‘Colombia has one of the highest incidences of child casualties from landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in the world’ This week we interviewed Coach Mercedes Vasquez to find out about her experience as a female coach in Colombia. 1. What is your role with Spirit of Soccer? MV: I am a Mine Risk...
Last week we held a four-day coaching workshop in Cali, Colombia and concluded with a Mine Risk Education (MRE) & Football Festival. The program drew 11 new coaches and 167 participants. Thank you to our in-country team for all your hard work during the training! We will continue to educate people with the skills to...
“We bring smiles to the faces of children after the war” – Mohammad Al-Naqib Our Spirit of Soccer team in Iraq welcomed 300 fans and government officials, including a member of the board of the Province of Nineveh, to the opening ceremony of a new football field on January 23, 2019. The field, located in...
On the 10th Anniversary of winning their first ever industry award, Spirit of Soccer added to its growing list of recognitions last week when it received the award for Sport for Peace and Social Justice at the Beyond Sport Awards in New York. The award was in recognition of our pioneering Countering Violent Extremism program...
We educated 100 children through MRE training, equipped 28 coaches with new MRE drills and met with the Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA) about a joint campaign in 2019. #LandMineFree2025
In Lao PDR, the most heavily-bombed country in the world, the majority of the population makes a living by subsistence farming. In order to survive, families take huge risks by farming polluted land.
Iraq has been devastated by years of conflict, and the province of Basra has been one of the hardest-hit. From the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, through the First Gulf War in 1990 and the Iraq War that began in 2003 to today’s sectarian...
Spirit of Soccer began working in Iraq in 2008 and expanded its program to Khanaquin, near the Iranian border, in 2012. Serab was one of the female coaches who signed up.
Cheata was born in Bour village in rural Cambodia. Like most girls from her background, including her three sisters, she never dreamed of traveling the world or becoming a global role model.
