Story by Jeroslyn JoVonn
An official soccer coaching program for incarcerated women is making waves across African correctional facilities, offering not only emotional uplift and empowerment but opening doors to career opportunities after their release. Participants in the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Football for Reform initiative can earn their coaching certifications anonymously. Recently, 26 incarcerated women and five police officers completed the eight-day course at a correctional facility in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Since its launch, the Football for Reform initiative has expanded to Ghana, is currently underway in Liberia, and plans are in motion to roll out the program across other parts of Africa, as well as in Asia and South America. For inmates who don’t want to coach, they can sew jerseys and training bibs for football clubs throughout the country.
“What I’d like to see is when these girls go back into society, they don’t end up back in prison,” Johansen said. “When they come out, they’ve got skills. They can go to the football federation to look for a job, and they can coach in schools.”
Source:https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/women-in-sierra-leone-prison-become-certified-soccer-coaches/ar-AA1EfjRF?ocid=BingNewsSerp