What is behind football?
- Alejandra Carretero García
- 4 ene 2018
- 2 Min. de lectura
Country: Uganda
Academy: Mbarara Sports Academy
Boys players: 300
Girls Players: 70
Coach: 7 (Volunteer - unpaid)
We all know that football is more than a sport for so many people around the world. Some people have the access to play football as a leisure activity. Nevertheless, in other parts of the world, the word "football" is not only an extra activity after school. Sometimes "football" is all they have, even if these kids don't have the right equipment to play, a proper field or neither a coach. They don't have either the opportunity to play a match until they are 13 or 15 years old. And specially if you are a girl, since your only goal should be being at home helping your family.
But sometimes there are good people which cravings are bigger than their fears and these are the people who go father. They go unnoticed, obtain no fame and neither have millions of followers on Instagram or Facebook. Their challenge goes beyond these superficial matters. How can I help these kids? How can I be a better coach? How can I reach more players? And son on.
Let's go to the question: what it is behind football?
I met Salim in Tanzania when he came to visit us and from that moment, I knew that he was one of the good ones.
"Football is helping my community in so many ways. Every kid that trains at Mbarara Sports Academy gets free scholarships as well as free books from different schools around the area. That is the main reason why many schools are looking for students who can play football. These schools came to the Academy to get the players involved in the education system and as a consequence the school give them a free education.
For this, many parents who cannot pay the school fees for their kids decide to come to the Academy looking for an opportunity for their children. They know that if their kids play football, they will get access to education as well.
Additionally, we are building a school to combine sport and education to support the disadvantaged communities of Uganda. We want to use the power of sport to attract them to practice sport and also to attend to entrepreneurial workshop such as brick making, bakering, food production and so on. The goal is to give them the power to take care of themselves after school.
On top of that, we use football exercises to teach players about several values/matters such as conflict resolution, peace, gender equity, health and wellness including HIV/AIDS, drugs and alcohol, abuse and other social issues.
If you want to know more about their work you can check their website. Also, if you have a big heart, you can donate here as well.
Bring your ideas, your comments and share them with world! Don't be shy!
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