Everton and the Premier League Launch Mumbai's First Ever Football Programme for Children With Disability

MUMBAI, October 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

In partnership with the OSCAR Foundation, Everton and the Premier League will be launching Mumbai's first ever football project for Children with Disabilities in Mumbai, starting 26 October 2018.

The disability project is supported by the Premier League's International Development Fund in partnership with streetfootballworld - an international 'Football for Development' charity.

Ashok Rathod, Founder and Director, OSCAR Foundation, says, "In India, Children with Disabilities often face exclusion and discrimination. Limited access to education, sports, and related infrastructure affects their well-being and limits their opportunities. We believe that Children with Disabilities have the potential to excel in any field of their choice and sports can contribute to developing that spirit. Through our partnership with Everton and Premier League, we aim to spread awareness on disability issues in India and encourage people to build a positive attitude towards Children with Disabilities."

This funding from the Premier League will benefit 30 young coaches and 100 children and young people with disabilities in Mumbai. The project will see Everton's disability manager Steve Johnson offer his extensive experience in this area to empower OSCAR coaches and young leaders with the necessary skill set to enable change.

While the OSCAR Foundation has been engaging youth with disabilities in all their programmes so far across India, this training with Everton in the Community and Premier League will prepare OSCAR Foundation's coaches and young leaders with more effective techniques to engage Children with Disabilities.

Everton in the Community's Disability Coach Steve Johnson says, "The OSCAR Foundation does very similar community work to Everton in the Community, so there is a lot of synergy between the two organisations. Everton has a well-respected disability programme and this project promises to be a catalyst for an excellent new collaboration. There are some clear differences between the issues that people with disability face in the UK and India, but using football as a tool is a great way of engaging people with disability who lack opportunities and are often marginalised and discriminated against."

As a part of this project, regular inclusive football sessions and an annual football festival with disabled and non-disabled children will be organised by OSCAR Foundation to promote inclusion and equality.

Members of the PRESS are invited to join OSCAR Foundation at Cooperage Ground in Mumbai for the launch of Mumbai's first disability football project on October 26, 2018 at 11.30 a.m. 

About OSCAR Foundation: 

OSCAR Foundation is a Mumbai-based non-profit organization which uses football as a tool to instil the value of education in children from low-income communities. Children are offered sessions in football through which they learn life transforming skills.

OSCAR has become one of the leading providers of Sport for Social Change in India. OSCAR now reaches over 3,000 children per year and has trained over 500 youth across six Indian states in its Young Leaders training programme.

OSCAR Foundation (Organisation for Social Change, Awareness and Responsibility) is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Mumbai with presence in Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Delhi. For latest updates, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

For information about our programmes, visit http://oscar-foundation.org. 

About Everton in the Community: 

Everton in the Community is one of the UK's top sporting charities and firmly established on the world stage of community sports development. Everton in the Community aims to use the power of sport to motivate, educate and inspire people in our local communities to improve their life chances. As Everton's official charity, it is considered one of the Premier League's leading community schemes due to the quality and reach of its various programmes. Visit http://www.evertonfc.com/community to know more.

About streetfootballworld and Premier League partnership: 

streetfootballworld has been contracted to support the Premier League in restructuring their existing small grants programme for development projects in football beyond the borders of Europe. The new International Development Fund will support collaborative projects between the Community Organisations of Premier League Clubs and community based organisations like streetfootballworld network members, as well as selected individual projects led by streetfootballworld network members in the areas of sports participation, education and life skills development.

The new set-up enables Premier League Club Community Organisations to use the quality seal of the streetfootballworld network to find a trusted first-class international partner for a collaboration project that will enable knowledge and skill exchange. Selected streetfootballworld network members will receive the unique chance to partner with a Premier League Club and to share their extensive experience in using football to create opportunities for young people all over the world. In addition, the community grants for individual projects will further enhance the support of the Premier League for the field of football for good. To know more, visit https://www.streetfootballworld.org

For media enquires, please contact:
Chirag Sutar
Communication Manager, OSCAR Foundation
Email: [email protected]