Jumpers For Goalposts...

...well not exactly, but I think you may guess where this is going!

Last week we started to visit the training sessions of the various junior teams linked with GDM. The venues could be described as anything but football pitches.

The first session we visited was Alex and Abu's in the bull ring. One goal was made from two large bamboo sticks and some string tied across the top, the other made using two of the very few cones available to the coaches, and as you may have worked out, the pitch was unconventionally circular! Despite all of this, after we had been introduced and the kids had welcomed us in a mixture of English and Portuguese, the football on show was of a very high standard. The ages ranged from 9-16 and included one girl. Out of the 20 or so players, 2 had boots!!!

The lack of boots at the first session gave Adam a bit of a headache... he wondered whether the kids would be OK kicking the new leather footballs that we had brought over for them in their bare feet?! I think all of his doubts were soon put to bed when we arrived at Chibanga's session at one of the local schools...

This pitch was literally covered in rocks, and the players ran across it in bare feet as if it were the green grass of The Emirates! Next time I wince walking down my stony driveway barefooted I will remember these kids.

In this session there was no such luxury of cones, or bamboo sticks for that matter, so in order to score, the players had to hit a large rock at one end, and a post at the other end. I didn't realise this at first and once applauded what I thought was a goal...the bemused looks I received make more sense now!

It was also at this session that we heard the GDM anthem for the first time, a whistle and clapping tune that the players perform in a huddle at the end of each session. Just another example of the participation and camaraderie across the age ranges here in Mozambique.

Our final visit of the week was to Quarto Congresso, a school group coached by Ilias, one of the computer teachers. As we pulled up in the red chariot, the kids appeared to be too excited by the two new Arsenal footballs that we had with us to care who we were and why we were there!

After the formality of the introductions were over, we set the kids up into two matches and in the absence of bibs, we reverted to the old favourite, shirts v skins! Grassroots at it's best, with goals made from flip flops! One of the games even had to be settled by a penalty shootout, and unfortunately my favourite player (mainly because he was wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle t-shirt) missed the decisive penalty!

Um Por Todos, Todos Por Um!

Last Thursday I was feeling extremely homesick and was struggling to come to terms with the extreme heat here in Mozambique, so on Friday morning when the footballs at training disappeared, I wasn't best pleased to find that we would be running up a ramp carrying another player on our shoulders (especially given the fact that my shoulders were red raw!)

The hard work paid off and we were given a rest from training in the afternoon. Instead, Schalk, one of the men who made our trip happen, and Short, took us and the first team players down to Futeco Park, as some of them were still yet to see it. We were given our second (and some of the players' first) tour around the land that had been bought. The project is quite simply unbelievable. One football pitch has been laid, and there are plans for two more, plus changing rooms, and an indoor area for basketball, indoor football etc. Fruit trees are planted all around the land and we have been told that it is Mozambican law that we are not allowed to leave the country until we have planted one of our own!

So much hard work has gone into this project already and so many sacrifices made, in particular those of Schalk Van Heerden. Schalk has been visiting Manica for 13 years and is now a well known face around town, and a real role model for everyone involved in at the club. He stressed that the aim for the club is to not only produce great footballers, but to make sure that these great footballers are also great people, and everything about the set-up suggests that it will be successful! (You will hear more about Schalk in the near future!)

Some of the jobs that need to be done may seem minor, but it is the drive for perfection that will ensure this plan fulfills it's potential. On this particular day we went to remove stones from the new pitch. Grass is being planted whenever possible and we are hoping the pitch will be ready for training by the time the new season starts. So along with the first team players we spent half an hour or so picking up stones; small, medium or large, and believe me the job wasn't anywhere near finished!

Over the time we are here there will be plenty of jobs similar to this which need to be done, and with the same hard work the pitches will be immaculate in no time! What was great to see was that the players were more than happy to chip in with their hard work, the whole time cracking jokes and laughing in the unthinkable heat!

Before we left, we all got in a huddle in their traditional way and after Rafa's ridiculous 1,2,3....

"UM POR TODOS, TODOS POR UM"

- All for one and one for all!!! I think that says it all really!

First Impressions

So it has been almost a week since we arrived in Manica, Mozambique ,and it has been an eye opener to say the least! As soon as we arrived at Beira airport, we had people scrambling to take our bags for us when the walk was a matter of metres, the poverty in the country so clear as we set off on our journey to Manica driven by the legend that is Short Chikwandingwa!

The first thing that struck us was the contrast between the poverty that was so clear for all to see, and the most unbelievable views provided by the mountains and trees in the background. Some of the things that we saw during the 5hr drive from the airport back to base were things that we had only seen on TV and did not think were possible in real life!

Real though they were, and upon arriving at GDM, not exactly incident free, it was great to see how excited everyone was to have us here!

Now that we are here and settled, we have more of an idea of what we will be doing during our stay, and some of the truly amazing people we will be working with.

Until today, it has been the holidays, so noone is at school, and the football season hasn't started yet. This means that for the first month or so that we are here it will be pre-season for FC Manica. Having just returned from one of the various tough sessions we have endured so far, I think it is fair to say that we should be in good shape by the time we return to the UK.

We will also be taking sessions for the under 11's, 14'sand 17's, possibly side-stepping a few first team training sessions to do so!

Aside from football there is so much more to be done. The club are currently undergoing one of the most ambitious and surely life-changing projects Mozambique has ever seen . 'Futeco Park', the new training and sports centre that mixes football with ecology has a lot of work to be done, starting with the first training pitch that has been laid and just needs some more grass!

This is just a brief outline outline of how we will be trying to help while we are here, look forward to more stories and introductions to the amazing characters that we have met so far....

Mozamb-eve

It's the night before I leave for Mozambique! Clothes are being washed, stuff all over the place, anywhere but in the holdall ready to go! As I consider what to take and what not to take, I will use this opportunity to give you an introduction to exactly where we are going and what we will be doing.....

Grupo Desportivo de Manica (GDM) is a social club in Manica, a town in the border regions of Mozambique. It provides sports activities and a home for young people, many of whom live below the poverty line. Some of the children are 1 or 2 parent orphans and as many as 40% come from dysfunctional homes. By living, eating, and playing together at GDM, community members become like one big family, with the older members often acting as mentors to the youngsters.

Aside from the sporting activities, which play a vital role in bringing the members together, GDM offers English and Computer literacy courses, helping to improve the future prospects for it's members. In fact, the Manica English School has become the premier site for learning English in the province.

My colleague Adam and I will be setting off tomorrow, armed with as many footballs, cones and anything Arsenal as we can fit in our 20kg luggage limit to join in with the project. We will provide sessions for the youngsters, introducing to them the skills of Nasri and Arshavin, the speed of Walcott and Clichy, and the precision of Fabregas himself. We will also provide ideas and advise to the older members so that they themselves can coach the younger players to 'Play The Arsenal Way.'

This is going to be an exciting adventure for all parties involved, and we hope we can make a difference...