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Community Coach shares leadership skills in Malawi

5 February 2008

Emily Simpkins, a Football In The Community coach at Derby County Football Club, was one of only four young leaders from the UK selected to represent the FA on the trip.

The 17-year-old apprentice travelled to Africa as part of the FA’s ‘Changing Lives, Saving Lives’ programme, and with the help of FA staff she and her fellow coaches guided a group of 27 teenage girls through an FA Junior Football Organisers (JFO) course.

Emily mentored a group of eight young leaders from Malawi, aged between 15 and 19, who then delivered coaching to children from a local primary school during two football festivals.

Around 120 six and seven-year-old girls were given the chance to play a series of football games, learning skills such as shooting and dribbling, and at the end of the festivals each pupil received a certificate.

Emily said: “It was very difficult – none of the children spoke English, so we had to draw and show them what to do.

“Nothing could prepare you for going over there. On the journey there I had my case broken into and the airport was tiny – they just chucked your bags on the floor and children played barefoot on rocks.

“But I loved every minute of it. It was a really fantastic trip and an honour to be invited.

“There was a real communication barrier but the kids were happy to learn, you could see in their faces that they really wanted to learn.”

Emily and her fellow coaches also travelled to Mulanje, a district of Malawi, to visit an orphanage. There they delivered sweets, football shirts and other gifts.

Emily was selected to travel to Malawi after first attending a one-day camp along with nine other coaches from Derbyshire, which gave a ‘taster’ of different coaching skills and activities.

One girl and one boy from each county was then chosen to attend the annual week-long national Young Leaders Camp, and at the end of this camp Emily was told she had been chosen to travel to Malawi.

Joining her for the trip from other parts of the UK were Prathiv Khiola, Rebecca Todd and Ted Grizzell.

The trip was part of the FA’s International Football Development Leadership and Volunteering programme.

The ‘Changing Lives, Saving Lives’ scheme specifically aims to educate young people in Africa, giving them leadership skills whilst raising awareness of HIV and Aids.