Originally posted by Shaggy
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World Cup 2018: who is Eddie Afekafe, England ambassador?
It has been quite a month for Eddie Afekafe. Overshadowing David Beckham, David Cameron and Prince William as the star turn which may land England the 2018 World Cup, though, may even top receiving an award from the Prince's Trust for his work helping football change hundreds of lives.
While the former England captain, the Prime Minister and the heir to the throne garnered all the headlines in the build-up to Fifa’s long-awaited judgment day, it was Manchester City’s Social Inclusion Manager who offered the most poignant insight into what the legacy of bringing the World Cup to England for the first time in more than half a century would be.
That should be no surprise, given his qualifications. After all, far more than his more illustrious colleagues on England’s bid team, it is Afekafe who knows how much impact hosting the tournament would have.
Every week, Afekafe coaches 300 people in Moss Side and East Manchester as part of City’s community scheme and the Football Foundation’s Kickz project, designed to help young people change their lives through sport.
He was named Young Ambassador of the year by the Prince’s Trust on Nov 5 for dedicating more than 100 hours to raising the Trust’s profile and helping to secure thousands of pounds of funding.
Indeed, so highly-regarded is his work that it should be little wonder he showed so few signs of nerves in front of Fifa’s delegates. He has already addressed former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in front of an audience of hundreds and spoken about the Trust’s work at the House of Lords.
But it is not just his experience in discussing the success of such schemes that made the 27 year-old such a natural choice to supplement England’s star guests on the Zurich stage. Afekafe himself is an example of the very message the bid team hoped to express in their presentation.
After a spell of unemployment, he attended Team, a 12-week personal development programme in a bid to fulfil his dream of working in sport. He received financial support from the Prince’s Trust to fund his FA Level 2 coaching qualification - the work experience part of which he completed at City’s community scheme.
He started volunteering with Kickz, eventually being promoted to a role as one of the project’s lead coaches, and in January 2008 he was handed full-time work by City.
“After overcoming so many challenges, I am now content with life,” he said. “The biggest reward is that I am happy, I have a smile on my face everyday and I enjoy what I do. Dave [Coppin, of City’s community scheme] was a big inspiration and a positive role model in my life and has encouraged me to get where I am today. I hope one day to inspire people to grasp opportunities given to them.
“Looking back, I have surprised a lot of people on my journey, most of all myself. I have proved that I can be a better person and I am more determined not to waste my life. I would encourage others to never give up.”
What i heard of Gullits speech was'nt good, there was a lot of "er this er that", very poorly delivered, although i did hear Becks said "Fank you" at the end of his.
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