close to F.C. Copenhagen and had the opportunity to experience the special atmosphere around the club and Parken.

They also greeted head coach Bo Svensson and a number of F.C. Copenhagen players: Felix Beijmo and Robert Silva from the men's team, Emma Brandt, Frederikke Trolle and Ann-Kathrin Dilfer from the women's team, and Shahin Pelylad, Sofus Bruun and Villads Peltola from the U17 team.

“Children with heart disease should have the opportunity to be active and experience the joy and community that comes with sports,” says Morten Ørsted-Rasmussen, CEO of the Danish Heart Association.

“Heartball is about creating a safe environment where children can develop on their own terms. And when you see the joy in both the children and their parents, it's very clear how much of a difference such a weekend can make.”

Behind the initiative for Heartball is former elite player Sara Juhl, who herself was born with a heart defect. She has a two-part heart valve instead of a three-part one, and therefore knows firsthand what it means to live with heart issues. Today, she is a club developer at F.C. Copenhagen and has been at the helm of the football school since the beginning.

Jacob Lauesen, CEO of F.C. Copenhagen, is delighted with the club's continued commitment to Hjertebold, saying: "Football can do something very special when it comes to creating community and experiences across the board. We feel this very clearly during Hjertebold.

"We are proud to once again be able to help give the children a weekend where the joy of football and community are the focus, and where everyone can participate on their own terms."

DGI Football has been part of Hjertebold since the beginning. For DGI, the football school is an example of how sports can accommodate children with different conditions and give them positive experiences – both physically and as a community.

"Good experiences with sports in childhood can have an impact well into adulthood," says Lars Møller, national chairman of DGI.

"Therefore, it is crucial that there are communities where all children have the opportunity to experience the joy of moving and being with others. Hjertebold shows in the finest way what sports can do when community comes first."

At Comwell Copenhagen Portside, we are incredibly proud to have created the framework for Hjertebold for the third year in a row in a highly valued partnership with F.C. Copenhagen, the Heart Association and DGI, and we point out that it is about much more than accommodation and catering.

The desire is to help create a safe free space filled with presence, community and good experiences for the Hjertebold children and their families.

The Viktoria football club once again made its pitches in Fælledparken available to the football school this year.

“It is a great pleasure for us to lay pitches for Hjertebold,” says Viktoria’s chairman, Claus Holbeck.

“Football clubs should be places where children can feel welcome and become part of a community – also children who may need some other framework to play sports. We hope that the weekend will give the children the desire and courage to do even more football and exercise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fotos: Frederikke Hejbøl Jensen