The nearly-indestructible One World Futbols in Uganda and Sri Lanka

The balls had been donated to the beneficiaries of The Football Club Social Alliance by One World Futbol Project as part of their campaign with Chevrolet. The balls have been distributed, and we’ve heard back from some excited Young Coaches.

Difficult playing conditions
One of the main problems that the Young Coaches of the Alliance face, while carrying out football activities, is that good, durable footballs are often not available. Playing turfs are commonly too rocky for normal footballs, meaning that they often rupture.

The self-inflating One World Futbols (OWFs) are designed to resist these naturally occurring hindrances, and can be used on every kind of playing surface. Naturally, when The Football Club Social Alliance announced the partnership with One World Futbol Project last November, this was great news.

One Ugandan Young Coach got in touch immediately: “Warm greetings from the children. The children were very excited and delighted about the news of the balls that are coming our way.”

OWF in Uganda
Young Coach Badru is teacher and sport coach with The Kids League in Kampala. Every weekend he organises football activities for kids in Kyebando Central. Since the arrival of the OWFs, things have become much easier. “I like the balls because they don't give me a hard time putting in pressure, their colour also attracts the children and again they don't get spoilt and damaged very fast.”

Young Coaches Sarah and her friends Wycliff, Bbira and Andrew Bosco, who work for Noah’s Ark Children’s Ministry Uganda, have been able to use the OWF balls for activities with 550 children from their community’s schools. “They are durable, favourable to the young ones […] and the kids say that they bounce better. They make a difference because they are light to kick and favourable on rainy days.”

Young Coach Camillus is very grateful for the donation, which has helped him with his activities. “I now have the materials to use during the training.” Camillus is a teacher and a sport coach, and he is glad to have more materials for his lessons. “The balls are very excellent, in good right sizes for the children and I no longer suffer with pumps to inflate them.”

OWF in Sri Lanka
OWFs have also been sent to Sri Lanka, where the Alliance’s latest project recently began. The young women and men started their training as Young Coaches with the instructors of FC Basel 1893 and FK Austria Wien, and have been able to carry out organised football games for the kids in the area thanks to the OWFs. The durability of the OWFs and their appeal to kids makes them a real asset for disadvantaged communities, and can help to bring organised football to different parts of the world.

• Visit the Football Club Social Alliance website to read the full article