Forest Ladies and Football Gambia Need Your Help

Nottingham Forest Ladies FC captain, Jemma Connor-Iommi, is fundraising ahead of her trip with Football Gambia.

In January 2013, she is taking part in a two week trip to The Gambia with the charity, who help promote and develop education and communities through football in the West African country.

Jemma explained just what she will be doing whilst on the very busy trip:
‘During my time in The Gambia I will be visiting two small disadvantaged villages in the north of Gambia, Sittanunku and Cheesay. There I will be working with the Football Gambia team to deliver an education through football programme, with a view to develop the women`s game with young girls in the villages.

‘As well as the education through football programme, I will be working with local schools and helping refurbish their current building and build extra ones! Some of my roles will be painting, building fences and walls with mud and branches, and putting together a roof, using branches and leaves. We will be camping within the grounds of the local schools to enable us to work from 5am through until 7pm. Once the work within the schools finishes for the day, I will begin my evening coaching sessions from 7pm-9pm.

‘This is a great opportunity to deliver grassroots football to young people in Gambia, who currently play football on a sand pitch, using trees as goals and numerous plastic bags rolled into a ball and tied together as a football. They play barefoot and in the same clothes they wear to school for sometimes the next two weeks. I am taking a collection of old and unwanted football kit with me to distribute to the young people, so each and every child will have boots, shin pads, socks, shorts and a shirt to play in, in the future.

‘I will be running numerous coaching sessions, however my main focus will be coaching young females and running football awareness sessions to the female adults in the local villages to encourage them to take an interest in football and encourage their children to take part in football and maintain an active approach to their lives. I will also be coaching adults to coach and inspire young people and will be focusing on the women`s game and inspiring young females to get involved in football in whatever capacity they can….player, coach, or a volunteer at a club.’

In order to be able to go to Gambia and deliver all the above excellent charitable work, Jemma must raise £1,000.

If you are interested in donating please follow the instructions on the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/Jemma-Connor-Iommi

Any donations would be greatly recieved.