Scottish Football for Rwanda is a charity that take three groups of youth academy footballers and coaches to the African country for ten day trips each year.
The organisation has been running the scheme for the past five years and have set up The Boots & Bras Bin, collecting used football boots and sports bras which are then given to Rwandan children of all ages, genders and abilities.
Trustee Carey McEvoy told us: “What we find is that they are playing barefoot or in crocs on stoney surfaces. So, we have always tried to take as many boots on our trips as we can and any donations are hugely appreciated.”
This month, the charity are establishing an academy, as requested by the Rwandan Football Association, in the Karongi district.
Carey explained: “That area of the country is badly unrepresented in football, there is no grassroots or senior football setup.
“The Karongi Academy is going to be funded through the charity and we have 280 boys and girls registered from U9s up to U18s.
“We have provided kits and what we now need are the boots but what is also important, especially as they are typically second-hand, is that we keep replenishing them and ensuring they have the best footwear possible.”
The new Academy is also very keen to support girls football in the district, and is aiming to have an equal number of boys and girls taking part. So the sports bras will be a key aspect.
“On our previous visits we know that sports bras aren’t really a thing in Rwanda, and we’re determined to change that if we can.”
The groundwork for the academy began last November and Carey detailed the planning to get to this point.
He said: “We had to be certain that the local community and school leaders wanted this to happen, and thankfully they were incredibly keen.
“We have a partnership with Good News International, who are long-term friends of us and have been a huge support over the last five years.
“In addition, we are going to employ two full-time and four part-time Rwandan coaches which is an important step.
“There is very little youth pathway in Rwanda, so we are really starting from scratch and together with these local coaches alongside the input from the academy coaches visiting on these trips, we want to ensure this is a success.”
Carey continued by commenting on the enthusiasm from the Rwandan youngsters and his belief that the academy will be a gamechanger.
“It is great to know that they have enjoyed our visits, as have we and I believe that with the academy, we will have more lasting impact on the communities
“This is not just us turning up three times a year, this is full-time coaches and long-term investment in football equipment and boots.”
To conclude, the charity’s co-founder reflected on the progress achieved over the years.
He said: “It is all about improving the experience of the Rwandans but also the Scottish academy coaches and players that go out each year.
“This started five years ago with bringing used kits and we have grown from there, even building our own football pitch two years ago and now the new academy.
“We want to make a positive impact and we hope we are doing that.”
Currently, people can donate their old boots and sports bras at:
- Macron Sports Hub store in Edinburgh
- Galaxy Sports, Little Kerse
The ambition is to have Boots & Bras Bins at clubs, venues and schools across the country.
If any club, venue or school is interested in helping us, they can get in touch with me at carey@rwandafootball.org and we’ll organise a Boots & Bras Bin, regular collections etc.
To find out more, please visit: www.rwandafootball.org/bootsandbras
