Grassroot Soccer: football against HIV
Founded by a former pro who played in Zimbabwe, Grassroot Soccer uses football to teach young people about HIV and ran the first Football for Hope centre.
Football is popular almost everywhere HIV has hit hardest. Grassroot Soccer was built on that simple observation: if young people will turn up for football, football can be the way to give them information that might save their lives.
How it started
Tommy Clark played professional football in Zimbabwe. There he saw two things side by side: the devastation caused by HIV, and the enormous popularity of the game. Together with friends who had similar experiences, Methembe Ndlovu, Ethan Zohn and Kirk Friedrich, he co-founded Grassroot Soccer, which became a registered US 501(c)(3) charity in 2002.
That year the founders travelled to Zimbabwe. With the support of the psychologist Albert Bandura, who sat on the advisory board, and of local partners, they developed an interactive, football-themed HIV prevention curriculum. It was first used in Zimbabwe in 2003.
What Grassroot Soccer does today
Grassroot Soccer describes itself as an adolescent health organisation. It uses football to give young people the information, services and mentoring they need to live healthier lives. The core of its work is still the curriculum: football-based activities in which each game carries a health message, followed by discussion.
Its partners have included USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Nike. In July 2010 it announced a partnership with Women’s Professional Soccer in the United States on Get Active!, an initiative against childhood obesity.
The first Football for Hope centre
When FIFA announced the 20 Football for Hope centres linked to the 2010 World Cup, it chose Grassroot Soccer to run the first one, in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. The centres combine a pitch with space for education and health services. Khayelitsha was part of the first phase of building, between September 2008 and September 2009. Read more in our article on Football for Hope.
Does it work?
Grassroot Soccer has been studied more than most organisations in this field. Studies by Stanford University’s Children’s Health Council, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Cape Town, among others, suggest the curriculum is effective. A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that “over 90% of the children provided positive attitude responses to the health-education programme”.
Positive attitudes are not the same as changed behaviour or lower infection rates, and evaluating health outcomes is difficult for any programme. But the evidence base is one reason Grassroot Soccer is often cited as a model in sport for development.
Football and HIV: a shared thread
Grassroot Soccer is not the only organisation that links football and HIV. At the 2006 street football festival in Berlin, the runners-up were KickAIDS from Pretoria, and the champions, the Mathare Youth Sports Association, used theatre to teach about HIV/AIDS. The idea that a team, a coach and a ball can open conversations that classrooms struggle with runs through the whole field.
FAQ
Who founded Grassroot Soccer?
Tommy Clark, together with Methembe Ndlovu, Ethan Zohn and Kirk Friedrich. It became a registered charity in 2002.
Where was the curriculum first used?
In Zimbabwe, in 2003.
What is Grassroot Soccer’s link to FIFA?
FIFA chose Grassroot Soccer to run the first Football for Hope centre, in Khayelitsha, South Africa.
Is there evidence that the programme works?
Several university studies suggest it is effective; one in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported positive attitude responses from over 90% of children.
Conclusion
Grassroot Soccer turned a player’s experience in Zimbabwe into one of the most studied football-for-health programmes in the world. Explore more organisations in our football for development section.