Kevin Carroll Katalyst

Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues,

I am pleased to share with you some BIG news!.  In partnership with FUNDaFIELD and Sport Court, we are pleased to announce that Uganda will now be the home to an official Street Soccer Pitch.  This is the first Street Soccer pitch of its kind, and it will be located in Northern Uganda. This will be a space for community engagement, soccer tournaments, educational programs, and income-generating activities.

We could not have done this without the long hours and months of support and interest by a variety of individuals and colleagues, from FUNDaFIELD who builds fields for youth and kids in Africa, Sport Court’s incredible, state-of the art modular surfacing, Street Soccer USA and Africa Sports Outreach. 

In addition, through the help of our staff in Uganda, and through the efforts of volunteers in-country and soon to be headed to Uganda, we will further realize this dream in Northern Uganda… that as Kevin Carroll Katalyst says, “A ball can change your life.”

We look forward to hearing from you. Appreciate your support and feedback, and commitment to the efforts of the global sports for social change movement.  And, of course, stay tuned, there will be updates as the pitch is developed over the coming months.  The official inauguration of the pitch will take place early this summer!

Red Ball Drop #23 - Namuwongo
We distributed 5 Special Edition Kevin Carroll Katalyst Red Balls for the ENGAGE Uganda, Namuwongo Youth Soccer Tournament, which included more than 80 children in the matches.

Red Ball Drop #24 - Mengo
We distributed 4 Special Edition Kevin Carroll Katalyst Red Balls and 5 Molten Balls to over 200 children and youth.

In just 5 days here are the numbers:

Number of Red Balls and Molten Balls Distributed: 162
Number of Cities and Towns: 10
Number of Districts: 3
Number of Ball Drop Sites: 23
Estimated number of Ball Drop Uganda Beneficiaries: 3,000

The GYPA staff will embark on Ball Drops in Gulu later this week, and some of the balls will be used for the Gomo Tong Football Club preparations and practices for Homeless World Cup Melbourne.

Stay tuned…

Unfortunately, too many kids around the world don’t have the opportunity to practice. Yes, because they do not have a ball, or the equipment needed, but more so because they don’t have role models, coaches or others to give them a pat on the back, or a thumbs up after great hustle. As the sports for social change movement grows, these important elements MUST be central ingredients, otherwise the movement falls short of its goals: to empower individuals, and uplift and fundamentally improve communities.

Fortunately for my organization, the Global Youth Partnership for Africa (GYPA), over the past 2 months the GYPA youth in Namuwongo have worked with students from Northwestern University as part of the ENGAGE Uganda (founded by my friend and fellow social entrepreneur, Nathaniel Whittemore) program. The students, in collaboration with the youth implemented a peer-to-peer, life skills learning program with soccer, net ball and arts and drama as central elements of the curriculum.