Beyond Sport

Award Entered:
Sport For Social Inclusion Award
Parent Organisation:
Ball for All
Project Host Nation:
Senegal
Overview of Project:
Ball for All sponsors organized sports tournaments in rural parts of Africa for girls and boys. These tournaments resemble sport seasons, complete with official school teams and coaches and take place over a few months during the year. Tournament participants that successfully complete elementary school and enter into middle school are awarded scholarships. Our approach is to build up local institutions that can maintain the vision of Ball for All for the indefinite future. We identify receptive school directors who are willing to hold village meetings and encourage local acceptance of girls playing sports. We provide incentive by offering scholarships for girls who participate in our programs. Local partners are encouraged to take ownership of the project and to develop ways to expand activities. This allows us to act as a catalyst of change that is implemented by local institutions. As a result, we operate without local staff, saving the organization significant overhead costs, enabling us to use the majority of funds for activities. Finally, our tournaments are high profile and bring excitement to the region. Friendly village rivalries emerge as hundreds of people attend tournament games spreading the word of girls playing soccer at advanced levels and earning scholarships.