Spotlight on PLAY SOCCER

Every week I will be posting a profile of an organisation that empowers children and young people through sport. All of our followers out there will be able to read about the amazing work being done around the world to help young people, so don't forget to check in each week for a new profile!

And if you have an organisation for me to write about, then get in touch here.

First up this week: PLAY SOCCER





A soccer revolution has been sweeping through Cameroon, Malawi, Zambia, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa for the past nine years...

PLAY SOCCER has been bringing its unique programme that combines football, health and social skills to over 40,000 children throughout the African continent.




What do they do?

In PLAY SOCCER’s year-long programme, boys and girls (aged 5-15) learn to play soccer together.

In that time, not only do the children learn soccer skills, but they also focus on health issues like nutrition, good hygiene, malaria and HIV prevention, and social skills like teamwork and fair play.


As Judy McPherson, CEO and Chair of PLAY SOCCER explains, "PLAY SOCCER's holistic program goes beyond the game, weaving physical, health and social skills into a fun, activity-based curriculum.”

And the best part of this programme is that the skills acquired by the children in the weekly training sessions can be transferred to other parts of their lives- at school, at home and in their local community!

Even the coaches are local volunteers. PLAY SOCCER trains young adults to teach the programme and also equips them with the skills they need to find paid employment and become valuable members of their community.

PLAY SOCCER is empowering children and young people at grassroots level to make a real difference in local communities!

And judging by the faces of the children below, they're having a great time learning all these new skills!




To learn more about PLAY SOCCER's work click here.