MUMBAI: Premier League club Everton has chosen to take the corporate social responsibility (CSR) route to build an association with India as the Merseyside club will be launching the city’s first ever football project for children with disabilities along with Oscar Foundation on Friday.
The disability project will be supported by the Premier League’s International Development Fund in partnership with streetfootballworld, an international ‘Football for Development’ charity. The funding will benefit 30 young coaches and 100 children and young people with disabilities in Mumbai.
Oscar Foundation is a city-based non-profit organisation which uses football as a tool to instill the value of education in children from low-income communities. Over 3,000 children across the country are offered sessions in football through which they learn life transforming skills.
Oscar Foundation founder and director Ashok Rathod said: “In India, children with disabilities often face exclusion and discrimination. Limited access to education, sports, and related infrastructure affects their well-being and limits their opportunities. We believe that children with disabilities have the potential to excel in any field of their choice and sports can contribute to developing that spirit. Through our partnership with Everton and Premier League, we aim to spread awareness on disability issues in India and encourage people to build a positive attitude towards children with disabilities.”
The project will see Everton’s disability manager Steve Johnson offer his extensive experience in this area to empower Oscar coaches and over 500 young leaders with the necessary skill set to enable change.
“The Oscar Foundation does very similar community work to Everton in the Community, so there is a lot of synergy between the two organisations. Everton has a well-respected disability programme and this project promises to be a catalyst for an excellent new collaboration. There are some clear differences between the issues that people with disability face in the UK and India, but using football as a tool is a great way of engaging people with disability who lack opportunities and are often marginalised and discriminated against.” Johnson said.
As a part of this project, regular inclusive football sessions and an annual football festival with disabled and non-disabled children will be organised by Oscar Foundation to promote inclusion and equality.
