Education, Education, Education:

 

There is a reason why education is at the top end of Lead First Academy. It is far more important than anything else we do at the Academy. This may be hugely disappointing news to any child thinking they have just shrugged off the school thing and are now going on to be a professional footballer. 

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The Facts Are:

• Few clubs and academies players will become professional footballers.

• Fewer still will be Premiership players earning £ per year.

• Education success is more easily attainable than football success.

• Education is less subjective to the personal opinions of people controlling your future. 

• Outcomes in education are directly rewarded by the effort you put in.

• A player with no education spends a huge proportion of their salary, fails to invest wisely, and never retrains for a career after football.

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Equity in education influences

equity in society and vice versa.

 

​Those who have observed Africa very keenly now recognize that most education systems in Africa are structured to favour those who are financially advantaged, physically healthy, and intellectually gifted; confirming that children from the poorest families and minority groups do not achieve at the same rate as their wealthier peers. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) for the school year ending in 2017, about 262 million children and youth are out of school. In other words, close to 1 in 10 children are denied the right to education worldwide. Half of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa where the demand for education is growing. These statements are true for children with football talents in rural Ghana.