The Edmond Michael Foundation Story
Compiled by sierraleonefootball.com The Edmund Michael Foundation Story
Edmund Michael Foundation boys in training (Photo credit: Edmund Michael Foundation)
Rodney Edmond Michael founder of the Edmond Michael Foundation
However, the Edmond Michael Foundation, based in Bo City, Southern Region,
founded by Rodney Michael, Sierra Leone's leading football philanthropist and
one of the most popular and highly revered football administrators in Sierra
Leone, is worthy of special commendation.
The foundation currently has five categories with each officially having 30
registered players. It is a requirement for all members of the foundation to
attend University or school regularly and there is a monitoring team to ensure
such.
Those that have left school are entitled to enrolment at a computer school to
learn the basics with the support to pursue further. This privilege is also
extended to all Technical and Administrative members of the foundation. All
members of the foundation are entitled to medical support at the Dr Yilla’s
private clinic in Bo and if necessary, will be provided further medical attention.
The various categories are;
Senior Team: The Senior team is registered with the Bo District Football
Association and Southern Region FA as a Division 2 team with 30 players between
the ages of 17 years and 24 years. It is currently the most feared Division 2
team in the Region and is currently preparing for the regional qualifiers to
the division one league.
Photos courtesy Edmund Michael Foundation
The U 16 Team: The U 16 team, also with 30 registered players, is currently
preparing for the Airtel U-17 rising star tournament respected for allowing
only the correct age group of players in the country to take part in the
competition.
Photos courtesy Edmund Michael Foundation
The U-14 and U-12 Teams: These two categories have 20 registered players
officially with the CBF League with an extra 10 players in each category
waiting for their opportunity. The U-14 side are currently leading their group
in the CBF League in Bo whilst the U-12 team can boast of having the youngest players in the entire
competition with an average weight of less than 30 KG and under 11 years.
Photos courtesy Edmund Michael Foundation
Girls U-12 Team: The foundation has been able to acquire willing girls at
primary and lower secondary school categories to be part of this category and
though difficult to organise matches for them, yet the foundation is currently
providing a lot of support and sensitising the parents on the importance of the
girls’ participation.
The foundation was established on 4th April 2011 and is preparing to celebrate
its one year in existence. The founder and proprietor, Rodney Michael, has been
totally responsible to fund the foundation.
This includes educational support to as many as 70 people in the foundation for 2011/2012 academic year with the intent that everyone
should enjoy such facilities for the 2012/2013 schooling year.
Intent of the foundation: Michael says he decided to set up the foundation to
pay back to his community by helping in his own way to develop the youth.
Michael said: “I always wanted to pay back to my community and because of my
belief that the future of football, like everything else in our society, is in
the hands of youths, I decided to put so much of my time, energy and resources
as an investment in the very young, and in so doing to help them become
educated using football as the incentive. I am happy that we are succeeding and
the school attendance is on the
rise every month.â€
He added “I have put so much resources in football over the last 25 years and
this time I thought it would be best to put it in a structure for the future,
and since Bo District has been very good to the Michael Family over the last
120 years, there was no hesitation in establishing it and investing so much so
far.
In total we were provided with adequate proof that over Le 100,000,000/00 (one
hundred million Leones), about USD $ 22,500, has so far been spent on the
foundation which boasts of five coaches.â€
But Michael has pointed out that without partnership the
growth of the foundation will not be secured and he could struggle along the
way with funding the foundation.
He disclosed that there are negotiations on the way to receive sponsorship and
partnership and promised that all support will be disclosed for public
knowledge.
Michael is currently attending the two-day European Football Forum in Manchester in the UK which ends on 29th March 2012.
Michael says he's hoping to meet with some International Clubs with the hope of
forming strong partnership which could lead to providing opportunities for the
special football talents to do trials at the clubs.
He's also hopeful that his trip to the UK could help some partnership with
manufacturers of sporting equipment. He further stated that he has already
requested quotation from a leading company for essential training equipment and
footballs in particular to help improve the special skill of the players in his
foundation.
In concluding, Michael suggested that his greatest satisfaction would be to
produce players for the different categories of the Sierra Leone national teams.