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Alive and Kicking Uses Football as a Force for Good

Alive and Kicking is a football manufacturer based in sub-Saharan Africa. They are, importantly, the world’s only not-for-profit football manufacturer, meaning their sole intention as a company is to create happier and healthier communities. By swerving a profit model, they exist as a charity that gives back, rather than takes. 

Initially, the production of their footballs creates stable jobs. 95% of their employees have never had jobs before, which gives you a clue into the employment crisis in Kenya, Zambia, and Ghana, where they are active. Employment is important not just in generating money for communities – of which, in sub-Saharan Africa, 42% of people are living below the poverty line – but in reinvigorating latent self-worth to empower communities. 

The footballs are sold to international communities, as well as donated to local and disadvantaged ones. Due to the environmental conditions of land, standard synthetic footballs can last as little as weeks; Alive and Kicking’s balls are made of locally sourced leather and are estimated to last up to 8 times longer. 

During the 2020/21 season, Alive and Kicking estimate that they’ve given 78,750 children access to sport through ball donation, as well as sport-related programmes, which use funds to bridge social, sport, and health education. The charity trains key individuals as community coaches, educators, and advisors. For Alive and Kicking, sport is a tool to mediate various health challenges that communities face.

Ahead of 2021/22, though, Alive and Kicking are launching the third season of AKFC football shirts. These shirts, manufactured by Hummel, provide another element to support the charity’s impact. The shirts are accessible for a one-off fee, while AKFC also offers a season ticket, providing a new football shirt every year, along with footballs, for a discounted annual fee. 

By joining AKFC you are joining a global movement and charity dedicated to alleviating global inequality. You can track Alive and Kicking’s impact here. 

You can also read more about the launch of AKFC’s 2021/22 season here.

See more from Alie and Kicking FC

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