Voice of America TV featured The Team in recent broadcast
SFCG's TV series, "The Team" is broadcast in over 17 countries and growing. VOA's Carolyn Turner talked with Deborah Jones, the Executive Producer and discovered the stories are different in each country.
August 13, 2012: Social drama "The Team" confronts sectarianism
In Lebanon's case, "The Team"'s plotlines shed light on the social problems resulting from the Civil War and how these larger issues touch the daily lives of the characters.
February 17, 2012: Indonesian TV Soap with a Message(Transcript)
Listen to Australia Broadcast Corporation radio's interview with SFCG Indonesia Country Director Brian Hanley about the launch of 'Tim Bui'.
NOW traveled to Kenya, where ambitious producers and actors hope one such TV show, "The Team", can help foster peace amongst the country's 42 official tribes.
Articles and Printed Media About The Team
October 27, 2013:The World’s Most Subversive Soap Operas
When veteran Hollywood screenwriter Deborah Jones saw that the director of photography on her latest dramatic series was carrying an AK47 assault rifle, she thought to herself, “That’s new,” and she was more than a little worried. Jones had had other problems on other locations...
August 13, 2012: Social drama 'The Team' confronts sectarianism
As part of a team assembled by the NGO Search for Common Ground and funded by the EU and UNDP, Shahrour co-wrote a 13-episode series entitled “The Team.” It is a show about a football team made up of Muslim and Christian players from the Beirut neighborhoods of Ain al-Rummaneh and Shiyah who must overcome their divisions to achieve success on the pitch.
February 18, 2012: Searching for Common Ground in "Tim Bui" The way I see it, almost everybody, regardless of their nationality or ethnicity, loves soccer," says Agung, a prison warden and central character in a 13-espisode drama series titled "Tim Bui", which is due to air on Indonesian television screens this week.
February 10, 2012: Coming Soon: An Indonesian TV Drama With Soul A new television series set to air in Indonesia this month will be an alternative to the common drama found in the average soap opera, promoters are promising. "Tim Bui", a 13-episode football-themed drama set in prison, aims to promote tolerance, teamwork and conflict resolution.
February 9, 2012: New Indonesian TV Mini-Series Aims to Promote Tolerance
A new television series set to air across Indonesia this month will be an alternative to the common drama found in the average Sinetron, promoters are promising. Tim Bui, a new 13-episode football themed drama set in prison, hopes to promote tolerance, team work and conflict resolution.
November 9, 2011: Zimbabwe: Filmmaker Katedza Releases Another Gem
One of Zimbabwe's talented filmmakers Rumbi Katedza has added on another "The Team" - to her long list of reputable works.
The phenomenal woman, who is currently riding high on the success of her latest feature film "Playing Warriors", said the television series is clear testimony of the abundant talent in Zimbabwe.
"This production shows the capabilities of local actors, scriptwriters and production crew," she said.
November 7, 2011: TV series address peace building, healing
A media campaign by Search for Common Ground has resulted in the production of a television series, The Team which is currently showing on ZBC television.
The series, which comprises 13 episodes was launched in Harare on Friday and seeks to educate Zimbabweans about peace building and healing, at the same time demonstrating that peace is both achievable and desirable.
November 4, 2011: New TV drama, 'The Team' takes off
A new television series, 'The Team', which merges the global appeal of football with drama to help transform social attitudes and diminish violent behaviour in African countries, has been officially launched in the capital.
The Team, which is already showing on ZBC TV, is a drama series that tackles a host of issues including age, sex, social, economic and inter-generational differences and the importance of team work.
October 1, 2010: The Team Series in Africa
This edition of The Soul Beat focuses on "The Team" in Africa. Initiated by Search for Common Ground, "The Team" is an episodic television and radio drama series which has merged the global appeal of soccer/football with soap opera to help transform social attitudes and diminish violent behaviour in countries grappling with deeply rooted conflict. Each production of The Team follows the characters of a football team who must overcome their differences - cultural, ethnic, religious, tribal, racial or socio-economic - in order to work together to win the game.
Spetember 8, 2010: Agencies Take Soap Operas into Life Messaging
With Kenyan TV networks continuing to increase in number, the number of soap operas
presented on the Kenyan airwaves has leapt, hooking millions of Kenyan TV viewers across
gender and age to each network's 'exclusive' soap and opening a channel for agencies now
using the genre to educate viewers on every kind of life issue.
July 10, 2010: What legacy will the World Cup leave for South Africa?
Perhaps the legacy of the tournament will be simpler but still powerful. In Africa, a continent rife with factionalism and hostility, soccer has risen to become a potent symbol of hope and healing. Social projects like Search For Common Ground abound. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit produces a ratings-smash soccer-based soap opera called "The Team" in a dozen African nations. The show follows the exploits of a pan-tribal football squad to explore delicate social, cultural and political challenges that beset the oft-disunited societies. If life follows art, and the soap opera's storylines foreshadow the fate of Cote d'Ivoire, Congo or Kenya, football might help the continent to continue rocking with joy for many years to come.
June, 2010: Soaps Clean Up Image and Fight Tribal Conflict
Soap operas, typically watched for their popular entertainment value, have taken on a new role in
the developing world where they are introducing social change and fighting tribal rivalries in
African countries. In Kenya, a popular series called The Team centers on a soccer team forced to
overcome diversity and cooperate to advance in the standings. John Marks, president and
founder of Common Ground Productions, discussed the show at the Wilson Center in
Washington, D.C., June 15.
June 24, 2010: TV drama uses soccer to promote social change
While millions around the world watch their favorite soccer teams compete in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, another “team” is tackling social issues in the African nation of Kenya.
May 2, 2010: Boston Globe - How soap operas could save the world
To mitigate ethnic tension and fight corruption in Africa, the conflict-resolution organization Search for Common Ground has created a soap opera franchise called ”The Team” about the trials of an ethnically and religiously diverse professional soccer club. Locally produced versions in Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, and Morocco have proved popular — nearly a quarter of Moroccans watch it.
April, 2010:New York Times - Easing Conflicts One Episode at a Time
The Search for Common Ground is doing its part to foster change with a dramatic television series called “The Team.” The show started in Kenya on radio in reaction to a disputed presidential election in December 2007 that unleashed several months of ethnic violence. With the help of a $6.5 million grant from Britain’s Department for International Development, Marks and his group committed to producing “The Team” in 10 countries.
January, 2010: ESPNsoccernet - Soccer plays a critical role in Africa
"The message is simple: If they don't play together, they won't score goals," Marks said. "Our show uses soccer to deliver a simple message to the nation: Citizens must work together and put aside old differences so the country can progress."
January, 2010: Soul Beat Africa - The Team Television and Radio Series - Kenya
Launched in May 2009, The Team is an edutainment television and radio series produced by the Media Focus on Africa Foundation and Search for Common Ground. Initiated in response to post-election violence in 2008, the series is designed to promote understanding and dialogue amongst different sectors of Kenyan society...
January, 2010: CapitalFM.co.ke - Kenya's 'Team' gets US airplay
A Kenyan story has touched the lives of millions of Americans in the past week, portraying a very different picture from the machete masterpiece that claimed thousands of lives in early 2008...
December, 2009: Ashoka.org - Can soap operas be used for social change?
Ashoka Fellow John Marks, Founder of Search for Common Ground, is producing a new soap opera in Kenya called "The Team". The goal of the soap is to help foster peace amongst the country's 42 official tribes...
