"Beyond the Game" was an Erasmus+ youth exchange that used football as a starting point for learning about teamwork, inclusion, history and culture. Young people from Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Greece met in Stara Zagora to explore the values and stories behind the world's most popular sport, using non-formal education methods throughout.
The exchange opened on 14 June with team-building activities and an introduction to the project's goals. After the first icebreakers, international teams designed and led their own games, setting the tone for a week in which participants would be active creators rather than an audience.
On the second day, a football knowledge quiz helped participants identify their starting points and divided the group into three levels: Beginners, Explorers and Experts. This structure shaped the rest of the exchange, with participants learning from each other across levels. The day ended with a presentation on sport by the Greek team and a Greek cultural evening with traditional food.
Day three was built on learning by doing and peer-to-peer exchange. Working in their three groups, participants examined five of football's most debated rules: offside, VAR, the back-pass rule, handball offences and the advantage rule. The Experts first shared their knowledge, then the Beginners took on the role of facilitators and explained the rules to everyone else. The group also looked at the history of these rules and how they have changed over time. Following the Greek perspective from the day before, participants from Romania, Poland and Bulgaria presented the historical and social role of football in their own countries, which led to debates on how the game reflects culture, values and society.
On day four the group travelled to Veliko Tarnovo, one of Bulgaria's most historic cities. Through experiential learning, participants explored how history, identity and tradition shape societies and influence the way people connect through sport. The visit underlined one of the project's central ideas: to understand football, you also need to understand the people, cultures and stories behind it.
