Between Borders X Football Beyond Borders

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Between Borders X Football Beyond Borders

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Sport
Words By: Luc Hinson
Illustration By: Tom Shotton

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We sat down with Jasper Kain, founder of Football Beyond Borders. This interview forms part of our series on the power of sport to unify and bring people together, from all walks of life. This interview explores the inspriation behind, and importance of Football Beyond Borders: an educational charity set up to provide young people with the opportunity to achieve their potential both on and off the pitch. This piece is the first in the ongoing series on sport, keep your eyes peeled for more in the coming weeks.

To catch the full interview with Jasper, just keep scrolling. 

BB: Why did you start FBB, what was the driving force behind it?

FBB: I was captain of a university football team in London. The team was really diverse, full of inspirational characters who came from different backgrounds but were united through our passion for the game. We realised that football been hugely transformational for each of us respectively growing up. It had been given us confidence and acted as a tool of motivation and most importantly learning. If it could have this effect on us as a team, I thought why could this philosophy not be applied elsewhere.

BB: What does football mean to you? (outside of just a sporting activity)

FBB: Football has a wonderful ability to do things. I believe football provides a medication from reality but also serves as catalyst for self and collective growth. It enables us to escape from the day to day realities but also to connect with us and develop bonds which can be extremely powerful. It is so simple and easily accessed and provides the perfect medium for people to connect and develop a shared identity which is important in this individualistic and atomised world we are living in.

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"I believe football provides a medication from reality but also serves as catalyst for self and collective growth"

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BB: how important is sport in shaping attitudes and morals?

FBB: We have three core values in FBB which I feel sport can harness which are often lacking. These are resilience (the ability to problem solve and overcome challenges), teamwork (the ability to trust others) and leadership (the ability to put yourself forward and take risks). I feel these can all be nurtured through football, provided there is an effective coach who has developed a conducive environment for this to thrive. The coach must give the participants ownership to demonstrate these attitudes and create feedback loops for reflective practice to ensue and the learning to become embedded.

BB: What benefits do you think there are to starting with the kids at such a young age?

FBB: Young people are incredibly perceptive and creative, they are constantly learning and developing habits. When they are young, there is a fluidity of character and expansive imagination which is wonderful to work with. As they grow older their self-perception typically becomes more entrenched. We find the transition from primary to secondary is fundamental in shaping the person. It is an exciting time but also a challenging one, as the young person is expected to be more responsible and adjust to a very different setting. It is at this time when they are undergoing big changes physically, emotionally and socially. We find it is crucial to develop relationships with the young person so they can cope and embrace this transition. There is no secret formula for this, primarily it requires consistency, patience and unconditional positive regard. All of this takes time, hence why we start with them young!

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"Young people are incredibly perceptive and creative, they are constantly learning and developing habits"

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BB: What do you hope to achieve through FBB in 2018 & beyond?

FBB: We would want to continue growing as a youth movement and using the power of football as a force for good that provide young people with limited opportunities the chance to thrive. This will involve developing our community hub in Brixton. The plan is to create our own school which can support young people at risk of exclusion in school. We will use our football themed curriculum and holistic methodology which embeddes us in the lives of young people to achieve this! In addition to this we intend to scale our programmes nationally to 5-10 new regions in the UK. In doing so we hope to become one of the leading football for social change organisations in the UK!

To hear more about the great work the team at FBB do check out their website here: 

https://footballbeyondborders.org/

Keep your eyes peeled for the next piece in this series on sport. 

Peace.

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