1 FOOTBALL & WASH EDUCATION

WWW.WATERHEROES.COM

SESSIONS
Welcome to Xylem and Manchester City’s football and safe water training
modules, where we are combining simple coaching sessions with important
messages on water, sanitation and hygiene. These sessions have been inspi-
red by Water Heroes Academy projects around the world.

1 Germs! What are they & how do they spread? Page 3

2 How to wash your hands? Page 5

3 The importance of water filtration Page 8

4 Keeping the environment clean & proper waste disposal Page 11

5 Reducing waste & water use Page 14

6 Water conservation & protection Page 17

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GERMS!
WHAT ARE THEY?
AND HOW DO THEY
SPREAD?
In this module we are focusing on germs: what they are, where S S I
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they can be found and what happens when they get inside

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the body. Use this session to educate your team on preventing

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the spread of germs. For this module you need coloured bibs,
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cones and footballs. Split your group into three equal teams,
and set up a rectangular area with cones to get started.

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1 Part one is about Germs spreading through the air, via coughing and sneezing.

Two teams will attempt to run to the opposite ends of the area. The third team act as the germs and stay on the outside A progression of this module is for the germs to aim the ball
attempting to throw the ball at the players. at the other team’s legs by passing it.

2 Part two is about germs passing to us by animals and insects.

Two teams will compete to avoid the third team – who Both teams have 3 balls which represent repellent and/or nets
represent mosquitos. The mosquitos aim to tag the other and cannot be tagged out when in possession of the ball.
teams players out of the game.

3 Part three is about germs spreading through Dirty Water. Mark out grids to signify the dirty water.

A yellow grid indicates an animal has urinated and a blue All players have a football and one team acts as the germs Once tagged or forced into the dirty water a player must leave
circle that the water is dirty and stagnant. trying to tag players from the other teams or force them into the game – showing how drinking unclean water can make us
the dirty water. sick.

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HOW TO

WASH
HANDS
In this module we are focusing how to wash your hands to
prevent illness and the spreading of germs! For this module
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you need coloured bibs and cones, footballs and two goals.

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Split participants into three equal teams and set up a circular

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space with goals at one end to get started.
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1 Part one is about washing our hands with water – the first step of handwashing.

Split the group into four equal teams and assign each team to Place a number of cones that correspond to the teams colours Explain that the circle represents a washbowl, the cones are
a colour. in the middle of the circle. the drain and the goals are the taps.

Water is flowing and to wash their hands every player must Each player must then go in the same sequence to collect The players do this as fast as they can against the other teams
dribble their ball to a cone of their team’s colour. their clean ball. in a race.

2 Part two – Use soap.

3 Part three – Lather and count to 15.

Place team coloured bibs, to represent soap, a few yards in Ask the group how long we should lather our hands in soap – The teams repeat the sequence as in part two but when a
front of each team & follow the same sequence with the bib the answer is 15 seconds. player reaches the cone this time they must dribble around
being worn when entering the washbowl. the cone until their teammates count to 15.

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4 Part four – Rinse.
5 Part five - Shake hands dry.

The players repeat part three but this time they must remove The final progression of the game represents drying the Repeat the full process but at the end, each player must take
their bib (the soap) on the inside of the washbowl to have hands. This is introduced by adding air and movement. a shot at goal. The race situation remains and is decided on a
clean hands. race/goals points system.

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OF WATER
FILTRATION

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In this module, we will focus on where our water comes

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from, what pollutes it, and what makes it safe to drink.

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For this activity you just need coloured cones, footballs
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and bibs. Split the participants equally to get started.

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1 Part one is demonstrates how water makes its way from high ground to rivers and seas.

The two teams must bring water (the balls) down from the The players do this one after the other as quick as possible to
mountain, through the river (cones) and into the sea. see how quickly their river runs.

2 Part two highlights how rivers and seas can become polluted.

The players act as pollution by the water with different They dribble into the water and leave balls on a red cone At the end of a set time the players must work to remove the
coloured bibs signifying different pollutants. symbolising contaminated water. contaminants and make the water as clean as possible.

3 Part three is about germs spreading through dirty water. Mark out grids to signify the dirty water.

Player must now collect water from the centre of the grid Once through the cones, they must pass yellow markers Teams are challenged to filter their water safely without
before dribbling back through cones which represents gravel, (faucets) to leave the clean water in the glass (square). knocking over any cones.
filtering out sediment & metals.

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4 This activity can be progressed by adding further obstacles to represent sand and charcoal which filters out pathogens and toxins.

The teams must race through the sequence to see who can
filter their water into the glass first.

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 In this module, we’re going to focus on educating your S S I
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team on proper waste disposal through a passing activity.

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For this module you just need coloured cones and

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footballs, and three bins. Split participants into three
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equal teams to get started.

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1 Part one is about getting waste and rubbish into the bin, instead of littering in the environment.

Did you know 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from our Set out a series of red cones in a square, each representing a Team with the most rubbish (or cones) is the winner.
streets every year – enough to fill four Etihad Stadiums. piece of rubbish. Teams must pass the ball from between each
cone to collect the rubbish and fill their bin.

2 Part two is about recycling what we can.

Keeping the team bins, four coloured cones are placed in the The coach holds up a colour cone and teams dribble to collect These are stacked in the teams’ bins, according to what
square, representing different items – rubbish, paper, plastic that colour cone. category they fall in to.
and aluminium/tin.

The team race to clear the pitch of the different items as fast
as they can.

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3 Part three is about how we safely dispose of rubbish.

Arrange the pitch so that each bin is now located next to each Each team aims to fill their bin with rubbish by chipping the Teams must first land a ball into the square, then one player
other. balls into the squares can become the catcher in the square.

It’s a race against time to get your rubbish into the bin

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WASTE AND
WATER USE
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In this module, we show you how to educate your team on S

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reducing waste and single use plastics through passing &

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finishing. This module needs coloured balls, cones and bibs, S

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mini goals and pop-up nets. Mark out a square with four
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pop-up nets to get started.

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1 Part one is about how we can help the environment by avoiding single use plastics. Set up four mini goals in the centre of the square.

The mini goals represent four places – supermarket, stadium, Each team will have two servers by the side of the pop-up nets Remaining players stand by the mini goals which represent
café and petrol station. on the edge of the square. their homes.

Players move around and are passed different coloured balls One colour represents single use plastics to return back into
by the servers. the pop-up nets or collect in the mini goals to re-use.

2 Part two highlights how our actions can improve sustainability.

Keep the same set up with four pop-up nets on the edge of Balls are placed in the centre on three different coloured The four teams then take a ball and make four passes
the square but remove mini goals. cones to represent items (Clothing, furniture and books). between themselves before passing the ball into their net
as a ‘donation’.

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The three items have different passes: clothing is keepie ups,
books are sideways working towards the goal and furniture
requires passing in a square first.

3 Part three represents how our water use impacts on the environment.

Separate the square in to four quarters, and set up four zones Teams must complete a number of passes in each station that Moving from one zone to the next, aiming to be the first to
correlate with how many gallons of water are used on average return to their starting zone. Washing hands (4), brushing
for that every day activity. teeth (4) flushing the toilet (5) showering (5).

Educate the player on how they can reduce water use by Repeat the game with teams performing three passes in each
turning off the tap whilst washing hands, brushing teeth, and zone reflecting the reduced water usage.
by using a water saving toilet and shower head.

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C NSERVATION
AND PROTECTION

In this module, we’re going to focus

on how individual actions can help
conserve water through small sided
games. For this activity you need
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coloured cones and footballs, goals E
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and mini goals. Split participants into

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two equal teams to get started.

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1 Part one: Go meat free one day a week:

The average daily water consumption of a

meat eater is 5,000 litres, versus 2,500 for a
vegetarian.

Play a 6v6 game to represent meat eaters vs vegetarians.

Demonstrate the advantage to the Vegetarian by giving them
additional players for short periods (meat free day).

2 Part two: Plant trees to protect the watershed:

Riverbanks with trees absorb 153% more

water than those without!

Play a 6v6 game with the goal of making three passes. The
aim of the third pass is to receive it in the opponents half,
where you want to plant it. You can score at any time to add a
tree anywhere in their half.

3 Part three: Utilise rainwater harvesting:

A rainwater harvesting tank allows homes to

save 50% of household water used each year
(24,000 litres). Check to see if your school
has a rainwater harvesting system in place.

In this 6v6, you must always keep 3 players in each half to

catch water. The game is “Throw & Catch” with an aim to throw
the ball to the catcher, without it touching the ground. Players
can’t go in that area

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 For more information, visit
19 FOOTBALL & WASH EDUCATION waterheroes.com or scan here.