Part of a three-year FedEx-UEFA charitable collaboration, Championing an Inclusive Future through Football, Kick It Out will benefit from $100,000 for their Coach Pathway Programme – aimed specifically at supporting Black and Asian young adults pursue careers in football coaching and management.
A cohort of up to 15 Black and Asian football managers and coaches will be taken on a journey of development, benefitting from access to mentors, opportunities to see top coaches in action, and interactions with senior coaching representatives from English Football.
Troy Townsend, Head of Player Engagement, Kick It Out said: “There is a lack of Black and Asian managers, coaches and talent identification scouts applying their trade in the professional sector in English football. Thanks to this collaboration with UEFA Foundation, Kick It Out have managed to provide funded opportunities for people from underrepresented backgrounds.’’
Urs Kluser, General Secretary, UEFA Foundation for Children said: “We’re delighted to continue the diversity, equity, and inclusion program we co-developed with FedEx, by welcoming Kick It Out as a new partner. This year’s program shifts the focus from children to young adults, benefitting a non-profit that not only uses football to promote diversity, but aims to improve and maintain diversity from a grassroots level right through to professional levels of the sport itself.”
Wouter Roels, SVP Marketing Operations, FedEx Express Europe said: “Throughout our journey as a sponsor of professional football, we’ve been inspired by the work of non-profits across Europe and the world to influence positive change within the sport. Football depends on having outstanding people willing to step into important roles like coaching and management, and we’re proud to support a programme that will enrich these professions and keep moving the game forward.
Alongside charitable funding, FedEx and the UEFA Foundation for Children will work together to create the opportunity for children put forward by Kick It Out to provide three player mascots for the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley, London.
Championing an Inclusive Future through Football is funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children thanks to a grant from FedEx via the Charities Aid Foundation. Read more about the impact of this three-year program and the previous years’ charitable collaborations on UEFA Foundation for Children’s website here.
