In the final days of September, The Strong Side team — including International Association of ESD Professionals (IAESDP) Executive Director and The Strong Side creator Lisette Brassac-Fitzgerald, ESD Europe and ESD Albania CEO and head of The Strong Side Europe Gentiana Susaj, and her business partner Julian Maloku — was invited to the picturesque seaside city of Lloret del Mar, an hour’s drive east of Barcelona, to meet with Skender Sheshi, vice president of Juventus-Lloret Football Club.
Juventus Lloret FC — a club competing in Spain’s Catalan regional league (Primera Catalana) — presents a unique opportunity for The Strong Side to partner with a regional club and embed safety initiatives at a grassroots-level in the local community and in the team itself.
Small clubs face unique challenges: limited resources; many athletes coming from disadvantaged and migrant backgrounds; frequently targeted by prejudice, racism, and xenophobia.
Sheshi, an Albanian national and former football player himself, is all too familiar with the discrimination, harassment, and violence his players and fans face. Lack of protection erodes player well-being and fan confidence. In addition, clubs are seen as “outsiders”, limiting their reach and growth. These clubs are lifelines for youth but lack tools to address these systemic issues. Without external support, the cycle of marginalization continues.
While touring the facilities and walking the pitch with Sheshi — an enthusiastic champion for bringing a violence prevention program like The Strong Side to his club and community — an idea was born: a pilot project with 10 Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) instructors shared across five clubs (led by Juventus-Lloret), with the goal of protecting vulnerable players, empowering fans, and positioning sponsors as leaders in social responsibility.
This initiative transforms football into a tool against racism, violence, and exclusion, and creates a model of football that is safe, inclusive, and attractive to women, families, migrants and diaspora communities, players, and socially responsible brands.
We’re excited to implement this new model of The Strong Side! And this, in part, is what makes The Strong Side such a uniquely powerful catalyst for cultural change in football — its adaptability. It’s global and incredibly local at the same time. Which allows our instructors to meet the community’s needs, all while being tapped into a larger network of resources.
Empowerment is having choice, is being able to move through the world with dignity and personal sovereignty.
We see a world in which football is the world’s most inclusive game. Together, we can make Juventus Lloret and its peers a European model for dignity, safety, and opportunity in sport.
Media Inquiries:
Lauren Lopp, Press & Communications Manager
lauren@thestrongside.team | press@thestrongside.team
www.thestrongside.team | www.esdprofessionals.org
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