Football is by far the number one sport in Ghana and borders on religion for the majority of its population. Sadly, many parts of Ghana lack the sports facilities and sporting opportunities that young players need to enjoy and properly develop in the sport. Fortunately, as a volunteer football coach, you will be able to address these issues by working with a number of grassroots football clubs, schools and academies based in the KEEA District – a beautiful coastal area located in Ghana’s Central Region, about 3 hours from the capital city, Accra.

 

Our football coaching volunteers are assigned to one of the youth football teams or schools in the local community. These football teams range from U12, U14 and U17 and vary in talent, but all are an important focal point for the community. You will be exposed to a vast pool of skill and a passion for football that is rarely encountered anywhere else. The young players will train and play hard during your coaching sessions, many dreaming of playing for their national side, the Black Stars. However, coaching football in Ghana is not all about serious training drills and unquestionable focus. Your key goal is to simply allow more youngsters to play as part of a structured football team, giving them a sense of belonging and discipline that is so important to any aspiring footballer.

 

We therefore welcome football volunteers with varied levels of coaching experience. We just ask that you have played on a regular basis, have a good understanding of the game and possess a basic grounding in coaching principles. Enthusiasm and commitment will fill in the rest. So, whether you are a school, club or county player, or even a qualified coach, you are sure to be able to contribute greatly to the development of football in Africa through our sports project.

 

As a volunteer football coach in Ghana, you will help local coaches run training sessions and football matches for your team. This may sound daunting, but you will soon realise that you have an understanding of football that the young players are keen to have. The rewards are great because the raw talent is often there but the experience of a team structure is lacking. By introducing the basics of team play, movement and position holding, your football team will develop rapidly. Furthermore, our football volunteers are not left alone. You will work alongside our in-country team and our other volunteer sports coaches. You will also see that the competition between the volunteers can get quite heated at times! However, whether it’s complicated technical plays or morning beach runs, you will soon develop your own football coaching programme unique to you and your players.

 

In some cases, if you have sufficient football coaching qualifications and experience, you may be given sole responsibility of managing your own local football team. You may also be asked to train local coaches and help them improve their football coaching skills.

 

This football coaching project really is the ideal gap year or gap break in Ghana. Not only does coaching and playing football during your gap year allow you to volunteer in Ghana, you can enjoy adventurous gap year travel in Ghana while also helping the Ghanaian communities you visit.