Coach Emad Football Academy
The Coach Emad Football Academy (CEFA) is the most important initiative of the Coach Emad Foundation, as it encompasses the physical element of our mission. In less than a year, CEFA is in charge of training over 200 children based in Lyari under skilled supervision of the coaches we have hired. In order to make a difference in the society, it is extremely important to develop such a football facility that will attract children to join the academy and will be a testament of our commitment to the neighborhood and to Coach Emad’s legacy.
Along with boys, CEFA is giving special emphasis to girls interested in playing football. Now we have over 25 girls enrolled in CEFA and we have hired a female coach for the girls & we continue to increase the number of female coaches as the girls registration increase. CEFA is the only facility in Lyari where girls have a dedicated space to play football and sharpen their talent in a safe environment. We have a vision one day, these girls will represent CEFA at national and international football arena.
CEFA also regularly invites our national football players to visit the academy to encourage our girls and boys. They are able to get some coaching, guidance for their career as footballers, and most importantly to be inspired by these national level football players. One of our most notable visitors has been Pakistan Women’s Football Team’s Captain, Hajra Khan, who has shown keen interest in CEFA to take out some time to work with our girls in future.
So far, we have arranged some exhibition matches & CEFA teams have also participated in a few tournaments hosted by other clubs & organizations in the city. However, we first want to emphasize on the academy & then to establish a football club. People in Lyari have seen & appreciated our commitment & the work we are doing there, and therefore, a large turnout is noticed in all our exhibition matches.
We aim to not only coach and educate our CEFA players, but also provide them with away game opportunities. This promotes their sense of competition and also the interaction with a diverse peer group strengthens their own sense of identity. The tournaments and away games are being planned prudently, yet regularly. We plan to send our players to away games at least twice a month and once a month for our girls’ team in the first year. As for hosting tournaments in our ground the community is excited and it creates great support for the visiting teams.
We are also in touch with a few local schools & many local football clubs of the area. As part of our initiative to involve the community, we distributed awards to many of the local football clubs to recognize their contribution to football in Lyari.
CEFA is immensely proud to have hosted legendary Liverpool football player, Ian Rush to its grounds on his first visit to Pakistan. It was a huge success and an ideal opportunity for the children of Lyari to meet such a big football player and be inspired by him. Rush was ecstatic to see the love for football in Lyari and offered to work on some kind of arrangement between Coach Emad Foundation and Rush Foundation to train the children and coaches of CEFA.
Coach Emad Football Academy will continue to provide football training to the children of Lyari. We have quite a comprehensive plan to develop the ground, including astro-turf & other improvement in the facility. As this is the first time, girls have a dedicated place to play football, we plan to make their playing conditions safe and comfortable. The girls of CEFA are able to play in an enclosed space with a qualified female coach and the facility of own changing rooms for them.
Our organization aims to use football and education to work with children, their parents, elders of the neighborhood and social workers to promote social skills, civic sense and good citizenship at a community level.
If you are interested or know someone who is interested in CEFA, you can register in the program by contacting its office at the academy or click on Contact Us given on the Home Page Menu.