Back Home: Future Football Leaders

• Last weekend (January 16th) Better Future came back with a group of 41 Young Football Players, Technical Staff & Business Mentors. The group was in The Gambia for our Future Football Leaders program. We look back at a wonderful program in which we were able to combine playing a lot of football with looking at how football can bring about development of individuals and communities.
  
  Ten days earlier the Youth A1 team of FC Utrecht and their training staff were given an all-out African welcome at Banjul Airport. Please click the ‘video’ button to see the item from the Gambian National News that evening.
  The majority of the program took place in the Bwiam Community where Better Future has its roots.
• There the young Dutch football players paired up with the players from RUFA (Bwiam’s football association) to engage in joined trainings and exchanging experiences. Amongst the football highlights were a tournament in the city of Brikama and a ‘big match’ against Brikama United. Both matches received a lot of attention from the local communities & press and were a mixed success for FC Utrecht, with them winning the tournament and losing the ‘big match’ after penalties.
  
  Non-Football highlights were the homestay in which all football players participated. The Dutch players were invited into the homes of their Gambian colleagues to experience what life is like in Bwiam.
• Furthermore, the players together painted the community-driven Bwiam Lodge in which they stayed during the week under the guidance of local artist Etu. Last but not least they explored their ‘life-skills’, e.g. what characteristics they need to be professional players, under the guidance of the business mentors. Items brought forward included: sacrifice, self-confidence & conviction.
  
  Simultaneously, the business mentors explored how they can work with the local community to improve the football associations based on local needs. The local community leaders will continue to work with the Dutch business mentors to create the sort of partnerships that can help Gambian football and life in general.
  
  
• This program was made possible by the Human Life Foundation