FIFA Foundation senior project manager Melisa Cuzzani was in the country on a two-day visit where she met organisations that have benefitted from their community programme.
Cuzzani arrived in Zimbabwe last Sunday after visiting South Africa and Mozambique on the same mission before proceeding to Zambia on Tuesday.
The Fifa Foundation representative is also scheduled to travel to Kenya and Uganda during here tour of Africa.
Only two organisations Young Achievements Sports for Development (YASD) and 4-H Zimbabwe Foundation are beneficiaries of the Fifa Foundation community programme funds.
Cuzzani had an opportunity to visit Hatcliffe Extension where YASD are using football and sport in general to transform the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"The purpose of my visit here was to see and assess the impact football is having in the community as well as discuss the challenges the organization is facing in implementing their programmes," Cuzzani said.
"It is also to discuss how we can find other ways to help and support them not only in implementing the programme, but also generally.
"I understand schools here play football second term and third term they do music so it would be good to find other ways so that they can practice sports throughout the year.
- Fifa Foundation visits community projects in Zim
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"The community programme is one of the most important initiatives we have in the Fifa Foundation. We would also like to see more organisations use sport to transform communities, but I also think that those that are there must work together, share experiences for the greater good," she added.
YASD international partnerships officer Joe Kuseka said the visit by Cuzzani was both humbling and motivating for the organisation.
"The visit by the Fifa Foundation representative is humbling and a great motivation to YASD as it is a recognition of the huge impact that sport, football in particular, has on the development of young people.
"As an organisation using the power of sport to transform lives we appreciate Melisa Cuzani’s visit as it shines light on the structured sports programs we are doing in various communities.
"The visit by the Fifa foundation comes at an opportune time for Zimbabwean football, as social sport is a vital cog in the grassroot development of sport.
"With the support of the Fifa foundation, YASD has been able to tackle social challenges such as drug abuse, early marriages and depression through football. For us as an organisation we are seeing the impact of football changing lives," he said.g
The Fifa Foundation Community Programme works with local projects around the world that use the power of football to effect positive social change and to address the most pressing global challenges facing underprivileged children and young people within the communities in which they operate.
In 2023, 114 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were accepted onto the programme, which enables each applicant to apply for funding of up to US$30 000 to help support football-related projects and initiatives within the communities in which they run.
