THE Muslim Women's Sports Foundation (MWSF) is celebrating following a £235k grant awarded by the Football Foundation, the UK's largest sports charity.
The grant will allow the the group to embark on the the Born to Succeed project - a three year plan aiming to increase the number of black, minority ethnic women in sport.
The MWSF hopes to provide facilities and support that take into consideration religious and cultural sensitivities of black, minority ethnic women - by developing a number of futsal and basketball clubs, introducing summer and year-round leagues, engaging in school outreach programmes, conducting research projects and in recruiting and training volunteers, coaches and referees.
It will also allow increasing access to player pathways, promoting healthy living in the community, providing alternative social activities in mainstream society, promoting cohesion and understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, and developing role models for future generations of women.
Chairperson of the MWSF, Rimla Akhtar said: "The fact is that there are many Muslim women in this country who love to play sport and compete - this enthusiasm has been made clear in the work we have carried out so far.
"However, there has been a definite lack of funding and resources such as facilities - that cater for the needs of groups like MWSF.
"This grant, we believe, is the first of its kind and will enable the MWSF to build a foundation on which future generations of minority ethnic women can grow and succeed when it comes to sport. It is only the beginning of a much larger effort to develop healthy and confident women and girls in the UK.
"We thank the Football Foundation for leading the way in supporting the sporting development of this unique group of women and girls."
The launch of the Born to Succeed project will take place on tomorrow (31 October 2009) at the Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, Queen's Drive, Acton , between 10 to 11.15 am.
Source: http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/sport/s/1180021_muslim_womens_sports_foundation_score_with_football_grant
The grant will allow the the group to embark on the the Born to Succeed project - a three year plan aiming to increase the number of black, minority ethnic women in sport.
The MWSF hopes to provide facilities and support that take into consideration religious and cultural sensitivities of black, minority ethnic women - by developing a number of futsal and basketball clubs, introducing summer and year-round leagues, engaging in school outreach programmes, conducting research projects and in recruiting and training volunteers, coaches and referees.
It will also allow increasing access to player pathways, promoting healthy living in the community, providing alternative social activities in mainstream society, promoting cohesion and understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, and developing role models for future generations of women.
Chairperson of the MWSF, Rimla Akhtar said: "The fact is that there are many Muslim women in this country who love to play sport and compete - this enthusiasm has been made clear in the work we have carried out so far.
"However, there has been a definite lack of funding and resources such as facilities - that cater for the needs of groups like MWSF.
"This grant, we believe, is the first of its kind and will enable the MWSF to build a foundation on which future generations of minority ethnic women can grow and succeed when it comes to sport. It is only the beginning of a much larger effort to develop healthy and confident women and girls in the UK.
"We thank the Football Foundation for leading the way in supporting the sporting development of this unique group of women and girls."
The launch of the Born to Succeed project will take place on tomorrow (31 October 2009) at the Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, Queen's Drive, Acton , between 10 to 11.15 am.
Source: http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/sport/s/1180021_muslim_womens_sports_foundation_score_with_football_grant
