Spirit of Soccer Mine Risk Education

The Foundation of Goodness initiated a partnership in 2016 with Scotty Lee, British soccer player and coach who is also the founder of Spirit of Soccer, to deliver Mine Risk Education to children in post-war Sri Lanka.

In 1996, Scotty returned to Bosnia, where he had spent years driving humanitarian aid convoys during the civil conflict, to deliver a coaching programme for UK soccer club Arsenal FC. While he was there, a group of children were playing soccer when one set off a landmine. Three of the children were killed, four were maimed. All were under ten years old.

Out of this tragic incident Spirit of Soccer was born, and since then it has engaged over a quarter of a million young people across 10 countries affected by current or past conflict, educating them on the dangers of landmines and weapons of war, using soccer to engage and inspire.

Through hour-long sessions that blend football drills and MRE messages, creative educational materials, workshops for coaches and teachers and large soccer festivals that bring young people together across conflicted regions, Spirit of Soccer has delivered thousands of programmes over 18 years.

Partnering with the Foundation of Goodness, Spirit of Soccer trained 20 local coaches on mine risk messaging to students, and the four best candidates were recruited to the Sri Lankan SOS team.

Setting up office in Kilinochchi, in the Northern Region of Sri Lanka which was torn apart by decades of civil war the group works with local schools in the northern region to teach students about the dangers of unexploded landmines left over from the conflict.

A minimum of 500 students receive training every month, as the team visits local schools to conduct their awareness programmes.

We are incredibly optimistic that this programme can greatly increase the safety of children living in post war regions, with even more benefitting indirectly when the children share their knowledge with family and friends.

10th November 2017