A Ganar

By utilizing soccer and other team sports to help youth in Latin America, ages 16-24, find jobs, learn entrepreneurial skills, or re-enter the formal education system, A Ganar combats the serious problem of youth unemployment. A Ganar has trained over 4,000 youth in Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia and has now expanded to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

Goals:   

Provide sports-based employability training to at-risk and economically disadvantaged youth in Latin America and the Caribbean; 

Increase capacity of partner institutions to implement sport-for-development training which is flexible to meet local needs.

Mobilize a broad range of donors and stakeholders, including sports organizations, businesses, foundations, individuals, Partners’ chapters, and others to advocate and promote youth opportunity;

Strengthen alumni support creating a network that supports safe spaces for youth that  promote identity formation, civic engagement, and service learning;  

Develop a network of organizations capable and committed to utilizing sport for youth development.

Methodology:

The core of the A Ganar program is not a focus on sports training, but rather, the application of sport lessons to personal skill development essential to employment training. To win on the sports field, one needs to understand, practice, and promote the core values of respect, teamwork, discipline, communication, focus on results, andcontinued self-improvement.

These six skills form the foundation of the A Ganar methodology, not just as “life skills”, but as “employability skills” that are learned on the field and in the classroom.   

This sport- based training is the first step towards employment, followed by targeted vocational training and internship placement, with continuous support from mentorships