The Football for Schools program recently made its debut in Sierra Leone, providing a unique opportunity for boys and girls in the country to benefit from its benefits. Fifty physical education teachers from 16 districts across the country participated in this inaugural event held in the town of Makeni.
For two days, these teachers were trained by FIFA coaches on the fundamentals of the F4S program, before putting their new knowledge into practice with 125 children on the final day. Diego Kamara, one of the instructors, highlighted the importance of football for the country and especially for schools, emphasizing that the development of children in this sport helps shape the future of the country.
Sierra Leone is thus the 107th country to join this program which aims to make football more accessible to young people by integrating it into the education system. One of the participants in the training session, Haja Bangura, expressed her desire to play football in the future, emphasizing the values of unity and solidarity that the sport instills.
George Conteh, a father of a student participating in the program, highlighted the importance of sport in the lives of young people, recalling how sport helped him after losing his parents at the age of 15. Harold Nat-Johnson, vice-president of the Sierra Leone Football Federation, also stressed the importance of promoting football among young people and involving them in schools.
Supported by UNESCO, the Football for Schools program contributes to the education, development and empowerment of nearly 700 million children around the world. The launch of this program in 2019 in Puerto Rico was a success and its expansion to Sierra Leone illustrates the positive impact of football in the lives of young people around the world.