The Big Goal is officially up and running with two Street Soccer Foundation academies already set up and changing the lives of disadvantaged young people in Hull and Salford.
As the main sponsor of The Big Goal, Giacom was the first to support the inaugural academies run in association with the Tigers Trust (Hull City) and Foundation 92 (Salford City).
Giacom’s team welcomed graduates to the two academies at site visits last month and were delighted at the reactions of the young people who will now be learning new skills to help them find direction and purpose in their lives, through the power of football.
“Visiting our sponsored academy at Hull City through the Tigers Trust was a wonderful experience,” said Hayley Duckmanton, CPO at Giacom. “It was great to see the academy in progress and to see the positive impact it has made. The Big Goal is going to make such a difference to so many peoples’ lives and Giacom is proud to be involved.”
Andrew Wilford, MD, Mobile, Giacom, who visited the Foundation 92 Academy, added: “Seeing how The Big Goal makes a difference in the lives of the individuals reinforces the reasons for being involved. The work being done by The Street Soccer Foundation is transformational.”
The Big Goal launched at St George’s Park in October giving teams from the UK ICT industry the chance to play each other in a national five-a-side tournament, with the finals taking place at St George’s Park next summer. Each team’s entry fee means they become the sponsor of Street Soccer Academy locally, which will help struggling young people in their area gain confidence and learn work skills in an inspiring football environment.
Street Soccer Foundation CEO Keith Mabbutt commented: “We already have 25 companies signed up, which is truly amazing as it means over 300 disadvantaged young people will get help to change their lives. This is just the beginning, and our overall aim is to help 1,600 young people across the UK.
“That target has been set because there are 1,600 holes in a regulation football goal and we aim to prevent that many young people from slipping through the net into a life of homelessness and despair.”
There’s still time to become a Founding Member of The Big Goal initiative by signing up here: www.thebiggoal.co.uk