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Sponsor A Team
Site design: Soccer Without Borders, Site donated by Ruffneckwear Inc. and Destination Soccer, 2007
Soccer Without Borders - P.O. Box 22186, San Francisco, CA, 94122, e-mail: info@soccerwithoutborders.org
“Scarves for Change” is a joint initiative between Soccer without Borders and Ruffneck Wear (www.ruffneckwear.com). The objective of the program is to raise funds for soccer and educational programs for disadvantaged youth throughout the world.
Make a tax deductible donation of $50 or more and we will send you a Soccer without Borders scarf, proudly displaying your commitment to using soccer for positive change. All donations go directly into programming costs for Soccer without Borders projects.
You can make a monetary donation in two ways. Send a check with “Scarves for Change” in the memo line made payable to Soccer without Borders to:
P.O. Box 22186
San Francisco, CA, 94122
Or by donating online through paypal:
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Sponsor A Team
Background Information: Go anywhere in the world and you'll likely see a rowdy group of boys passionately involved in an informal soccer game. However, in most poor countries, you are unlikely to see young people being taught how to play soccer. You are similarly unlikley to see soccer played in a supervised atmosphere. Access to instruction and coaching tends to be reserved for those who can afford club fees or those few children with the talent to make it into the professional club systems, where they are frequently seen as a commodity.
The extensive research on using sports for youth development suggests that much of the benefit young people accrue from participating in sports comes from the process of teaching and learning, the relationships that form between coach and player and between relationships between supportive peers. Consider Team up For Youth's Building Blocks For Quality Youth Sports:
Safety (Physical and Emotional)
Positive Relationships
Youth Participation
Skill Building
Physical Activity
It is clear that the coach plays an absolutely vital role in ensuring that these elements are in place. In our work througout the world, we have asked community leaders: why are there so few coaches working with the children who are so eager to play? The answer is always the same: resources. There is almost never money for a small coaches stipend and there is no access to basic equipment, and a lack of information about how to coach, especially with few balls and other equipment (ask any US coach about the challenges of running a practive session with one ball 20 kids and no other gear).
The sponsor a team program aims to provide the resources neccessary to the areas we are working to allow loacl actors to run soccer for youth development programs. Please get involved by sponsoring a team, a coachor a player today!
Sponsor A Team Donations: You can make a monetary donation in two ways: Send a check made payable to Soccer without Borders with Sponsor A team in the memo line to:
Soccer without Borders
P.O. Box 22186
San Francisco, CA, 94112
Or you can make a donation online. We accept secure online donations through Paypal. To make a secure online donation, just click the Make a Donation button below and follow instructions through the Paypal site.
About: The Sponsor A Team Program is a direct link between US soccer clubs, companies, organizations and individuals and the youth we work with. The objective of the program is to build cross-cultural solidarity and to provide children in resource poor areas with access to a quality soccer experience. We define a quality soccer experience in the following way:
- A caring, supportive and competent coach who arrives consistently
- Access to basic equipment: balls, sportswear and footwear
- Access to information about nutrition and health
When these elements are in place, the soccer team can have an enormously positive impact on the lives of children participating by providing a safe, supportive and fun place to play and learn. However, putting these elements in place requires resources that are sorely lacking in the areas where the teams come from. The Sponsor A Team program is a way to directly impact the lives of disadvantaged children.
How the Program Works: Below is a list of 10 teams from our project sites that are seeking sponsors. None of these teams plays competively (though many of the players are quite good). For each team, soccer provides a fun activity for children in very difficult cirumstances, it organizes youth so they can more easliy access infomation about important issues they face off the field, and the team environment provides a consistent, safe and supportive community for youth to be a part of. We have included some background information on the youth participating on each team to help make clear the potential impact being part of a supportive soccer community might have on the childrens lives.
There are three levels of sponsorship:
- Sponsor A Team: $750 -- Includes: 15 Uniforms, 8 balls, Footwear and a coaches stipend
- Sponsor A Coach: $350 -- Includes a coaches salary for one year
- Sponsor A Player: $40 -- Includes a ball, sportswear and footwear
With your tax-deductible donation, please specify which team you would like to sponsor or if you would like us to choose a team for you by e-mailing ben@soccerwithoutborders.org. In return for sponsoring a team, you will get: Team pictures, quarterly updates on the progress and activities of the team and a pen-pal exchange if you or your group is interested. You will also receive an SWB scarf.
Please read more about the teams that are seeking sponsors below, Team Profiles coming soon!
Team
Location/Partner
Description
Hope Primary School
GirlsTeam
YARID Fire
Womens Team
YARID Stars
Out of School Boys Team
Deportivo El Barrio
Set Future F.C. Wallopers
Mens Team
Set Future F.C.
Wallopers
Childrens Team
Cape Conquerors
Girls Team
ASAPROSAR
Terminal Site Team
ASAPROSAR
Camones Site
Team
Ndejje, Uganda
HOPE
Kampala, Uganda
Young African Refugees
for Integral Development
(YARID)
Kampala, Uganda
Young African Refugees
for Integral Development
(YARID)
Granada, Nicaragua
Lacor, Gulu District, Uganda
Lacor, Gulu District, Uganda
Monze, Zambia
Beyond Spot. Inc
Santa Ana, El Salvador
ASAPROSAR
Santa Ana, El Salvador
ASAPROSAR
HOPE Primary School educates urban refugee families and Ugandan nationals. The average annual income of a family attending HOPE is less then $400. The soccer team helps refugee students and Ugandan nationals integrate by playing together.
Ndejje, Uganda
HOPE
Hope Primary School Boys Team
The YARID Womens team is comprised largely of 16-18 year old refugees who fled conflicts in the DRC, Rwanda and Brundi. Most of the team members can't find work and can't afford to pay school fees. The soccer team provides a place for positive engagement and recreation.
The YARID boys team is comprised of children of refugee famililes who cant afford to pay school fees. Without the soccer team and other organized activities, they are idle, bored and vunerable.
Deportivo El Barrio is a u-15 soccer team for boys based in Granda, Nicaragua. Many of the team members come from families living below the poverty line. The team members are passionate about soccer and the team provides a sense of hope for the children.
The Set Future Wallopers formed their team in 1996 in response to the brutal civil war that has ravaged Northern Uganda. The team serves "as a way to organize the youth" and plays a key role in the players lives.
The Set Future Wallopers formed their team in 1996 in response to the brutal civil war that has ravaged Northern Uganda. The childrens team is comprised of children living in the Internally Displace Persons camps.
HOPE Primary School educates urban refugee families and Ugandan nationals. The average annual income of a family attending HOPE is less then $400. The soccer team helps refugee children integrate with Ugandans.
The Cape Conquerors Girls team is based in the rural town of Monze, Zambia. Womens involvement in sports plays a unique role in promoting gender equality and womens' rights.
ASAPROSAR's Terminal site is a youth program that serves vunerable children working in the citys markets. The soccer team is currently forming, and will serve as an important alternative to gang involvement.
