The Future Stars programme which was launched in August aims to offer local coaches from across Africa the chance to attend an exclusive new training camp with Arsenal’s top Soccer Schools coaches in London.

The programme is a new initiative set up by WorldRemit, the official online money transfer partner of Arsenal Football Club, to recognise and reward the valuable contribution that youth coaches make to the communities they serve.

The programme received around 700 applications in a week from across Africa. A shortlist of 25 coaches has been selected by a judging panel of representatives from Arsenal and WorldRemit. In recognition of their hard work, the 25 shortlisted coaches will receive official Arsenal shirts for their youth team.

The two shortlisted coaches from Abease and Accra expressed their intentions to use the power of football to address challenges in their community such as alleviating the challenges of poverty in achieving their full potential to empowering girls and young women and increasing the level of professionalism in football coaching in the country.

From the 25 shortlisted applicants, five finalists chosen by the judges will go through to a public vote, where they will compete for the chance to train with Arsenal Soccer Schools coaches. The five finalists will be featured on the futurestars.worldremit.com website and voting will open in the last week of September.

WorldRemit will pay for the successful applicant to travel to London in October to attend the Future Stars camp. The programme will equip them with coaching skills which they can take back to build a lasting legacy of coaching excellence in their country.

Andrew Stewart, Managing Director Middle East & Africa at WorldRemit said: “The high volume of entries we received from Ghana is a clear indication of the importance of youth football coaching in the community and the vital role of sport in the community. We see the strength of the entries from Ghana as a very promising sign for the country’s future.

“Like these coaches, our customers are helping to build a better future for others. Our goal is to make it easier for them to do so. Following their example, we hope to use opportunities like our partnership with Arsenal to have a positive impact on communities across the globe.”

Simon McManus of Arsenal Soccer Schools said:

“Football has the power to bring communities together, and through our relationship with WorldRemit we can really inspire confidence and encourage positive social change. We pride ourselves on excellence in all we do and we were very impressed with how strongly the commitment to outstanding coaching was reflected by Ghanaians.

The work these participants have already done in developing their coaching shows the immense potential of coaching in Ghana. The standard of entries was very impressive, making this a real challenge for the judges. We are eagerly anticipating the final results and look forward to welcoming the successful coach to London.”

Ghanaians in the Future Stars shortlist;

Godsway Tek Agyagbo, from Hohoe, Volta Region

Godsway is a coach for the Happy Kids Foundation Boys Team and the Happy Kids Girls Team. He is a strong believer that sports should be open to all and champions women’s football as a platform to empower girls in his community. He has seen how football coaches can be verbally or even physically abusive towards children and is committed to teaching sports in a way that is encouraging to children and encourages best practices.

If he won a coaching session with Arsenal, he would share his experience with fellow community coaches, so they could enhance their training programmes for children of all ages and levels. He also believes that the opportunity would amplify his voice among the local football community, so he could help put a stop to physical abuse on the football field.

Innocents Yeboah-Num, from Abease, Pru West District

Innocents founded Madonna Sporting Club in Abease in the Pru West District. Passionate about football, he believes that it has the power to lift people out of poverty and is committed to helping children reach their full potential.

He has been teaching under 12, under 15 and under 17 teams for the last seven years. If he won a coaching session with Arsenal FC, he would organise training programmes to share his experience with other coaches and enhance community football across the country.