SOCCER STARS Rachel Yankey of Arsenal and Fabrice Muamba of Bolton Wanderers recently kicked off the Flow Legends Community Legacy Outreach programme in the Caribbean.
The duo visited to Tobago and Trinidad respectively and proved to be hugely popular with the young people they worked with.
The outreach programme sponsored by Flow is part of the British Airways Legends Tobago Football Challenge, a premier football event which will take place in Tobago in June from June 15 -22. The Legends tournament is being hosted by British Airways and the Division of Tourism and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly. There will be 64 ex-players from the English Premier League who will play a series of six per side matches as well as provide coaching to budding footballers throughout Tobago.
Muamba played for Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers but his career was cut short due to medical reasons, he now spends his time giving motivational talks to youth around the globe. Yankey is one of the United Kingdom's most a successful female footballers who plays for the Arsenal Ladies team and the national team.
While in Tobago and Trinidad, the pair led coaching clinics at Carnbee/Mt Pleasant with St Clair Coaching School, Scarborough Secondary School and Canaan/Bon Accord 1975 Phoenix, Tobago. They also spent time with students of the St Augustine Secondary School and Flow staff at their Cunupia Operations Centre in Trinidad.
The respective coaches of the football clubs who attended the sessions were grateful for the pointers provided by the experienced players and were excited, particularly for the support of Yankey who shared a special time with the female footballers who were present.
Yankey said: “We’re happy to spend some time with the kids of Trinidad and Tobago and share our experiences with them. We know and we’re inspired by Dwight Yorke in particular so it’s exciting to come and see where he lived and developed his talent and passion.”
Over the three day period, the outreach programme touched approximately 130 kids mostly in Tobago but also in Trinidad.
Brian Collins, managing director of Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited, operators of Flow and Columbus Business Solutions said: “Flow is delighted to be part of this historical initiative, which will impact not only the lives of hundreds of boys and girls who love football, but also the tourism sector and the economic development of Tobago and by default Trinidad as well.
"We’ve had a successful relationship thus far with the Division of Tourism and Transportation and look forward to introducing Flow services to Tobago in the not too distant future.”
The Flow Legends Community Legacy Outreach Programme will continued on the weekend of May 30 in Tobago with local coaches visiting other communities paired with the Legends teams.
The outreach programme will culminate on June 16 - 17 when all 64 legends will arrive in Tobago and visit the communities for extended clinics.
The Legends will be playing for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and there will be a team of Caribbean All Stars and Professional Footballers Associations (PFA) All Stars.