Sponsorship of a Football Team
The children and their teams who are now a part of the ISF programme have come from various places. We have partnered with a variety of non governmental organisations (NGO’s), particularly those involved in helping some of Cambodia’s most disadvantaged children. In addition we have built good relationships with various orphanages and schools. For each of these groups we have provided our football coaching programme free of charge and we now have an ever increasing number of additional NGO’s, orphanages and schools that want their children to join our programme. We therefore need support to sponsor this growing demand. Our teams are currently made up of boys in the age group of 8-14 years and girls aged 8-16.
In just three short years we have developed a full football coaching programme in partnership with the Cambodian Football Federation and its qualified coaches. In that time, we have grown from one coaching group of less than 50 children to assisting 23 organisations coaching groups covering over 1,600 children.
We have held several informal tournaments and many of the boys who played in the national Cambodian U14 squad in Malaysia in 2008 came through the ISF Football Programme. In May 2009 of the 22 players who formed the first ever National Female Football team of Cambodia, 20 of the girls came from the ISF programme. The team travelled to Laos for their first international game and for many it was their first time outside of Their Provinces.
In addition, we have now held two annual football tournaments for our U14 boys teams in 2008 and 2009 and held our inaugural U16 girls tournament in 2009. Teams travelled from as far away as Battambong, Siem Reap and Kendal Province to participate. These events were held in the Army stadium in Phnom Penh and were a resounding success.
1,600 children are now participating in coaching sessions twice a week. You just have to watch a game or training session and see the smiles and expressions of joy and determination on the children’s faces to know that this programme is having a profound and direct impact on each child.
As a sponsor, you will be sponsoring a specific coaching squad. Each sponsor has their own team and as such can name the team and choose the colour of the strip. We will record all team sponsors on our website.
If ever you decide to visit Cambodia we can arrange a “friendly” competition so you can watch your team train and play. Having had two very successful PWC ISF football tournaments on 5th April 2008 and 20 March 2009 and our girls first tournament on 13 March 2009, we can thoroughly recommend joining us at the events in future years.
We provide photos of your team and details of the organization the children come from.
Most importantly, as a sponsor, you gain the knowledge that you will be making a real and tangible difference to a very specific and special group of children.
What does your sponsorship pay for?
We ask each sponsor to commit to sponsoring a squad for a minimum of three years, with an initial sponsorship fee of US$3,300 in the first year and two further annual fees of US$3,300 each year to cover the three year commitment.
This money primarily pays for:
- Balls
- Strip
- Boots
- Bibs
- Cones
- The coaches’ fees (we pay trained AFC coaches to run the coaching sessions)
- Rental of training fields and transport to the trainings
- Match day costs
Your money will fully cover the cost of a coaching squad which will create one team of 25 children although we have found to date that often up to 50 children will participate in each training session.
As we develop we also see the real possibility that children from our programme could become the football coaches of the future and we have already trained staff within the various NGO’s we work with so that they can train their own children. When the children served by our programme are over 18 we will be able to put them through the coaching programme.
Total Estimated Cost:
US $ 3,300 per year (minimum 3 year commitment)
Sponsorship of a child / class
In order to ensure sustainable funding of the children we support, ISF have commenced a child sponsorship programme. For $500 US per year we can provide a child with: education at our centre or the local public school, a daily breakfast and lunch, school materials, uniforms, basic medical assistance, monthly food rations to the family (20 kilo bag of rice, 1 kilo of salt, 1 kilo of sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce – this ration supplements the income lost by the child attending school), extra curricular activities including dancing, computers, football and art. Above all this, $500 per year provides an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and a real opportunity to change the lives of the children we serve.
In order to ensure that we keep our administrations costs to a minimum and the benefits to the kids are maximised, we will allocate each sponsors funds to a particular class of children. Each sponsor will initially receive a profile on the class.
Updates on each class will be provided in our bi-annual Education Newsletter.
The provision of a basic education:
- Helps create real self confidence to tackle the daily challenges these children face
- Develops the knowledge and skills necessary for future success in life
- Develops a child’s natural creative talents
- Helps enable a child to enjoy his/her childhood
- Enables the child to develop his/her natural inquisitive nature
- Creates future opportunities for an enriched life
So commences an upward virtual spiral towards success rather than reinforcing a continuous vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation.
Total estimated cost:
US $ 500 per year per child US $10,000 per year per class of 20