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Every year on June 5, the world celebrates World Environment Day as a time to reflect, take action and support organizations and individuals championing the health of our planet. Among those stepping up to this challenge is Colombia’s Tiempo de Juego, a remarkable sport for social change organization and grantee of Rexona’s Breaking Limits program in partnership with Beyond Sport.
Believing in play as an immensely powerful educational and community transformation tool, the nonprofit works in some of Colombia’s most underserved areas to inspire young people to be agents of change. However, Tiempo de Juego isn’t just transforming communities through sport, it’s also helping build a greener, more resilient future as part is its growing commitment to the environment.
Its Football 4 Forests (Football Pal Bosque) project, created in partnership with environmental think tank Climate Focus, merges sport with environmental action, using football as a catalyst to drive reforestation, community engagement and youth leadership in Colombia. At its heart is the Forest Defenders (Zagueros del Bosque) initiative which empowers young leaders to take charge of their communities’ environmental future. Youth receive training in sustainability and leadership, and create their own football schools, turning play into a platform for environmental education and action.
We spoke to Director of Partnerships, Sara Lucía Rodríguez Goyeneche about Tiempo de Juego’s environmental initiatives, including Football 4 Forests, their work with young people and hopes for a more positive ecological future:
What led to the creation of the Football 4 Forests initiative and your partnership with Climate Focus?
Our partnership with Climate Focus began through a powerful coincidence: both organizations were working in Florencia, Caquetá. Climate Focus on forest restoration and Tiempo de Juego on community development with children and adolescents through a program with Colombia’s Child Welfare Institute (ICBF). A word-of-mouth connection brought us together and once they learned about our work, they saw the perfect complement to their project. What they needed most was community engagement and local environmental awareness and that’s exactly what we brought.
Additionally, one of our youth leaders, who is also a member of the Common Goal Youth Council, introduced us to a funding opportunity that helped solidify the partnership. This collaboration has once again shown us the transformative power of football. Today, we have over 100 Zagueros del Bosque in Colombia — young people leading community projects and replicating what they’ve learned, becoming true guardians of their territories.
What has your role been in the project?
Tiempo de Juego joined Football 4 Forests because of our long-standing experience in using sport for community empowerment. Our role has been to act as a bridge between local communities and the goals of the environmental restoration project. We translated technical concepts into accessible, everyday language, using playful learning as a pedagogical tool to raise awareness. We accompanied local leaders throughout their formation journey, helping them turn ideas into concrete actions that benefit their communities. Over the past three years, we’ve witnessed how well-supported youth leadership can create real, sustainable impact, socially, environmentally and collectively.
How has Football 4 Forests’ expansion to Florencia, Quemeral and Dibulla helped you further develop young leaders?
We designed the Zagueros del Bosque program as a strategic extension of the environmental restoration efforts led by our partners Climate Focus, GANSO and Football 4 Forests. Our focus has been on identifying emerging youth leaders in each region and equipping them with tools to lead change. Through a comprehensive training program, they learned only sports-based skills and also gained knowledge in sustainability, recycling, reforestation and community leadership.
These young leaders established their own football schools, replicating what they had learned with continued support from Tiempo de Juego. Some even launched independent initiatives like building bleachers from recycled materials they collected. In this project, football has become more than a game: it’s a meeting point, a learning platform and a powerful engine for transformation.
You’re combining reforestation efforts with football training and education. What has been the most rewarding part of this approach so far?
Without a doubt, the most rewarding outcome has been building local capacity in Florencia, Caquetá. Although our direct involvement has ended, three local leaders trained during the project have continued running their own football schools and environmental awareness campaigns. These youth have taken ownership of the process. They’ve become community role models and are now leading the charge from within their territory. Their work proves that the impact of this project goes beyond our presence and that football can truly be a starting point for building community, environmental consciousness and resilience.
Can you tell us about your “EcoGames” and how you’re using them to build deeper connections with the environment and teach youth?
EcoGames are sports-based activities that build environmental awareness in children and youth. By combining play with environmental education, we offer a practical, engaging way to introduce complex issues like climate change and biodiversity. This method moves away from academic discourse and connects with young people’s interests. It make the issues tangible and relatable, helping to support a generation of environmentally conscious leaders. At Tiempo de Juego, we make environmental topics more relatable using dynamic, context-sensitive language. Beyond play, our approach builds life skills and empowers participants as community change agents.
What about your recently launched Move for the Planet initiative?
“Guardianes del Territorio” aims to transform Bellavista Field, an iconic community space in Ciudadela Sucre, for Fundación Tiempo de Juego, which is currently facing severe climate impacts. Located in a highly deforested and topographically vulnerable area, the field is affected by landslides and floods that compromise safety and access. It also lacks basic infrastructure like shade, water, electricity, bleachers, changing rooms or toilets, which worsens the experience for children and youth.
In response, the project proposes an integrated approach combining reforestation, the creation of safe spaces and environmental education through football. Tiempo de Juego will develop a methodology that links football with environmental care, implement EcoGames in Soacha and train 10 youth as Guardianes del Territorio, local leaders promoting sustainable practices in their communities. This initiative seeks to raise environmental awareness, promote dignified and safe spaces and mobilize communities toward climate resilience.
Can you share some of your successes?
One of our most impactful stories involved a mining company attempting to access community land for extraction without regard for environmental consequences, especially to a local stream. Thanks to our environmental training, a group of sensitized youth peacefully prevented the company’s entry, successfully protecting a vital ecosystem. In another case, youth collected plastic bottles to build bleachers for a community football pitch. This not only promoted recycling but inspired other teams to join the initiative, amplifying its impact and positioning youth leaders as positive community role models.
What are your future goals for your environmental programming?
Our vision is to consolidate an educational model that merges the power of sport with deep environmental awareness. Our EcoGames already address topics like reforestation, recycling, climate change and biodiversity, and we aim to keep expanding and adapting these tools to local realities. We’re also developing the Forest Defenders Schools as a foundational model aligned with our Leadership School (ELI), but with a strong environmental focus rooted in local identities, symbols and materials.
We believe sport will remain a powerful entry point to mobilize communities and a platform for training youth leaders who drive everyday ecological and social change. To scale this impact, we are investing in knowledge management and storytelling. We believe that making our work visible can inspire others and spark strategic partnerships, so we can keep planting change, one field and one leader at a time.
In a time of climate uncertainty, organizations like Tiempo de Juego prove that environmental change starts with communities on the ground and can be bolstered through sport. Not only are they protecting the planet, they’re also protecting the fields of play themselves.
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