INTERVIEWER (British): Thank you everyone for coming. Today, I’m interviewing Paul Smith, a professional British football player who has started a non-profit football camp in England for disadvantaged youth. Welcome, Paul.
PAUL(British): Hello. Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.
INTERVIEWER: It’s a pleasure to have you here too, Paul. So, can you explain a little bit about what your football program is all about?
PAUL: Yes, sure. First of all, it’s called Kicks for Kids. The idea is to offer week-long football camps for kids under 18 years old who come from disadvantaged or low-income areas. A lot of football camps are expensive, so kids who don’t have the financial resources available can’t attend them. I thought that’s really unfair, so I’ve decided to start this program.
INTERVIEWER: Great. Can you tell us a little bit more about how they are run?
PAUL: Well, first of all, they’re completely free. Secondly, they last one week, and we always host the camps during the holiday period. Usually in the summer, so that it doesn’t interfere with school. Right now, we have camps set up in London and Newcastle. Eventually, I’d like to have camps available in all of our major cities. All of the participants stay at the sports complex for the entire week, with rooms set-up at the training facilities, monitored 24 hours a day. There are three meals per day, as well as snacks available throughout the week. The camp basically provides the whole week’s training, accommodation and meals.
INTERVIEWER: Who trains the participants?
PAUL: That’s a great question. I have several coaches and trainers who have been kind enough to volunteer their time. So, we have professionals working at our camps. Private club coaches, professional coaches, university coaches, you name it. My vision was to offer elite skill training at the camps. I don’t believe that top resources should only be available to rich people. Everyone should have access to the best sports training available.
INTERVIEWER: I’m sure it could be. How do the participants spend their time at the camp?
PAUL: There is a full schedule of three activities: training, matches, and rest. We break up the participants into teams of 10. We like to keep the kids busy while they’re there. It’s an intensive week, but a lot of fun. Some of the training will consist of drills and scrimmages. We also show instructional videos about exercising so you can keep yourself healthy afterwards. But we also place a huge emphasis on having fun. The week concludes with a short tournament, and trophies are given to winning teams.
INTERVIEWER: That sounds very exciting. It should be quite costly, though, with all the staff, participants, and facilities and other things included. I’d like to ask about funding. Who pays for all of this?
PAUL: Well, initially I put forth the start-up costs. I rented the facilities and organised the meals to be catered. It was expensive, but I felt like it was the right thing to do. However, the camps have gotten really popular, and some businesses have decided to donate services. It’s amazing really. So, now we have money coming-in from donations, and the catering company I’ve been using has started to give us a huge discount. And like I said, friends of mine who I’ve met during my career have been willing to work at the camps just out of the goodness of their own hearts.
INTERVIEWER: How do you decide who gets to participate at the camps? Can just anyone sign up?
PAUL: No. We have a short application process. Basically, we screen applicants based on their family’s income. So, boys and girls are both welcome, and we divide the camp by gender. Me and a few other people who helped me start these camps go through all of the applications and decide who qualifies. There are no tryouts or anything like that. So far, we’ve had about 1000 kids each year. We hope it will continue to grow.
INTERVIEWER: Sounds amazing. Congratulations on starting such a generous program.
PAUL: Thank you. Anyone who is interested in applying to the program or donating to our cause can find all the relevant information on our website. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak with you.