Young African coaches have an opportunity to attend an exclusive training programme with Arsenal Football Development coaches in London.
Arsenal FC and online money transfer service, WorldRemit, are offering one male and one female football coach from Africa or the Americas this chance.
Now in its second edition, the “Future Stars” programme was developed by WorldRemit and Arsenal to celebrate the positive impact that grassroots youth football coaches have on their communities, helping the children they train to develop life skills both on and off the pitch.
The Programme is free to apply for and open to youth team (under 16s) coaches from across Africa and the Americas. WorldRemit will sponsor two winners, one male and one female, to fly to London for a personalised coaching programme with Arsenal Football Development coaches. Through the programme, 20 shortlisted coaches will be rewarded with Arsenal shirts for their youth squad.
To enter, coaches simply need to complete a short application form explaining why they deserve to be granted this unique training opportunity and how they would use it to build a lasting legacy of positive change through football.
From the online applications, 20 coaches will be shortlisted to receive Arsenal youth shirts for their team. Applicants will be assessed against the following criteria by a panel of judges including Catherine Wines, Co-Founder at WorldRemit; Simon McManus, Head Coach at Arsenal Football Development; and Marc Thorogood, Business Manager at Arsenal Football Development.
Coaches will be selected by looking at their commitment to improving lives in their community, the impact they have had on young people within their community and strength of the coach’s proposal to pass on their training on their return home.
From the shortlist of 20, the judging panel will select eight coaches as finalists – four male and four female. The eight finalists’ stories will be shared on the Programme’s website and the winners will be chosen based on a public vote on the site.
“Our customers work hard every day to send money home to support their communities. Inspired by them, we developed the Future Stars programme with Arsenal to shine a spotlight on youth community coaches who use their passion for football to build a better future for others,” Andrew Stewart, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa at WorldRemit, said.
Stewart added saying that the programme had to be redone this year after last year’s version exceeded expectations. The Arsenal Football Development Head Coach Simon McManus echoed Stewart’s comments adding that Arsenal FC have always wanted to play a part in community engagement.
“Community engagement has always been at the heart of everything we do and we continue to work hard to promote greater levels of participation in sport, both in north London and around the world,” McManus said.
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