Breaking Grounds – Social Change through Sport

What Breaking Grounds – Social Change through Sport does

Breaking Grounds – Social Change through Sport is an Austrian non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein, ZVR-Zahl 278042669) founded in 2015 and headquartered at Castelligasse 9/106, 1050 Vienna, that uses football as a vehicle for social-emotional learning, inclusion, and civic engagement among disadvantaged youth. Its portfolio of seven active programmes — Kicken ohne Grenzen, Life Goals, Game Changers, Play Fair!, Strong Moves, Equal Grounds, and Moving Democracy — is unified by the proprietary Life-Goals-Method, a sports-based pedagogical approach combining on-pitch activity with reflection to build self-efficacy, frustration tolerance, social competence, and personal responsibility. Programmes are delivered directly through open community trainings, in-school workshops (Mittelschulen), and partner football clubs, and are supported by published toolkits, social reports, and Youth Leader development pathways that convert former participants into community multipliers.

The organisation's core technology stack is human-delivered pedagogy and methodology rather than software: there is no app, no public API, no SDK, and no AI/ML components disclosed. Its proprietary assets are the Life-Goals-Method and a family of downloadable toolkits (Game Changers toolkit, Equal Grounds toolkit, Play Fair! concept, Moving Democracy framework, child protection guidelines) that together constitute the operating system of the programmes. Operational scale signals include 8,174+ youth accompanied since founding, 519 teachers trained through Game Changers, 1,513 school students reached, and 11 national and international awards; geographic delivery now extends beyond Vienna into Vorarlberg, Upper Austria, and Styria, plus a cross-border Erasmus+ partnership with Fair Play Point in the Czech Republic.

The business model is grant- and donation-funded rather than revenue-generating: all programmes are free to participants, and operating capital is assembled from Austrian federal ministries (BMKOES, BMSGPK), Vienna municipal departments (MA13), international sport-for-good foundations (UEFA Foundation, Laureus, FIFA, ÖFB), corporate CSR partnerships, and individual donations. External audit is conducted by Steirer, Mika & Comp. The organisation has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed venture or private equity investment. Customer segments are best understood as end beneficiaries (disadvantaged youth, including those with migration or refugee experience, and young men aged 13–25) and delivery partners (middle schools with elevated support needs and football clubs), with go-to-market executed through community-led field delivery and institutional partnerships rather than a sales motion.

Name

Breaking Grounds – Social Change through Sport

Legal name

Breaking Grounds – Social Change through Sport

Website

https://breaking-grounds.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Breaking Grounds is an Austrian non-profit association that uses football-based social-emotional learning to empower disadvantaged youth, schools, and football clubs in Austria through programmes such as Kicken ohne Grenzen, Life Goals, and Moving Democracy, financed by public grants, foundations, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sport-Based Youth Development Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO), Youth Multi-Sport Camps (General Athletics, Summer Camps) (MPAKAJAA), Cause, Community & CSR-Linked Sports Partnerships (Foundations, Youth Programs) (MPAKALAJ)

Keywords

• Sport-based youth programs
• Social-emotional learning
• Football training services
• Community youth empowerment
• Nonprofit social programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Breaking Grounds receives funding from government bodies including Austrian federal ministries (BMKOES, BMSGPK) and Vienna municipal departments (MA13).
2. Foundation and Corporate Partnerships: Funding from foundations such as UEFA Foundation, Laureus, FIFA, ÖFB, and corporate partners. Companies can engage in CSR cooperation with the organization.
3. Private Donations: Individual donations that finance free participation of children and youth in programs. Donations can be purpose-designated for specific programs.
4. EU Project Funding: European Union funding through Erasmus+ programme for projects like Game Changers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Breaking Grounds delivers free, football-based social programs that activate and empower disadvantaged youth and strengthen personal, social, and democratic competencies. Programs combine open neighborhood trainings, school workshops, football-club partnerships, and youth-leadership development under the proprietary Life Goals Method, operating a portfolio of named projects including Kicken ohne Grenzen, Life Goals, Play Fair!, Game Changers, Equal Grounds, Moving Democracy, and Strong Moves.

Product overview

Breaking Grounds operates as a portfolio of sport-based social programmes focused on youth empowerment and social change in Austria. The core offerings include Kicken ohne Grenzen (open football training and education for disadvantaged youth), Life Goals (sports-based personal development for schools), Equal Grounds (gender equality innovation for young men), Game Changers (Erasmus+ leadership development), Play Fair! (personal development through football for extremism prevention), Moving Democracy (democracy education through sport), and Strong Moves (mental well-being through sport for Viennese schools). These programmes share the Life-Goals-Method—a scientifically evaluated pedagogical approach combining movement with social learning. The organisation also publishes annual social reports and distributes toolkits and guidelines to scale its methodology. The portfolio is unified by football as the primary tool and a participatory, strengths-based approach across all initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kicken ohne Grenzen: An innovative education project that activates and empowers youth through football-based offerings, serving as a safe space and first point of contact for young people.
• Life Goals
• Game Changers
• Play Fair!
• Strong Moves
• Moving Democracy
• Equal Grounds

Products and services

• Kicken ohne Grenzen Innovative education project that activates and empowers youth through football-based offerings, providing open free football training sessions in neighborhoods and schools with increased support needs as safe spaces where young people feel a sense of belonging and are valued.
• Life Goals Sports-based support programme for school classes and sports clubs that strengthens personality as well as social and metacognitive skills, boosting young people's confidence in their own strengths and belief in handling difficult situations.
• Equal Grounds Participatory social innovation project that opens a creative and cooperative space for 13-25 year old boys and young men to develop new solutions for gender equality, following an Open Social Innovation approach with Design Thinking elements.
• Game Changers – Developing the Next Generation of Leaders Erasmus+ project that empowers youth at risk of poverty, discrimination and exclusion to shape their lives effectively and promote social participation through the development of a football-based toolkit and Youth Leaders Week.
• Play Fair! Innovative football-based training concept for personal development that strengthens young people's social, emotional and mental skills—particularly in disadvantaged life contexts—through playful learning on the pitch and accompanying reflection sessions.
• Moving Democracy Sport-based democracy education project that strengthens youth between 12 and 19 years old—particularly those with refugee or migration experience and from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds—in self-efficacy, democracy competence, and social participation.
• Strong Moves Project that promotes the mental well-being of Viennese pupils through sport and supports teachers in creating a safe, anxiety-free school atmosphere through workshops in secondary schools that develop potential and contribute to overcoming psychological challenges.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8,174+ youth accompanied since founding in 2015
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, moderate and minor.

• Common Goal / StreetfootballworldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Jürgen Griesbeck's organization. Breaking Grounds/Kicken ohne Grenzen described as a recognized leader in education through sport. Common Goal connects football organizations worldwide for social impact.
• ÖFB (Austrian Football Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational football federation partnership for programme delivery and legitimacy.
• FAIRPLAY - Fair Play BüromajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian fair play and anti-discrimination organization in sport.
• VSE (Verein für Sport und Engineering)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerSports engineering organization supporting technical aspects of programmes.
• SinnbildminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative/design partner supporting visual communication.
• Dritter AktminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for social initiatives.
• BildungsdrngErminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation-focused partner organization.
• LID (Linzer Institut für Diagnostik)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute partner for diagnostic and assessment support.
• We Are ChampionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for sports initiatives.
• TFA (Tanzsport Austria)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian dance sport federation partnership.
• Fair Play Point (Czech Republic)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner for Game Changers Erasmus+ project. Both organizations successfully use football for social change.
• wirkt.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial business accompanying Equal Grounds project with expertise in participatory innovation processes. Over 700 people have participated in their innovation processes since 2021.
• Österreichische Liga für Kinder- und JugendgesundheitmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian League for Child and Youth Health - child protection network member.
• International Safeguards for Children in SportmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational standards organization for child protection in sport.
• 100% SportmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian initiative for diversity and inclusion in sport.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Grassroot Soccer: International nonprofit using soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilise youth to overcome health challenges. Direct peer in sport-based youth development with a similar global NGO operating model.
• Soccer Without Borders: Uses soccer as a vehicle for positive youth development and social inclusion of refugee and immigrant youth. Closely comparable in target population and football-based methodology, though US-based.
• KICKFAIR: German nonprofit using football as a tool for education, inclusion, and social participation of disadvantaged youth. Closely comparable in methodology, target population, and DACH-region operating context.
• Sport dans la Ville: French nonprofit using sport for the social and professional inclusion of disadvantaged youth. Comparable in target population, sport-based methodology, and European nonprofit structure.
• streetfootballworld / Common Goal: Global network of football-for-good organisations. Breaking Grounds is explicitly recognised as a member/leader within this network, making it the most direct peer in terms of mission, methodology (football as social-change tool), and target population.

Emerging players

• BIGS (Bildung integriert gemeinsam Sport): Austrian/German-region sport-based youth education initiative using sport to promote inclusion and education. Emerging peer in the DACH region with overlapping methodology and target audience.
• wirkt. Austrian social business that accompanies Breaking Grounds' Equal Grounds project with expertise in participatory innovation processes. An adjacent peer in the Austrian social-innovation ecosystem with overlapping target themes (social inclusion, participatory design).

Broad incumbents

• Laureus Sport for Good Foundation: Global sport-for-development foundation that both funds and coordinates projects similar to Breaking Grounds'. Functions as both a partner/funder and a broader-incumbent peer operating at portfolio scale across many countries.
• Right To Play: Global organisation using sport and play to educate and empower children facing adversity. Broader in scope (not football-specific) and larger in scale, but operates in the same sport-for-development category.
• UEFA Foundation for Children: UEFA's charitable arm funding projects for children through sport across Europe. Acts as both a funder of Breaking Grounds and a broader-incumbent peer in the European football-for-good ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/breakinggrounds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/breaking-grounds-at
• Instagraminstagram.com/breaking_grounds_at

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Breaking Grounds – Social Change through Sport