Changing Lives Through Football

The adventure with Kick4Life has been full of colourful and unexpected moments since I co-founded the charity with my brother Pete in 2005. But perhaps none more bizarre and serendipitous than the latest amusing incident which may well result in a group of people riding from Land's End to John O'Groats with 'I'm Steve Fleming' written on their jerseys.

Two years ago I signed up for the iconic LEJOG challenge this September - 969 miles in 9 days, as part of a huge expedition sponsored by Deloitte with around 1000 riders. I'd always fancied the challenge but my primary motivation was to persuade others to join me and fundraise for Kick4Life. This was successful and a brilliant team of 11 was formed consisting of existing supporters of the charity along with several new faces. The only trouble was I procrastinated terribly with my own training to the point where, until recently, I was contemplating what excuses I could use to get me out of the damn thing.

For such a significant challenge, averaging 107 miles per day, the recommended training is at least a year of intensive cycling. Come the start of July, just eight weeks before the start, and I was seriously concerned. I had still never in my life ridden a road bike, and hadn't ridden a bike of any kind for years. To make matters worse I'm part of a Facebook forum for the challenge, featuring hundreds of riders, and was constantly bombarded with updates about people doing rides of 80, 90, 100, 150 miles, and discussing aspects of bike equipment and technique that still mean nothing to me.

It was make or break time and I finally decided to get on my neglected vehicle and give it a go. On July 4th I clipped into the pedals with my brand new cleats and wobbled precariously down the street until I found a semblance of balance. I only went about 5 miles but was pretty pleased with myself and proudly posted a picture on the forum, announcing that my training was belatedly underway. 

I wasn't expecting much reaction, perhaps a couple of likes and comments, but within seconds I was under attack from an outraged individual who lambasted my idiocy and declared that I would be on my knees by the third day. To be fair, he might well be right, and he did go on to offer some useful advice, but the dye was already cast and his negativity precipitated a deluge of responses, some counter-attacking my assailant, most encouraging me and telling me to go for it.

After hundreds of constructive contributions it eventually died down and I cracked on with my training. I have since clocked up about 600 miles, including one ride of 100, still a long way off what is needed, but enough to give me the belief that I have a chance to complete the challenge, and avoid the ignominy of being swallowed up by the feted Broom Wagon, a coach that follows the riders and compulsorily pulls the injured and the too slow from the road.

Then, yesterday, it all started again when a particularly supportive co-rider inquired on the forum how I was getting on. I responded with an update and within a few hours a (tongue-in-cheek) campaign was underway for people to wear t-shirts in my honour. Here is a sample of the posts:

you need a shirt ordering "I'm Steve Fleming" so everyone knows who you are and can cheer you on

I'm Steve Fleming t-shirts ala Sparatcus

I'm Steve Fleming and so's my wife.

It would be hilarious if a few random folk turned up with Im Steve Fleming t-shirts....

The only reason Chuck Norris was called that was because the name 'Steve Fleming' was already taken!

Je suis Steve Fleming

i want an"I'm Steve Fleming" T-Shirt as well! The more the merrier!

There are now some mock-up jerseys in circulation (see below - not done by me!), and for a bit of a laugh I'm seriously considering getting one made in time for the challenge. Let's face it, I'm going to need as much encouragement as possible, and this would undoubtedly add to the camaraderie and fun.

I've been so motivated by the support of my fellow riders, and I'm really looking forward to meeting them and sharing this epic adventure. The efforts of those riding and fundraising for Kick4Life has been outstanding and, come what may, I’m sure we are going to have a blast, and more importantly, thousands of pounds have been raised for our work with vulnerable children in Lesotho.

Any support you can offer will be hugely appreciated, and an added incentive to get through every one of the 969 miles on the road ahead. Please donate here:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fullkitfleming

The Present

The football pitch is filled with small groups of young people, led by coaches through fun health education & life-skills activities, as the sound of singing and laughter rings out across the field. On the adjacent 5-a-side artificial pitch, street kids are taking part in a football coaching session, a structured and positive intervention in their otherwise chaotic lives. Bright red testing & counselling tests line the pitches, offering participants the opportunity to test for HIV and access ongoing medical treatment and support.*

In the building opposite, a number of sessions are underway - IT training in the media suite, while in the library, girls from our programme for vulnerable young women take part in literacy classes. Behind the building, in the fruit & vegetable garden, our trusty groundsman, Rasta, is thoughtfully watering the crops, a no doubt welcome refreshment as the sun reaches its zenith in the bright blue sky.

At the other end of the centre, No.7, our restaurant, is starting to come to life as customers arrive for lunch. The trainees, are standing by, smartly dressed in pristine white to greet and seat the guests, while in the kitchen the chefs prepare a delightful range of dishes, with herbs freshly supplied from the garden. In the main office, next door, the K4L staff eam, are busily working. The gentle tapping of keyboards and the occasional mobilisation of the printer, provide a rhythmic backdrop as the football coaching team, heads together, discuss tactics for the following day's important Premier League clash. 

Upstairs the hotel is quiet, and I take a rare moment to reflect, as I stand on the terrace overlooking this lively and colourful scene. This afternoon I will be heading back to England after another successful and enjoyable trip to Lesotho. How on Earth did this place come to be such a vibrant hub of social and economic development?

The Past

Rewind ten years and Pete and I were in the final stages of training and preparing for our epic challenge to dribble a football for 250 miles across Malawi. Looking back we were certainly naive about international development and had a lot to learn about the use of sport for social change, but it was this initial rush of energy, activity and enthusiasm which led to  the successful birth of Kick4Life. Without doubt we could not have gained this initial foothold without the wonderful support of those close to us. I recall as I left for the airport back in 2005 saying to Claire, who was heavily pregnant with our twin daughters, that this was definitely a one-off, that I wouldn't make a habit of disappearing to Africa on hair-brained adventures. Oops. 

We also needed to be empowered financially to get started, and despite our lack of experience, Andrew Dunnett, Director of the Vodafone Foundation saw some potential and invested a seed grant that enabled Pete and Susie to move to Lesotho to get things started. The rest, as the say, is history, and from that initial grant Kick4Life has since reached more than 100,000 children through a wide range of social development activities, established a world class facility, created hundreds of jobs and secured more than £5 million international investment for Lesotho.

Above: The first kick of the Malawi challenge.

Over the years all of us at Kick4Life have invested copious hard work, resilience and perseverance, and have always tried to learn from mistakes and improve what we do. But this has not detracted from the feeling that we are still on a great adventure, and I believe this sense of purpose and vision is what makes us an exciting and fun organisation to be involved with, from the children engaged in our activities to our partners and sponsors.

I think this has been achieved by finding a healthy balance between focused strategy and innovation. Despite opportunities arising in other countries we have remained dedicated to Lesotho, avoiding temptation to spread our efforts and potentially lose quality and identity. At the same time we have not stagnated, instead finding new and exciting ways to grow and deepen our impact - extending our initial focus on health to more holistic support, setting up successful social enterprises and last year repositioning ourselves as the world's first football club exclusively dedicated to social change.

The Future

Of course now Kick4Life is much bigger than two people and the hundreds of staff, volunteers, trustees, donors, partner organisations and participants should all be thrilled with what we have achieved in the last decade. But this landmark is more about looking to the future than the past. There is so much more for us to do, and we are now better placed than ever to achieve lasting change and to empower Lesotho's young people with the skills, confidence and opportunities to develop their communities and their country.

That is why, as well as saying a huge thank you for your tremendous support over the last ten years we would also like to ask for your ongoing support as we enter the next decade. We will be holding events in Lesotho, the UK and USA later this year to celebrate our anniversary and to look forward to the coming ten years. We hope you will be a part of the exciting times to come.

On Wednesday No.7 restaurant at the Kick4Life Centre was packed. Fifty-five guests attended a wine and food pairing event, and a further 16 sat for a three course meal. The latter are staying at the K4L Hotel & Conference Centre as part of a three-day event. Part of the team that helped to make the night such a success were 13 trainees - young people who have come through our programmes. Until recently they had no experience in catering and hospitality, but are now helping to provide the best food and service available in Lesotho,

Of course, 100% of the profits generated from all this activity - restaurant, hotel and conferences - are reinvested in our core charitable activities: health education, HIV testing, mentoring, and support toward education & employment.

Above: The wine and food pairing event in the outdoor eating area.

When we set up Kick4Life with a mission to use football for social change, we cannot have imagined that ten years down the line we would be running a high-end restaurant and top class hotel. How did this happen? 

In brief, after launching a football-based health education and testing initiative in Lesotho in 2007 we quickly realised that the complex needs of vulnerable young people go way beyond health. Instead our participants need intensive and holistic care and support and ultimately the chance to achieve a sustainable livelihood i.e. a job. But in a country with 25% unemployment and a lack of secondary education this is not so simple, and so we started to think about setting up own own businesses that could provide this training and employment in a structured and safe environment. At the same time we were trying to find ways of diversifying income to improve our financial sustainability, and setting up our own 'Social Enterprises' was seen as part of a healthy mix along with grants, fundraising and corporate partnerships.

A landmark moment was our selection by FIFA to host a sports, health and education centre as part of their 2010 World Cup legacy scheme. This gave us a base, in the heart of Maseru, Lesotho's capital city, to consider some significant enterprises, and with start-up funding from a mix of sources, construction of a social enterprise building began.

Others in the organisation had a vision of opening a high-end restaurant at the centre, identifying a gap in the market and an emerging demand for good food and service. I have to admit I was initially sceptical, concerned that such radical diversification would not work, and that a restaurant of this kind would not be in keeping with our image as a charity. I was wrong on both counts. Firstly, No.7 has become a core part of what Kick4Life is about, it has raised our profile, created opportunities for participants and complimented brilliantly the hotel and conference centre that operate alongside it. Secondly, it was in fact even more important that as a charity working with, and seeking to inspire, young people, that we aspired to the highest standards. 

Above: Six of the 12 rooms at the K4L Hotel have now been sponsored and named after a famous footballer. Memorabilia relating to the players is featured in the 'Corridor of Football History'

The result is simply stunning and this success is principally down to two people, Wayne & Tessa Blything (Head Chef and Hotel & Restaurant Manager respectively) who have created and defined the physical look and feel along with the atmosphere and vibe, that combined with great food, make No.7 a brilliant dining experience. At the same time they have also run the No.7 training school, investing huge quantities of time and patience in developing young people in everything from food preparation to front-of-house.

Wayne & Tess initially got involved with K4L by fundraising to join one of our tours in 2010. They stayed in touch when they got back, and in 2013 Wayne completed the Three Peaks challenge in extraordinary fashion, jumping from a taxi at the foot of Ben Nevis (having travelled through much of the night) and storming up the mountain in pursuit of the others. He finished first.

Above: Wayne & Tess after the Great South Run 2009 - part of their tour fundraising.

In the coming year we're thrilled that Wayne and Tess will be working with us to grow the businesses and further develop the potential of various strands from conferencing and weddings at the centre to external catering, deliveries & cookery classes.

Above: Tess and the trainees prepare for a visit from the King & Queen earlier this year.

The free kick was deflected by the wall and the ball bobbled through into the six yard area where the attacking centre back slid in and converted into the net. It was not a long-distance pile driver, a dazzling solo effort nor a brilliantly worked team move, but for Kick4Life it was the most significant goal ever scored. Last month this 84th minute goal by long-serving Moruti Thamahane gave Kick4Life a slender 2-1 victory over Mountain Shades, enough to see our team promoted to the Lesotho Premier League for the first time. Highlights and celebrations can be viewed here

  Above: After a hard fought season Head Coach Dona is moved to tears as Kick4Life are promoted to the Premier League. Below: Players and supporters celebrate.

  This success has contributed to an exciting decision to re-position Kick4Life as a social enterprise football club, enabling us to more effectively leverage the power and influence of the football industry, by becoming a part of it. When we make the transition this summer, we will of course remain a charity and our social businesses will continue to be fully owned by the charity, but we will be operating as Kick4Life FC - a football club exclusively focused on social change - with success on the pitch enabling us to achieve greater social impact, interest and awareness off it.

  I blogged about this possibility last year, outlining the benefits and potential benefits including increased interest and awareness in the local community, opportunities for sustainable income and the potency of the players as role models.

What exactly does this change mean? 

  There is a growing trend for charities to become more financially independent and be less reliant on donations and grants, These are of course still an important parts of a diverse finding mix, but in the last few years at Kick4Life we have initiated a number of social enterprises - businesses which generate a profit which is pumped back in to social development. In addition, these businesses - including a restaurant and a conference centre - provide training and employment opportunities for young people coming through our programs.

  We are now planning to put all of our core charity programs and social businesses (including FC Kick4Life) under the umbrella of Kick4Life FC and a create a new type of organization. There are many football clubs that have charity foundations, and charities that have football teams attached to them (such a MYSA in Kenya) but nothing that has combined the two. 

    Over the last few months we have conducted an external consultation of this proposal among partner organizations including grant funders, corporates and Sport for Development bodies, and the response has been very positive. The plans were also discussed at our recent staff meeting (pictured above) at the Kick4Life Centre and the whole team is excited by this change.

It is very important to note that our men's and women's teams will need to continue as self-sustainable entities within Kick4Life. We will not be taking money from our core programs or from our fundraising to invest in the teams. Instead funds will go the other way with the football teams generating income to invest in the wider organization. Over the next few months we will be working on a transition plan, so look out for a a new club badge and website coming soon! The official launch is planned for August 20th.

Having completed my degree I found myself, like many others, with no clear idea about what to do next. A brief and painful episode as a wasp exterminator was followed by my first graduate position - a management training programme for Granada service stations. It was not exactly the exciting future I had envisaged, temporarily living in a Travel Lodge like a post-graduate Alan Partridge, trying to convince myself that a free cooked breakfast each morning was a sign of success.

Eventually, through a combination of determination and good luck, I found myself doing a job I love, and it is now with a slight sense of irony that I am involved in setting up a hotel and accommodation enterprise at Kick4Life. 

We now have funding in place to complete the construction and by June 2014 we will have 12 twin bedrooms at the Kick4Life Centre in Lesotho. This opens up a number of opportunities, enabling us to run residential courses for children from remote districts, to host our tour groups at reduced cost, to provide a full venue and conference offering alongside our meeting space and No.7 restaurant, and to provide employment and training for young people in running a hospitality enterprise.

Room Sponsorship Opportunity!

As part of this we are now running a room sponsorship campaign to raise funds towards the furnishing of the rooms - to cover the cost of beds, bedding, furniture, curtains etc. With the opportunity for individuals, companies or schools to name a room after a chosen football player, the sponsorship package is outlined below:

Cost £1000 or $1600. The funds can either be donated direct or be fundraised e.g. a school or company could fundraise the amount and then vote for their favourite player!

Benefits:

The chance to name a room after your favourite player with a plaque on the door mentioning you as the sponsor e.g. The Matthew Le Tissier Room, sponsored by Chris Bullock

A framed photograph of the room being unveiled

A week's free accommodation in the room for you and a friend.

The knowledge you have made a lasting contribution to the work of Kick4Life

If you would like to help us furnish the block and a leave a permanent legacy in Lesotho please contact [email protected]

Pitch view below

The rain falls hard on the corrugated roof. We are in a small community centre in one of the favelas that stretch into the hills around Quito, Ecuador's capital city. The boys and girls take turns to tell us about their experience with Fudela, a charity which uses football to help them gain key life-skills, develop positive behaviour and work towards future employability. My colleague Jill Robbins, from Soccer in the Streets in the USA, directs a question to the teenage boys. How have their attitudes to women changed as a result of their interaction with the female instructor who runs the activities? One of them explains he no longer looks down at women and now speaks to his mother and sisters with respect. The instructor is moved to tears. Later a charming lad called Jefferson shows me some artwork on the walls. There is a picture of an Ecuadorian football shirt with the number 11 and the name Christian Benitez. He explains that Benitez, a member of the national squad, had gone to play for a team in Qatar earlier this year when he was struck down by abdominal pains. He was taken to hospital but died of cardiac failure soon after, aged just 27. I had first heard about Benitez the previous day at a forum held by Fudela which brought together organizations and individuals, who share a common desire to utilize football for positive causes in Ecuador. Among them was the remarkably articulate and humble Luiz Saritama, an experienced national player, who explained that the death of Benitez had been a 'break point' for the squad, a moment that united and inspired them. Against the odds, Ecuador qualified for the World Cup finals earlier this month. When we leave the community centre the afternoon rain has ceased, and for the first time during my short visit the clouds have lifted to reveal a stunning panorama of mountains and volcanoes. It is a tantalizing glimpse of what Ecuador has to offer beyond Quito - the Andes, the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands.

The purpose of my trip to South America was to attend a board meeting of streetfootballworld (sfw) a network or organizations that use football for social change around the world. I am currently representing Kick4Life as a board member, alongside Ana from Colombianitos, Abhijeet from Slum Soccer, Veronica from Fudela, Jill from Soccer in the Streets, and three senior members of the sfw staff team – Jurgen, Vladimir and Christophe. Together we represent more than 90 organizations around the world using football to address a range of social issues in their local communities.

We spent two productive days covering a wide variety of topics from the 2014 World Cup to approving the addition of several new organizations to the network. We also had some exciting discussions about how we can go beyond improving our own immediate local work to leverage our collective scale and energy for wider change in the football world. It is a daunting challenge, but by working with key decision-makers to change the industry from within, as well as fostering change at a local level around the world - with clubs, governments, associations, players and fans - we believe sfw can instigate a future where the primary purpose of football is to construct a better world. Often when I think about this type of seemingly impossible, systemic change I am inspired by the political emancipation of women in most parts of the world over the last century. There must have been times when this seemed a ridiculous dream, but society evolved, and changes were triggered by the efforts of those who believed strongly enough that it didn't always have to be that way. From the story of Benitez, and how his tragic death united a team and a country, to the young lad whose experience with Fudela helped him to develop positive attitudes towards women, my trip to Ecuador reminded me once again of football’s great potential to make a difference. With Kick4Life and sfw I am privileged to be involved in shaping a vision for the future where this can be fully untapped.

  Below: Veronica Escobar, the director of Fudela, with the British Ambassador. Britain is sharing its experience of tackling fan violence in the 1970s and 80s, to combat similar problems in Ecuador today.

Below: Giving a presentation at the Fudela forum.

Below: The Equator. Parking prohibited at certain times of the day.

Below: Luiz Saritama, who spoke at in forum, pictured in action for Ecuador

Below: A Guinea Pig is a pet in the UK, but a national dish in Ecuador. I'm glad I tried it, but never again. Tastes nothing like chicken.

Earlier this week some exciting news began circulating on social media. Three players from FC Kick4Life's men's team had been selected for the Lesotho Under 20 national squad and six of the women's team had been called up for full international duty. It didn't come as a total surprise. I had been in Lesotho the previous week and had the chance to watch the men's team win their first home game of the season 2-1 at the Kick4Life centre. It was a great result against one of the top team's in the A League, one division below the Premier, and some of our emerging young players had put in strong performances. And a few days earlier, Craig Taylor, a visiting coach from Watford Ladies FC ran a training session for Kick4Life's women's team, remarking on some real talent on show.

Yet we have always been wary of shouting too loudly about participants who achieve success on the pitch, for fear of being incorrectly perceived as focused on talent development, instead of the many social projects for all vulnerable children, which represent our true purpose. At Kick4Life football is a tool which enables social change. We use it to engage children in wider activities such as health education, as a motivational force that encourages young people to stay involved, as a brand that attracts interest and support, and sometimes as a delivery method, used as a metaphor for lessons in life. 

But what if the game's real potential for social change lies in unlocking the power of elite football? As an NGO which uses the sport as a development tool, but which sits outside the mainstream football industry, it can be frustrating to see the huge potential of the game for social change being unfulfilled. There are of course many fantastic projects within the industry, and we have benefited hugely ourselves from partnerships with the likes of the Premier League and FIFA. But what if we could also become a part of the football industry, while at the same time maintaining our exclusive focus on social development? Could Kick4Life become a new, unique, revolutionary type of football club, that pursues success on the pitch and financial income, but wholly for the ultimate goal of social change?

FC Kick4Life started off as an outlet for our talented participants and coaches to play competitive football and achieve their potential. We didn't anticipate that the team would quickly become a leading side in Lesotho, one good season away from the Premier League and the chance to compete for a place in the African Champions League! Along with this success have come some unexpected benefits. Firstly, we have begun to attract a supporter base, people who are engaged with Kick4Life primarily because of the football team but who subsequently become part of our target audience for topics such as HIV prevention. Secondly. the players in the team have become powerful role models - most were already Kick4Life coaches, but as players of the team their potency as agents for social change has been tremendously strengthened. And thirdly, the team has emerged as a Social Enterprise with annual income from the Lesotho Football Association, the amount dependent on our final league position each season.

We are only scratching the surface of what is possible.  If FC Kick4Life continues to progress, our fan base could grow significantly offering huge potential to engage local people, especially as a club which invests all of its success back into the community. And there are numerous opportunities for income generation - sponsorship, merchandising and gate receipts, all of which would enable us to expand our charitable activities. The Kick4Life centre, pictured during the recent match I attended, is the ideal location for this concept to be applied, in the heart of Maseru, Lesotho's capital city and with plans in place to expand the facilities. Branded as a football club, but still a charity and a Social Enterprise, our ability to enact social change in Lesotho could be immense. 

How would this work in practice? The structure is in fact largely in place. Kick4Life is a registered charity and we also have a corporate arm for running Social Enterprises, the constitution of which ensures all profits are pumped back into our charitable activities. It would just be a case of repositioning the organization as a football club.

This is still very much an idea, and there are important considerations around how this would be perceived, but at Kick4Life we are always looking to push the boundaries of how sport is used for social change, and which have the ability to redefine how things are done. A colleague who works elsewhere in Sport for Development recently said he feels the sector is getting bogged down in the same old ideas and needs an injection of fresh thinking. I'm not sure I fully subscribe to this theory, but in a world with so much need and in a sector with so much opportunity, it's a challenge we should all keep in mind.

It was during a recent, in-depth discussion that a friend said, "We are such contrary creatures. I find myself saying one thing in the morning and putting forth a completely different opinion in the afternoon." I have started to consider my own behaviour against this hypothesis and have been surprised to discover that instead of voicing consistent and predictable perspectives, I am in fact prone to wildly varying viewpoints, often within relatively short time-frames.

I am sure that numerous scientific studies have been undertaken in this area, and that our views and decision-making at any moment are shaped by a complex range of factors - mood, confidence, tiredness, hunger, emotional state and recent interventions such as conversations and exposure to news or advertising. These elements must have an enormous impact on the way that we interpret things and react at any given moment in time.

A case in point: Gareth Bale's £85.3m transfer to Real Madrid and weekly salary of £300k.

Reaction 1, sometime in the morning: This is crazy money but it is a natural development within a competitive, free market economy. Bale is essentially an asset bought by a company and taxes will be paid by Bale into the Spanish economy that will hopefully be invested in things like healthcare and education. It is certainly a far cry from what football used to be and is a world apart from the lives of everyday fans, but as the world's most popular sport it is only natural that football’s economic potential has been exploited in the pursuit of wealth. So the best we can hope for is that as the CSR business case grows, football clubs, associations and sponsors will start to take their social responsibilities more seriously, and we will see a gradual evolution towards a more community-driven sport.

Reaction 2, later that day: In a world with so many problems and with so much need, it is not acceptable that so much wealth is concentrated in the hands of so few, with people living in grandiose opulence while millions remain impoverished. If there is so much money sloshing about in the game how come so little is re-invested in supporting the communities that sustain it? The people's game has been hijacked, creating extraordinarily ill-distributed wealth, and its use as a tool for social development is just a fraction of what could be achieved. In order to unleash this potential we need to see a revolution in the industry. We need to think big and pursue radical changes in order that systemic change can occur.

What do I really think? Perhaps it is not as simple as one of the other, or maybe the adoption of contrasting positions is a sub-conscious process of weighing up the options before deciding on a balanced course. In this instance I believe it is a case of the head and the heart.

The first reaction is my risk-averse, pragmatic head which suggests real, significant change is impossible and so as Kick4Life, and others in the field, we should seek to leverage what support and partnerships we can from the football industry in order to achieve immediate impact and success for our organizations. The second reaction is visionary, emotional and from the heart. It thinks beyond the status quo to what might be possible, and suggests we should be thinking creatively about our role, not on the periphery of the industry, but as a part of it, shaping it and introducing new ways of working.

I have always wanted a cause in which to invest my energies, fortunate to be high enough up Malsow's hierarchy to think beyond basic needs. Religion never did it for me, and my political activism extended to one meeting of the communist party at university, before deciding to adopt more traditional varsity pursuits and eventually becoming a liberal conservative. Then in my mid-twenties i stumbled into social change through sport, combing two of my passions.

This was certainly driven by the heart, and so while on a day-to-day basis my decisions are generally governed by the head, when it comes to the big picture and breaking new ground, my ambitious nature comes to the fore. This is the thinking that we should be applying at Kick4Life, how we can not only changes lives, but how we can change the way things are done. And as a community of organizations at streetfootballworld and Beyond Sport how we can utilize our collective energies and innovations to challenge things on a wider scale. It seems an impossible dream but we have to give it a go, whether we see profound change ourselves or sow the seeds for future generations to realize.

For a split second there was absolute silence as the capacity crowd, overwhelmingly yellow-clad Brazilians, anticipated the opening chords of their national anthem. The music started and the people remained standing, poised for their moment to accompany the rousing march. And then is began, the collective voice of 50,000 Brazilians raised in the most passionate chorus I have ever witnessed. On the big screen I saw Tiago Silva, Brazil’s captain, moved to tears, and the shortened version of the anthem could not stop the crowd from completing their song, as the remaining verses reverberated around the Mineirão. No band required.

  Later that night, on the way back to the hotel and from my 13th floor window, the sights and sounds of Belo Horizonte were markedly different: army trucks transporting troops to the front-line, youths running through the street, the booming fire of tear gas and the voice of the people, this time raised in collective protest.

  These two experiences may seem at odds with each other, yet in my fleeting but event-filled trip to Brazil, I saw enough to suggest otherwise. I was struck by the level of economic and industrial activity, a country seemingly in transition, on the verge of a great turning point in development and progress. Numerous quarries carved into the cityscape, freight carriers, cranes and diggers, buildings going up alongside the bustling favelas perched on hillsides, all signs of a country on the move. On every main street hundreds of people queue for buses which are packed like the London tube at rush hour, passengers standing in the aisles and clinging to the overhead bars. The 10% increase in bus fares which instigated the nationwide protests clearly affected many people.

  With such unprecedented social change, characterized by great opportunity and challenge, it is perhaps no surprise that the joy of the stadium sits alongside the frustrations of the street. Democracy was hard and recently fought here, and political apathy, even in a time of low unemployment and growth, is not on the agenda.

  I was in Brazil for the Football for Hope Forum, an event organized by FIFA alongside the Confederations Cup, to celebrate and support the ongoing development of their use of football for social change around the globe. The Confederations Cup is a trial run for next year’s World Cup in Brazil which is of course another key factor in the current, largely peaceful, protests. A hand written cardboard sign at the airport said, ‘We don’t want the World Cup, we need better health services and education.’

  The Forum did not shy away from the issue, and on the opening day there was a vibrant debate. Many Brazilian speakers said the protests were a good thing, a sign that people wanted to improve their country and to tackle corruption. FIFA representatives also highlighted the role that football, and the presence of the World Cup, has played in bringing about this push for social and political improvement.

  There were also critical voices, particularly relating to the cost of stadium construction, funded by tax payers while bus fares go up and many public services remain poor. Wilfried Lemke, the UN Special Advisor for Sport, Development & Peace, also criticized FIFA for pressuring the Brazilian government to change the law, enabling alcohol to be served inside stadia.

  But Lemke and many others also highlighted the wonderful achievements of Football for Hope in supporting more than 100 organizations around the world to deliver high quality programs for disadvantaged people. At Kick4Life we can certainly testify to this. Our organization and the impact of our work has been transformed by the development of the Lesotho Football for Hope Centre, enabling us to reach many more children with health education and testing, literacy skills, mentoring and the chance to play sport. It has also helped us to improve the financial sustainability of Kick4Life through a growing range of social enterprises – the topic of my presentation at the Forum. The centre in Lesotho is just one of 20 in Africa which will continue the legacy of the 2010 World Cup for decades to come.

  It seems to me that the cost of the World Cup in Brazil has helped to spark a reaction to much deeper and longer-term social challenges in Brazil. We had a similar, if less mobile, response to the Olympics in the UK last year, but once it arrived it was enthusiastically embraced by nearly everyone. I hope that despite some of the valid responses to the challenges of hosting a World Cup, the people of Brazil will likewise get behind the tournament and use it as a springboard for the next exciting phase for their country.

Last week, as the world held its breath, waiting to see whether Nelson Mandela's inspirational time on Earth had come to an end, in a quiet avenue in southern England, an old lady of the same generation passed away.

My Great Aunt Queenie was 96. Her husband died 15 years ago but despite the challenges of living alone at a great age, she had remained resolute in her independence, determined to resist any suggestion that perhaps a residential home might be a good idea. She had no intention of going anywhere, right up to the moment her heart failed and she collapsed onto her walking stick, alone but independent in Bexhill-on-Sea.

And who could blame her? Born during the Great War, a year before the Russian Revolution, a time when English women were not allowed vote. She was an adult during the Second War World when her country clawed itself back from the brink of a terrible defeat. She knew what freedom meant.

Queenie had a colourful life. She was a passionate primary school teacher for many years, with the ability to enthuse others with her wide range of interests and hobbies. Her love of genealogy caught my imagination and I loved listening to her stories. In particular I relished the tales of her father, my great-grandfather who had been a keen sportsman. After the Great War, he spent most of his spare time setting up and running a football league for young men in Walthamstow in north London, many of whom were recovering from their experiences. The football, she said, was important for many of them in rebuilding their lives.

When a young man walked into a meeting room one day back in 2008 and said in a chirpy southern dialect ' Alright mate', I could not have predicted that he would go on to become a big part of Kick4Life, and a good friend. Chris 'Bully' Bullock had just signed up for the second Kick4Life All Star tour, and at the Tour Preparation Day, held in the UK a few months before flying out, he demonstrated a quick wit and a likeable temperament.

It was no surprise then that he would go on to win the prestigious 'Spirit of the Tour' award, voted for by other tour members in recognition of the individual who has given most to the experience. And there was one particular stand-out moment.

It was the final day of the tour and we were celebrating with a Karaoke night at the old Kick4Life office. The music was pumping and two police officers turned up and told us we had to turn it off and end the party. It looked like a premature conclusion to the night. But less than ten minutes later the two constabulary men, a beer in one hand, and the other arm draped around Bully (who was now wearing a policeman's hat), were belting out a questionable rendition of 'Like a Virgin'!

The trip to Lesotho was game-changing for Bully. He immediately bought into what Kick4Life was trying to do through the power of football, and upon his return to England he set about trying to raise as much money as he could for the charity. After an initial false start and the promise of a football match against a team of Portsmouth legends (which is still yet to materialise), Bully has gone on to become a very capable fundraiser. He has been an incredibly positive force for Kick4Life, not only raising thousands of pounds himself, but encouraging many others to get involved.

As a direct consequence of his commitment and his success as a volunteer fundraiser, we offered Bully the opportunity to work for Kick4Life on the ground in Lesotho, and at the end of June he flies to the Mountain Kingdom to help develop our social enterprises. It is an exciting time for him and he is determined to do a great job out there. But before this is the small matter of Mount Kilimanjaro, and in a few weeks time Bully leads a team of five others to Tanzania to conquer Africa's highest peak. We wish them all the best for their imminent challenge and thanks for their fantastic support.

Bully's journey with Kick4Life has been remarkable. We never expected our tours to Lesotho to have as much impact on changing the lives of the fundraisers and the volunteers from the UK and the US, as it would on the young people they are trained to work with. But it is undoubtedly true, and like Bully, many former All Stars have since changed aspects of their everyday lives as a result of their Kick4Life experience, perhaps not as radically as Bully but the collective impact of our tour alumni is immense, from regular donations, to support from their businesses and continued promotion. Thanks to you all and good luck in Lesotho Bully!

Check out some of the All Stars from years gone by: 

Fancy joining us in 2014? 

  Below: Beckham forces as a smile as Bully drowns out Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

Below: Impersonating a police officer

    Below: The infamous Bully Dance - must be seen to be believed.

    Below: Bully and I in action for Kick4Life in 2009. This was one of his best performances for the All Stars. He didn't score any own goals and he was voted Man of the Match.

My first real experience of ballet came at the age of 21 when I decided to take Claire to a performance of Swan Lake. It was 1998, the early days of our relationship, and knowing of Claire's great love of dance, I was sure this would be very well received. It just so happened, however, that this was one of those days that occur every so often, about once every 3 months in my case, when a man forgets to put on any anti-perspirant. You don't normally notice anything until about midday when a seemingly innocuous act, such as reaching for a mug of coffee, reveals an unpleasant smell, that moments later you realise is your own body odour. 

  And so it was, that during the second act, as I leaned across to put my arm around Claire, a powerful stench wafted through the stalls. By the famous death scene Claire was ready to commit murder, as people in adjacent seats began to sniff in disapproval, appalled that such a beast should be allowed into a place of high art, culture and refinement. 

  I do of course appreciate the technique, strength and grace that goes into ballet, but the resulting beauty - the essence of the art - is a little lost on me, and I find it hard to ever imagine deciding to get a few beers in and spend the evening watching a good old ballet on TV. Remarkably however, I am now beginning to take an interest. I've always been sport-mad, with a particular love of the traditionally male-dominated sports - football, cricket, golf, snooker etc. It is great to see more girls and women getting involved in these activities, but when Claire gave birth to twin girls, the smart money was on gymnastics and ballet. Seven years on these two endeavours are now a huge part of their lives, and last Monday they were selected to join an associate program at Tring Classical Ballet School. The time has come for me to take a greater interest.

  Like sport, art and dance also have great capacity as vehicles for social development, whether in purposeful, structured ways or simply through uplifting stories that have the potential to inspire change. A few quick 'ballet' searches on the web drew me to the story of Michaela DePrince, a refugee from war-torn Sierra Leone who overcame racial prejudice in the New York ballet industry to make her professional debut as a dancer last year. It really is an inspiring story. Check it out http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18977808

Below: The girls prepare for their audition

Below: More familiar territory

I’ve been involved in some fairly bizarre activities with Kick4Life, and today was no exception as I found myself in a school field in Buckinghamshire while one of the charity’s top fundraisers completed 105.5 laps of the running track. Brendan Vaughan was attempting to break the world record for running a marathon while dribbling a football - 5 hours 10 minutes 46 seconds.

Bren has a special place in the annals of Kick4Life. Before we had even decided on Lesotho, Bren signed up for an All Stars Tour, the first person to do so. It was a very significant moment, giving us belief that this idea of a setting up a charity and raising funds could actually work. More than 60 others have since followed in his footsteps, joining a tour, and Bren is set to embark on his third trip to Lesotho in September this year.

Over the last few years Bren has been on a inspirational journey. I first met him while playing Sunday morning football more than ten years ago, and at the time he was averagely fit, more likely to be found drinking Guinness than trying to get into their book of global records. This has all changed. About five years ago he took up running, joined his local club and has since completed numerous marathons, triathlons and 50 mile endurance races. I have no doubt it has transformed his quality of life.

So when I suggested the idea of trying to break the marathon football record he jumped at the chance and today, cheered on by the students of Hazeley Academy, he smashed the record with a time of 4 hours, 31 minutes, 45 seconds.

Many thanks to Bren and the school for their fantastic support of Kick4Life!

Below: Lap 8. Only 97 to go.

Below: Bren is congratulated after scoring against the ex-Lesotho internationals

Below: Midfield dynamos. Bren flanked by Nathan Davies and David Moteane (or is it Stanley Matthews?)

I'm not a great golfer. If I'm honest it doesn't bring out the best in me either. I was once invited to a corporate golf day by one of Kick4Life's partners, and Pete implored: "You can't go, you'll have to make an excuse." He was convinced my performance on the course would be so poor that it would irrevocably harm the partnership. He was probably right. I didn't play.

But that doesn't mean I don't love the game, and I particularly look forward to watching the Masters - the greatest tournament in golf, played on the most beautiful course and invariably involving high drama. The four day event is drawing to a close tonight and I'll be staying up as I always do to watch events unfold at Augusta, Georgia. Each year, as great moments of past tournaments are recalled in emotional BBC montages, I am reminded of the day I bumped into one of the best golfers in the history of the game in very unexpected circumstances...

After Fabio Capello's visit to Kick4Life in Lesotho we decided to visit Kruger National Park for a few days. Our first safari was going well and after seeing a leopard at close range our guide zoomed off in search of further delights. A mile or two up the track another safari truck approached from the opposite direction and the drivers stopped to talk and discuss what was on show. A South African lady behind me declared: "My God, I am honoured." I followed her gaze to a man who was sitting a couple of metres away in the other truck. It was Gary Player, 9 time Major winner and the first non-American to win at Augusta which he would go on to win twice more. South Africa's greatest ever sportsman humbly smiled, the smile of a man who is recognised wherever he goes, and he wished us good luck as our trucks sped off in opposite directions.

Every now and again I find myself in a conversation about going on safari, and most people seem determined to trump everyone else with their own dramatic tale: a pride of lions close to the vehicle, a rhino in full sprint, a hippo and a zebra discussing politics over coffee at the watering hole - 'even the guide was amazed!'. I just sit back and remember the day I saw a Gary Player grazing on a packet of biscuits in Kruger. 

And bizarrely, yesterday, he started following Kick4Life on Twitter! It's a funny old world.

  Below: Claire and I on our way to Kruger, with Pete & Susie, Helen McCarthy and Steve Adcock. As well as recovering from sunburn I appear to have had some difficulty with my lunch.

Below: The Leopard

Below: The great man

I think he was Turkish, I can't be sure. Either way we didn't speak his language and he didn't know any English. Yet he was our taxi driver for arguably the most important journey in Kick4Life's history. 

Alongside me in the black cab were my brother Pete, Oliver Harvey - the Sun's Chief Feature Writer, and two young lads from Lesotho. For some reason Oliver had developed an affection for this cabbie, and despite the inevitable breakdown in communication which now ensued, he was Oliver's man. Pete and I were not so sure. In half an hour's time we had an appointment with Fabio Capello and the full England Squad, and here we were stuck somewhere on the North Circular while a slightly dishevelled man from Constantinople frantically punched revised coordinates into his Satellite Navigation System.

It had all been Oliver's doing. He had seen the coverage of Capello's trip to Lesotho and his emotional visit to a Kick4Life testing event, and an idea for a follow-up feature had emerged - invite two of the boys Capello had met to England to meet the national squad for a behind-closed-doors training session! It would be an astonishing experience for the two lads from rural southern Africa, and naturally Pete and I had to go along too.

With minutes to spare the taxi arrived at the luxurious Grove complex, Our excitement was growing - we were about to meet the stars of English football and watch them prepare for the evening's game against the USA. The cabbie, on the other hand, had absolutely no idea what we were doing or who we were going to meet. Oliver suggested to our host from the FA that the long-haired driver should grab a coffee in the hotel while we went down to the training pitch to await the arrival of the team coach. But for security reasons, the FA man decided that he had to come with us.

Little did he know what was about to happen. The coach pulled up, the door opened and out-stepped Steven Gerrard. The cabbie did the biggest double take I have ever seen. Next came John Terry, then Joe Cole, David James and Frank Lampard. By this point the cabbie had started making unashamed noises of incredulity which had caught the attention of the FA security team, and then came the piece de resistance - Beckham. At this the taxi driver totally lost control, whipped out his phone and started taking pictures, something that was quickly stopped by Oliver.

The boys had a great time. They got to shake hands with the players, get their autographs, and even had a decent kick around with the squad, while in the background a surprised man walked up and down the touchline phoning everyone he knew to tell them what was happening - bouts of eastern dialect punctuated by the names of England's finest.

It was a memorable day out and all the players and Capello were incredibly generous with their time and attention. But one man stood out - David Beckham. He took his time to speak with the boys and to pose for photos without looking irritated. For the short time he was with these two lads from Lesotho, Beckham gave them his total focus and I'm sure they were as affected by his charm as we were.

So when I saw in the news today that Beckham was joining PSG, one of the top teams in France, and donating all of his income during the five-month spell to charity, I thought back to our memorable day in 2008. I know of course that Beckham doesn't need the cash, but it is an incredibly powerful statement. There are many other exceptionally wealthy footballers out there with more money than they need, and it would be great if they took a leaf out of Beckham's book. Good luck in France Golden Balls, or should I say Les Boules d'Or.

Saturday 14th August 2004

Two cyclists approached from the north. They were clad in the latest gear, helmets and sunglasses, bikes laden with saddlebags, gazes seemingly fixed on the road ahead towards the old Saxon village of St Ives. David and I walked on. My best mate had unwittingly joined me on a marathon hike, and 20 miles in our legs were already resisting every step. And then came the shout, "Stephen? Is that you?"

I looked up in surprise. The lead cyclist had pulled up at the side of the road, and with sunglasses now removed, I recognized Amanda, a colleague from work. Close behind was her ever-ebullient partner Alden, who also worked at the Improvement & Development Agency in London. After the initial shock of meeting someone out of context my mind quickly joined up the dots. Alden and Amanda were in training for a major challenge - to cycle, unsupported, from Land's End to John O’Groats in under three weeks.  A few months later they successfully completed their epic journey, raising more than £3,000 for Crohn's and Colitis UK. Just before they had set off from Land’s End Alden proposed on bended knee, and he and Amanda were married the following year.

The day of our unexpected encounter back in 2004 was also significant for me. I had decided to take on what was meant as a one-off challenge - to dribble a football for 250 miles across Malawi alongside my brother Pete. The hike with David, who would join us on the expedition the following year, was the first serious piece of training towards that goal, and one of the first steps on the journey towards setting up Kick4Life.

I left the Improvement & Development Agency soon after in 2005 and lost touch with Amanda and Alden, but four years later in 2009, with K4L now well up and running, I decided to make contact. I had only worked alongside Alden for a few months but we had hit it off, and knowing he was an extremely capable, enthusiastic and well-connected guy, I thought he would be a great addition to our Executive Council - a group of people from a range of business backgrounds who meet every six months and explore ways of supporting the charity.

Alden has proved to be an invaluable member of the team, and he recently announced that he would like to lead a special week-long All Stars tour to Lesotho in September 2014, and is now approaching friends and contacts, asking them to join him. The tour will include the chance to play cricket and football against local teams, see the work of K4L in action, visit the beautiful mountain region, and most importantly be trained to deliver health education activities from our Curriculum to children and young people in schools.

I'm no believer in fate, but looking back it is a pleasant coincidence that we bumped into each other that day in 2004, creating a connection between Alden's challenge and the beginnings of my own journey with Kick4Life. At the time we could not have foreseen that ten years on we would jointly organize an expedition to a remote African Kingdom! I'm confident that together we can make this an incredible, life-changing experience for anyone who is up for it. Are you?

To find out more about the tour experience watch this video:

http://kick4life.org/watch.php?vid=107084

If you're interested in joining the trip email [email protected]

Picture: Alden & Amanda arrive in John O’Groats after their 1,000 mile journey.

In 1859 Charles Darwin published his brilliant and incredibly simple Theory of Evolution. It was a landmark moment in scientific history that would change the way we understand the natural world forever. A fundamental part of his hypothesis was a concept dubbed ‘Survival of the Fittest’ – the idea that organisms with characteristics best suited to survive in their environments would be the ones to thrive and repopulate, with their attributes passed down to succeeding generations.

On many occasions this concept has been adapted to business theory, and a proposition that within capitalist economies, it is the strongest companies – those best suited to succeeding in their market places – that make profits and grow.  As a result we often see in the business world, as in the natural world, that there is a ruthless and uncompromising struggle for survival and success. While this capitalist approach promotes growth and wealth, it is not always in the best interests of humanity; riches are not evenly distributed and a focus on profit alone means that the social and environmental wellbeing of our world can be neglected.

As a result, and to varying degrees, different countries and economies have instituted public and welfare systems, which are in many ways designed to mitigate the negative impact of the capitalist approach, while allowing its positive affects the freedom to flourish. Achieving the right balance between the two has been a primary occupation of many governments over the last one hundred years.

In addition to public sector initiatives, individuals and groups of people set up their own projects designed to achieve a better world. These are often called ‘charities’, a term which today has far greater meaning as a legal status which enables organizations to pursue a huge range of activities with various benefits and opportunities, as opposed to its traditional association with kindness, generosity and compassion.

Of course these values are still integral to the charity sector, but do they extend to how most charitable organizations conduct themselves in terms of fundraising and cooperation with initiatives that share their social objectives? The  answer is predominantly no, and it is no surprise that the Survival of the Fittest theory also applies to what is an incredibly competitive industry, with not-for profit entities often working against each other to be the biggest and the best, sometimes to the detriment of their shared goals.

In some ways the Survival of the Fittest amongst charities is inevitable and positive. At Kick4Life we have not been shy to promote our own organization and to pursue funds, often in competition with other similar charities, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. The positive impact is that we, and others, strive to ensure our activities are as effective and as high impact as possible, so that we deserve to be successful. But once an organization reaches a certain capacity it may have the strength to keep growing and succeeding while other initiatives, which have great potential to compliment their efforts or to achieve social change elsewhere, are subsequently prohibited from thriving. In addition, Survival of the Fittest in the charitable sector can mean that opportunities for synergy are missed, with organizations pre-occupied with their own success and protectionism.

With this in mind, and because the ultimate bottom line of charities is social impact, there should be an onus on charities to look up from time to time in recognition that the overall social goal is bigger and more important than their organization, and do something about it, however unnatural this might feel.

Perhaps the most effective way for this process to take place is via networks – groups of organizations with a common purpose who come together to consider and take forward ways in which they  can collectively achieve more than they can do on their own. These networks are often facilitated by independent bodies specifically designed to support effective collaboration. Kick4Life has been actively involved in a number of such networks including the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, Beyond Sport, streetfootballworld and others. Involvement in these groups has brought great benefit to us including funding, knowledge, consulting support and even our centre in Lesotho. We have also endeavored to put back in, sharing our experiences and ideas, but up until now we have benefitted far more than we have re- invested.

This is why we recently submitted our candidature to become streetfootballworld board members, with five organizations elected every two years to represent a body of over 80 network members united under our shared goal of social change through football. Having been elected we are now looking forward to significantly investing our time and effort in helping to push forward our collective success through this fantastic network. Together we believe we can achieve more impactful, more widespread and more sustainable change for the causes and people that we represent. Perhaps the Survival of the Fittest instinct is stronger than we think.