Founded in 2009, Kits4Causes have distributed over 21,000 football shirts to aid social development projects in some of the worlds poorest areas. Chris Grindley (CG) and his dedicated team place the power of football in environments where the game is played in its purest forms.
CG. We use football to encourage social change, such as; encouraging children and teens to start/return to education, aiding healthcare organisations to get their message across and reach out to the local community. We embolden youngsters to reach out and learn/discuss difficult social issues such as HIV/AIDS.
We also aim to educate people within the UK on the potential for social development through football. We want to show the inherent power of football to make a real difference. We aim to create an appreciation for the life that many of us live in, whilst also showing how football can bring us together in the UK, regardless of gender, race or religion.
Football really does provide a real incentive for change, and we aim to work with any organisation based that recognises the use of football for social change. So far we have:
- Helped to break-down the enshrined stigma of HIV/AIDs via the use of football, tackling HIV/AIDs head on via the use of preventive education.
- Helped to bring warring communities together, playing an active role in the South Sudan as well as in Northern Nigeria between Christian and Muslim communities.
- Helped to increase the importance of education, increasing attendance at schools.
- Helped to widen the reach of health education provided by organisations.
- Put a smile on the faces over 13000 people and brought them a bit of joy and happiness.
“We estimate that every year the UK buys 1 million+ replica and amateur football kits. Consequently, more and more football kits become unwanted and unused each year”.
Governments and NGOs across the world spend millions every year in development and financial aid for third world countries. Whilst money is needed in order to accomplish any developmental aims it is wasted if we cannot engage with the populous and give them reason to address the issues. Football provides such a reason.
We strongly believe that through the use of sporting programmes within grass-roots NGO projects, social development can be more widespread, more effective and more efficient throughout the world, providing a better future for many people.
As new members of the National Children’s Football Alliance we are interested in hearing from any NCFA stakeholders who maybe interested in helping to support our work.
For more information please contact Kits4Causes at: