This week’s blog is from our Development Officer in Sport Inclusion, Joe Leaver, who visited Ghana in 2016 to support a local football club. Hear about Joe’s experience of sports volunteering and the power of sport in communities!
Back in 2016, I decided to use my football coaching and playing experience to support a football club just outside of Accra, Ghana. I had long been interested in football development and knew that there were many talented footballers in Africa for whom opportunities to develop themselves in the sport barely exist. I wanted to volunteer and offer my services in a way that would help.
Once at the club, I realised how much talent existed within this one small football club and region. The level of commitment shown by both the young players who were part of the club, along with the coaches and management team, made a real impression on me. I went on to have a brilliant experience coaching the club’s U17 football team and helping with administrative tasks – an eye-opening experience that really showed me the power of sport.
I stayed at the club for a month before returning to the UK. Since that time, I have stayed in contact with some of the coaches and the club’s former chairman, Bart Van Der Gritten, who has regularly given me updates on some of the players’ progress, with a handful going on to have trials at professional European clubs and one signing with a professional club in Thailand. Unfortunately, the former chairman had to move back to his native country of Holland and was unable to continue to support the club financially. Then, in 2022, just after COVID had caused huge problems globally, the club was unable to sustain itself and support the many young people staying at the academy and within its grounds. The club, unfortunately, had to go into administration, and Action Boys Football Club came to an end.
I am in regular contact with one of the former football club’s coaches who lives in the village just outside Accra where the club was based. Through speaking with him and other contacts based in the village of Kitase, it is clear that the club was struggling for some time before having to end its operations. Many of the coaches and players based at the club had fallen on hard times. Hearing of the difficulties they were having feeding and accommodating players who, in some cases, had come from extreme poverty was upsetting, as they had had such a positive impact on so many people’s lives, really helping to create a sense of togetherness amongst the community. The club seemed to really engage the people from in and around the village, and the fact that a well-run and relatively successful football club was operating in this poor, underserved area was inspiring to many of the local people.
In March of this year, Koller, the coach from Kitase I speak to regularly, said he wanted to create a new club using the foundations put in place by the former Action Boys Football Club. I supported him in creating a draft project proposal with a plan to run a football club focusing on three separate age groups. Not only did he want to create this club to focus on developing young people’s footballing talents, but also to help nurture the players into well-rounded young adults with a good education and positive values.
Any tangible suggestions, contacts, and ideas on how to support these young people to achieve their potential in such difficult circumstances would be of interest to me. Clearly, there are logistical challenges posed by distance and bureaucracy that limit the immediate support that is possible. It may be, however, that creative solutions exist which could be practical in this situation. I am aware that charities exist which provide equipment and support to help provide sporting opportunities in developing countries, but having a personal connection to the club in Kitase makes me want to support them directly. I plan on making BUCS (British Universities & College Sport) aware of the development project to see if they can offer support. The club needs sports equipment, food and football kits in order to work successfully in the region.
If you think you have any useful contacts, information or experience in developing social sport programmes abroad, please get in touch with me at joe.leaver@bristol.ac.uk.
💡 If you’re feeling inspired by Joe’s sports volunteering experience, get involved in our Games Changers programme! Find out more about the University’s sports leadership and volunteer programme and gain your own coaching and officiating qualifications.
