Q Life Magazine Q Magazine December 2017 | Page 51

Creating a global hub for sport, art and culture | • Now in its tenth year, Aspire Football Dreams is a unique humanitarian football project that scouts future professional footballing talents from disadvantaged backgrounds. • Covering eighteen countries on three continents, it is one of the largest ever football talent scouting initiatives, reaching out to over 2.5 million young footballers in Asia, Latin America, and Africa since its creation in 2007. • Every year, over 650,000 young footballers attend try-outs at 19,000 games on 800 playing fields. More than 6,000 coaches, coordinators, physiotherapists, and community volunteers are involved in the programme. • 90% of the graduating student-players from the Aspire Football Dreams programme have been selected by their respective Football Associations to represent their countries in junior and senior national team competitions. • Registration is free and Aspire Football Dreams also distributes thousands of footballs and coaching instruction kits in its target countries each year. • Aspire Football Dreams also partners with Speak Up Africa and the Leo Messi Foundation, through the Aspire Academy programme “Combating Malaria”, to provide mosquito nets to children across Africa. | Aspire Academy 51