No matter the audience, one question frequently arises when discussing sport for social good: “Yes, but how can sport solve that issue?” This question has trailed me throughout my career—from discussions about sport’s role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to its integration into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and even casual conversations with those outside the field.

For many thematic areas, the answers come easily: social inclusion, gender equality, health and well-being—these are familiar territories. But when it comes to poverty alleviation, the skepticism lingers: “How can involvement in football affect poverty in a country or community?”

Football is often praised as a vehicle for positive change, particularly in the Global South, where its reach extends to some of the most marginalized communities. The idea that football can alleviate poverty is not new—it’s a message championed by NGOs, grassroots organizations, and major football institutions. Yet, for all the inspirational rhetoric, one critical question remains unanswered: how does football actually alleviate poverty?

A Tool, Not a Magic Wand

Current UN estimates have the amount of people globally living in poverty at around 1,1 billion. Half of these children and all living in very difficult circumstances. In such a pivotal moment in the world and with so many facing hardship, i often get a bit uneasy in my field when I hear some of the big slogans about the power of sport. First, let’s clear the air: football, or any sport, cannot single-handedly alleviate poverty (or accomplish big social economic challenges of any kind on its own). In the sport-for-good field, we often (perhaps too often) turn to the inspiring words of the great Nelson Mandela, who famously said, “Sport has the power to change the world.” However, this powerful statement is sometimes misinterpreted to mean that sport alone can solve complex societal challenges. It cannot.

Football for example is a tool—and its an excellent  one—that can mobilize, inspire, and create the conditions for meaningful change. But it is not a standalone solution or a magic wand. Mandela himself framed this sentiment on a micro level, continuing in the same quote: “It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.”

This distinction is essential when discussing the role of football—or any sport—as a force for good. Football, as the world’s most popular sport, is uniquely positioned to serve as a catalyst for development. It offers communities a valuable platform to take meaningful steps toward alleviating poverty and improving lives. Let’s explore how this works in practice.

How Football Can Alleviate Poverty: Pathways to Impact

In many parts of the world, football is more than just a sport; it is a cultural lifeline. Whether it’s  in football crazy Argentina, in remote parts of Kenyan, the slums of India  or in migrant landing spots in Europe, football captures the imagination and offers a glimmer of hope in contexts often overshadowed by hardship.

Here are the most effective mechanisms through which football can alleviate poverty:

1. Education and Skill Development

Grassroots football programs  often provide more than athletic training—they offer educational opportunities. Football is a great mobilizer when it comes to gathering youth who come for the love of the game but who also can receive valuable life skills training which can lead to better employment opportunities.

Organizations like Grassroot Soccer in Sub-Saharan Africa integrate health and life-skills education into their programs, empowering youth with tools for both personal and professional growth. Vocational training is another avenue, teaching participants skills like event management, groundskeeping, or sports equipment repair—pathways that lead to broader employment opportunities.

Elite academies are also recognizing their potential for social impact. For example, Football Academies for Social Impact (FASI) in Mozambique embeds social entrepreneurship into its mission, prioritizing local hiring for every role—from coaches to catering staff—thereby building an ecosystem of sustainable economic activity.

2. Employment and Economic Stimulation

Football generates jobs directly and indirectly. Local tournaments employ coaches, referees, and organizers, while related industries such as sports manufacturing and hospitality flourish.

One standout example is Alive and Kicking, an NGO that produces high-quality footballs in Kenya and Zambia, creating jobs for local artisans and supplying durable products worldwide. Similarly, The UN (UNCTAD) is currently exploring how Africa can localize its participation in the billion-dollar sports economy by fostering homegrown entrepreneurs in kit-making, stadium operations, and more.

In fact one of the biggest advancements in the football and broader sport for social good field is the rise of social entrepreneurship as a focus in interventions. Organizations like Yunus Sport Hub have contributed so much to the way we think about interventions weather they be in remote areas or attached to major events.

3. Social and Community Development

Football fosters social cohesion, especially in regions recovering from conflict. In Sierra Leone, football programs have helped reintegrate child soldiers, while in other post-conflict areas, the sport serves as a platform for peacebuilding.

Infrastructure investments—such as building pitches or community centers—leave a lasting legacy, benefiting entire neighborhoods. Programs that employ and empower local talent ensure sustainability and prevent collapse when external funding diminishes.

4. Health and Well-Being

The health benefits of football extend beyond physical fitness. In Zambia, football programs have been used to combat HIV/AIDS by spreading awareness and encouraging testing. The mental health benefits are equally significant, particularly in trauma-affected areas, where football provides a sense of normalcy and hope.

Wherever football improves health, it indirectly alleviates poverty by reducing public healthcare burdens, freeing resources for other pressing needs. In fact in the UK, numerous research is being done in relation to the new UK Football Governance Bill to examine how to measure the real social value of a football club- what does it cover that the state no longer has to?

5. Pathways to Professional Opportunities

While not every grassroots player becomes the next Sadio Mané or Marta, the dream of professional football can still be transformative. Even for those who don’t reach elite levels, exposure to networks, mentorship, and life-changing opportunities can alter life trajectories. Let us not forget that many of the skills one learns on the pitch can translate directly into the job market. While this wasn’t widely recognized 10 or 20 years ago- the idea of dual careers is one that is now established and recognized.

Challenges in Translating Promise into Practice

Despite its potential, using football to alleviate poverty is not without challenges:

• Sustainability: Many programs rely heavily on external funding, making them vulnerable to collapse.
• Access: Rural and remote areas often lack infrastructure or resources for meaningful football programs.
• Short-Term Focus: Initiatives sometimes prioritize immediate outcomes over building long-term systems.
• Limited Data: Without robust metrics, it’s difficult to quantify the impact of football on poverty alleviation.

The Way Forward: Bridging the Gap

To unlock football’s full potential as a poverty alleviation tool, we must:

• Integrate Football with Development Goals: Align football programs with education, health, and employment initiatives.
• Prioritize Local Ownership: Employ local staff and address community-specific needs to ensure sustainability.
• Measure Impact: Develop metrics to track outcomes and refine strategies.
• Foster Partnerships: Collaborate with NGOs, governments, and private sponsors for resources and scalability. We need to build local eco-systems!

Conclusion: Moving Beyond the Narrative

Football is not a panacea, but it is a powerful catalyst. Its true potential lies in the hands of those who use it wisely—building not just players, but communities. The challenge is not in convincing the world that football can alleviate poverty; it’s in providing clear, actionable examples of how it contributes to that goal.

By bridging the gap between narrative and practice, football can become more than a game—it can be a wonderful teammate in giving people a brighter life.

It was 2002, and Brazil had just clinched their record-breaking fifth World Cup title. In Zimbabwe, a nine-year-old boy named Webster sat glued to the TV, captivated by Ronaldo and the magic of the beautiful game. Little did he know, this moment would shape his destiny. As twilight fell and his mother called him to wash away the day’s dirt, Webster began to map out his life in four-year cycles, using future World Cups as guideposts. Secondary school by 2006, A-levels by 2010, and university by 2014—such was the impact of football on his dreams. With only his imagination and passion as tools, Webster’s journey into the world of football had begun.

Fast forward 22 years, and that young boy with big dreams has transformed into a researcher and advocate who has married his love for football with a commitment to social impact. Webster’s career spans groundbreaking research on football and international trade to meaningful work with marginalized communities. His story is a testament to the unifying power of football and its ability to inspire not just ambition, but real, tangible change in the world.

Bonito: Hi Webster, thanks for joining us. Tell us about how your passion for football began and how you were captivated to explore the ways the game could bring about positive changes for society? 

Webster: Thanks for having me! For me the setting is 2002, Brazil have just lifted a record fifth World Cup inspired by Ronaldo. A young 9 year old boy has just finished watching the first world cup of the 21st century without the slightest realization of how this historical experience would shape his destiny. Due to the vagaries of time zones between Asia and my modest landlocked country of Zimbabwe, I am called to bath by my mother at twilight to wash up having just witnessed the trophy presentation. As I do that, I envisage my life before me with the use of future World Cups as my guiding thread, only after my father had informed me it occurred every four years. By my final systemic tally, referenced by 4 year intervals (all World Cup years), my ambitions consist roughly of going to secondary school by 2006, being in A level by 2010 and to be in University by 2014; such was my love for Sport. Thus, I would begin my journey armed with nothing but my idealistic conceptualizations and my 4 year plans.

Twenty-two years on, I can definitely say that my shower daydreaming that cool late afternoon in July somewhat kick-started my mobility towards my involvement in football/sport as I have managed to marry my passion to reason.

Bonito: Why do you think football evokes such powerful sentiments with such a broad range of people all over the world? 

Webster: I believe football evokes powerful sentiments from people the world over as it has something that sets it apart from other sports, whether it be its status as the most played sport globally, the opportunities it creates beyond football (think jobs, inclusion etc), the adoration of players as role models which allow children to dream or the tribalism (rivalries) that characterizes it – the fusion and intersection of all of these makes football have such a powerful reach

Bonito: Tell us about your current research at the University of Malmö regarding football and trade?

Webster: Of course! I am researching on football and international trade to try to understand how football clubs use free trade agreements when sourcing their goods and services (including players) and whether they impress international trade sustainability standards within their supply chains.

Bonito: FIFA and the WTO recently started a partnership, what is the potential impact (positive or negative of such a partnership)?

Webster: This is a great question and this partnership is something I have also been trying to factor into my research as FIFA naturally carries influence. On the positives, this partnership is predicated at harmonizing trade and football by having manufacturing of football products such as shirts, kits etc happening in 4 or 5 African countries with supposedly the most sustainable cotton in the world. A number of positives can be read from this. Firstly, having these products manufactured, then exported from Africa would bring in more GDP for the African countries exporting the products which will be value added, compared to the age long and economically unsustainable practice whereby African countries export raw materials primarily. In general we need to find ways to allow all parts of the world to benefit from the massive economic opportunities that come with growing the football industry. 

Another potential benefit is the globalization of the football industry. For instance, manufacturing often takes place in different regions, which can support local cotton farmers and boost the local manufacturing sector. However, as with most globalized processes, there may be negative externalities, particularly concerning labor standards and the rights of workers in these manufacturing industries.

Bonito: Where do you see the football/sport for social good field heading in the next years? Where do you think academics in this field will focus their research on?

Webster: This is an interesting question. I genuinely think that this field will, if not already, develop in a trajectory that sees sport organizations (football clubs and private companies) as the main player or actors as they are the middle man between producers or  suppliers and society, hence have a major role to play. Furthermore, as politics becomes increasingly intertwined with sports, researchers will need to focus on an emerging angle: beyond the traditional narrative of  regimes using sports for propaganda, their involvement may also reflect elements of “sport for social good.” This trend highlights how gaining legitimacy through sports is likely to increasingly incorporate such dimensions in the future.

Bonito: Can you tell us about a moment in your football (or sport) for social good journey that touched your heart profoundly?

Webster: I worked on a project with the Saudi sport for All organization by consulting on how to attract and retain girls in sport. For me, this was a poignant experience as Nike agreed to partner with Saudi Sport for All organization by providing Nike themed hijabs as we perceived the lack or apparel as  one of the main barriers to female participation in sport. It was refreshing as this exercise resulted in so many girls participating in sport and some also being identified and supported to pursue their chosen sports further at a competitive level.

Bonito: Is there one colleague at your organization or who you have collaborated with who maybe doesn’t always get the spotlight that you would like to shine today and why?

Webster: This would be Franz Atare, who invented the game called Floormatics aimed at inclusion of the blind therefore allowing the blind and those with no visual impairment to compete on a level playing field. 

————————————————————————————————————————————

BIO

Name: Webster Chakawata

Organization (s): Malmö University

Role: Researcher

Favorite Football Club: The Arsenal FC

Dream sport for good organization that you would love to collaborate with on a project: Laureus

 

 

In North America, the sports industry is a  machine fueled by profit, with four of the top five revenue-generating leagues and over 190 professional teams chasing the bottom line. Nowhere is this profit-driven reality more stark than in Oakland, California—a city which had been abandoned by its professional teams, all lured away by promises of greater financial gain. But in this city, despite the heartbreak endured, a defiant spark ignited. In Oakland, a new kind of team was born—not for profit, but for purpose. The Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul emerged with a mission to serve, inspire, and uplift their communities. In 2023, they shattered expectations and made history, raising $3 million USD from 5,000 supporters in the most successful community investment round in U.S. sports history.

Mike Geddes, co-founder and former Chief Purpose Officer of Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul, stands at the forefront of this revolution in purpose-driven sports. Now serving as Vice President of 17 Sport, Mike recently sat down with Bonito to reflect on the transformative journey of Oakland Roots & Soul—and to share his vision for a future where impact, not profit, becomes the true measure of success in the sports world.

Bonito: Mike, thanks so much for joining us! Tell us about how your passion for football began and how you were captivated to explore the ways the game could bring about positive changes for society? 

Mike Geddes: In 2005 I was in Northern Mozambique making a documentary for the BBC about how football was being used to heal the country after the civil war. We had got up to shoot the sunrise, and we noticed that dozens of kids had come out to sit in the dark with us. We thought they were there to look at the sunburned English people, but they were just waiting for the sun to come up. As soon as it did, they started playing football. And they didn’t stop again until it went down. Their community had few schools, no running water and a lack of most civic structures, but football was the thing that brought everyone together. That was the moment I decided that this was way bigger than just sport, and I had to quit my job as a reporter, and get involved in the game myself.

Bonito: That’s incredible Mike, Why do you think football particularly evokes such powerful sentiments with such a broad range of people all over the world?

Mike Geddes: Football connects us to our shared humanity. We have built a society which is designed to isolate us, extract from us and polarize us. Sport – and especially football – breaks down those barriers. It’s revolutionary. The most profound, cross-cultural connections I have had happened on a football pitch. It speaks to us on the most fundamental level, like music. But unlike music, football is the same wherever you go. If you were going to design a tool to connect as many people as possible across every boundary and barrier you can think of, you’d design something like football.

Bonito: You have had a wonderful career working previously for such organizations like Street Football World America, 17 Sport and the Third half. Football as a sport has obviously grown in America-would you say that the use of football as a tool for social impact has also had a correlated rise during the last 10-15 years?

Mike Geddes: Yes, and what’s interesting is seeing the growth of ‘purpose-driven’ pro teams. Pro sports in the USA are not like in other parts of the world. Teams come into existence because an owner wants to buy into a league so they can make money. Where that team plays doesn’t really matter, and if they can make more money by moving the team to another city, that will (and does) happen. Football – or soccer – has the chance to offer a different type of model, and it’s interesting (and inspiring) to see the growth of community-driven clubs like Vermont Green, Minnesota Aurora and Ballard FC in the US and Pacific FC in Canada. These clubs see purpose as a central part of their strategy to be both profitable and sustainable.

Bonito: How did the Oakland Roots project come about and what makes it so unique and successful as a project that bridges the gap between professional football and social impact?

Mike Geddes: Oakland Roots came about because myself and my co-founders thought there was room for a different model of pro sports – one which put the community first, and not the owner or the league. My co-founders are all from Oakland and they believed there would be demand for a pro soccer team in one of the most diverse cities in the United States. But they wanted to build it around a purpose – and they asked if I would be interested to help. Of course I was, because several years previously I had worked with a non-profit called Kick4Life FC in Lesotho. Kick4Life began as a soccer project using the game to teach adolescent health to underserved youth, but over time it turned into a professional club that used its profits to support the social mission. The fact that they had a ‘higher purpose’ than just winning games or making money made them a more successful club, and this was something of an inspiration to me and why I thought this could work in Oakland. Also, Oakland has lost all of its professional teams over the last 10 years – the Raiders (NFL), Warriors (NBA) and Athletics (MLB) have all been moved to other cities by their ownership groups. We thought that if we could give Oakland a team that cared about it, then they would care about the team. And it worked. The reason we have been successful is because we ‘walked the talk’ and stayed true to our promises, and we were able to do that because we found investors who believed in the idea that a club should have a purpose, and a Chief Purpose Officer, and that this would make us a more successful business.

Bonito: Incredible story- what a place to start it also in a city that has suffered so many heartbreaks due to the profit driven sports industry that is so prevalent everywhere but especially in North America. To move on to the broader football for good field- where do you see the football for social good field heading in the next years? Which thematic areas will be most important to deal with and what role do you think professional football clubs will have?

Mike Geddes: I think football is changing rapidly, driven by the hyper-commercialization of the top end of the game brought about by the shift to teams being private equity and sovereign wealth and multi-club ownership. The game is going to become something different, but i think that will create more space for community-focused models that are not just seeking maximal growth at all costs. I hope this means we’ll see a growth in more modest, more sustainable versions of the game. And I believe the most important thematic shift will, and has to be, towards sustainability. Football needs to take a more mature approach to understanding it’s climate impact and that it should embrace its power as a force for good, not continue to bury its head in the sand.

Bonito: Can you tell us about a moment in your football  for social good journey that has an extra special place in your heart?

Mike Geddes: There have been a lot. In 2021 I brought forward the idea that the club should open an equity crowdfunding campaign, which would mean that regular people (not just wealthy ones) could invest even small amounts to become part-owners of the club. It took two years, but we finally launched it in late 2023 with the goal of raising $2M, and just three weeks later we had raised over $3M from over 5,000 new investors, making it the most successful community investment round in US sports history. What touched me deeply about the campaign was the reason people gave for investing – which was the fact that we had put the community first. It was such a great feeling seeing the impact we had had on so many people.

Bonito: It really gives a whole new meaning to the badge of a team when its aim is to serve the community in which its home to. Is there one colleague at your organization or who you have collaborated with who maybe doesn’t always get the spotlight that you would like to shine today and why?

Mike Geddes: My co-founder and our Chief Marketing Officer Edreece Arghandiwal. He’s always positive, always creating and always kind and he embodies our motto – #OaklandFirstAlways

Bonito: Thanks so much for this Mike- this story is one that is close to all of us who believe in the true meaning of football. Also  looking forward to hear about your future endeavors now that you have returned to 17 sport!

Mike Geddes: Thanks and looking forward to follow the Bonito path as well- good luck!

---

About Mike

Organization (s): Formerly the Co-founder and Chief Purpose Officer at Oakland Roots & Soul Sports Club and currently Vice President at 17 Sport

Favorite Football  for good organization apart from your own: Kick4Life FC

Favorite Football Club: Leeds United / Oakland Roots & Soul SC

Dream sport for good organization that you would love to collaborate with on a project: Football for Future