Mathare Youth Sports Association

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The Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), to German about youth sports organization Mathare is a social project in Mathare , a slum of Nairobi , Kenya.

This was founded in 1987 by the Canadian Bob Munro , who at that time had moved to Nairobi as a UN adviser. The project has already been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize and is financially supported by the Norwegian Fromme Foundation , the Dutch Football Association and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. In 2004 the organization received the Laureus World Sports Awards from the Laureus World Sports Academy in the Sport for Good category .

Project description

When Bob Munro looked around in 1987 in Mathare, a slum with 300,000 to 500,000 residents and diseases such as malaria , AIDS and hepatitis , football-mad children led him to their soccer field, which was littered with broken glass and rubbish. At the time he is said to have said roughly: "Boys, we will clean up this place now, then there will be a new ball and then we will play." From then on, this was internally referred to as the MYSA principle.

Since then, the organization has been trying to teach young people social skills and education with the help of football. In addition to an organized youth league, there are clean-up projects . Anyone who helps clean up receives points as for games won. Particularly keen players get support with schooling by paying them school fees. Aids and drugs are educated in theatrical performances with singing and acting , in MYSA's own library anyone who cannot get an education can learn.

Sports

MYSA's first boys' soccer league started on August 22, 1987 and consisted of 27 teams. In 1988 over 120 teams in different age groups were at the start. Since MYSA accepts everyone who wants to play, over 18,000 children and young people between 9 and 18 play in 1,100 teams from 15 zones - making the MYSA boys' league the largest in Africa. Girls' soccer has also been played since 1992. Despite a few hurdles - for example, because women and girls in Kenya don't actually play football and the young footballers were initially laughed at - the project was very successful, so that the MYSA players are recognized today and already make up a third of all teams.

The organization also has its own professional teams : Mathare United has produced four players on the Kenyan national team . Dennis Oliech , a professional footballer in France since 2005, started his career here.

The women's professional team, Mathare United Women FC , produced Doreen Nabwire , a player on the Kenyan national team .

A MYSA selection, including Doreen Nabwire, became the first street soccer world champion on July 8, 2006 in Berlin .

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