In a quest
to achieve the academy’s aims and objectives, the Lamin Town-based football
academy, KGH Sports, is striving hard through thick and thin to mitigate the
financial constraints faced by their players, especially in respect of
educational fees.
The management of the academy has therefore unveiled another critical aspect of the institution’s aims and objectives, which is ‘promoting education through football challenge’.
The sponsorship package will start with effect from the school academic calendar year 2014/2015 in September 2014 when schools reopen, whilst the unveiling of the sponsored players will be done in January 2015 when their partners, Football Gambia, are in town for their annual visit to project sites.
In their Annual General Meeting (AGM), the board members of the academy unanimously agreed to entirely put all efforts on deck to face the challenges of investing in the financial support the academy has vowed to render to its registered and enrolled players.
Also at the AGM, the board members did adopt a new logo for the academy.
According to the founder and coordinator of the academy, Yahya Manneh, the board has adopted an estimated budget of D75,000 to be entirely invested in the educational support of its registered players.
He said further that they have drawn up a criteria of who among the players will be entitled to the sponsorship and the criteria has been unanimously agreed by all the players within the academy when the idea was sold to them and was later minuted in an internal memo to all parents.
Of their Under-9, -11, -13, -15, -17 teams they intend to sponsor at least two players from each age category by paying their full educational bill for 2014/2015 academic year.
The package will be awarded on performance basis; that is to the most outstanding academic players of each age category.
“We will collect all school reports or result forms of all players and compiled them, as we have already got a special committee tasked with the responsibility of scrutinizing the results and picking the best among the rest,” Manneh disclosed.
He said that at present, they have tasked the board members of the academy to fund 15% of the estimated amount, whilst 5% was dedicated to the player’s contribution.
The greater challenge now lies on how to raise the remaining 80%, and it was in this vein, they set up a fund-raising committee tasked with the responsibility of acquiring the 80% within the next ten months, a task to be spearheaded by Ismaila Senghore.
Also at the AGM, Mr Senghore, former Secretary General of the academy, assumed the portfolio of Chief Executive Officer and head of finance; Satou Sanneh as Public Relations Officer; Ramatoulie Sanyang as 2nd vice president, and Ebrima Kasseh as new manager of the players.
