Champions League in a Filipino Province
As we rode down the trail I tapped my dads shoulder to let me off where I saw some kids playing. I hopped off the motorcycle as he continued on to help our friend with his fish pond project in the province outside of Manila for the day.
I walked over to the kids near the small clearing and so began one of many moments in my life where I would realize that sport can break down barriers.
There were differences in language, age, race and gender but the moment the ball hit the ground no one cared, all that mattered was playing football.
We selected captains, split into teams, made goals with coconuts, kicked off and didn't look back. Our chosen teams Real Madrid and Manchester United were facing off in a Champions League final in a rural Filipino province with some chickens, cows and dogs in attendance. After a few hours of sweaty football with bloodied knees, high fives and goals our crew had become best friends.
What seemed like 10 minutes later my dad rode back by as it was getting dark and we cruised home. I dreamt of Zidane like moves that night crushing each shot through the coconut goal posts into the swamp where I'd no doubt have to swim in to get the ball, but each goal was worth it and I couldn't wait for the next game. Luckily over the next 25 years there would be hundreds.
There are many lessons learned in moments like this such as: teamwork, confidence, leadership, fair play, respect, how to deal with and learn from failure, character development....I could go on forever.
What was most important was that we all shared a moment where nothing else mattered, we were free to dream and create.
These moments have built who I am.
Our goal at Petrichor Football Association is to create moments like these for the communities we work with. In a culture where connection, collaboration and teamwork seems to be increasingly rare using the power of sport to break down barriers is needed even more.
When I think of my why and my motivation for working in sports development it always comes back to how a game has helped me connect with others who I may have otherwise never gotten to know. The connection point looks a little different these days as it may be at a conference, stadium or coffee shop but it all stems back to football.
From the moment I can remember playing football as a kid in the Philippines I have kept these lessons close to my heart and the common theme throughout my journey has been using the power of sport to bring people together. When we're together and going in the same direction we tend to get along better. Not that everyone on a team needs to agree or think the same way, the opposite is often true and can create a powerful blend of talent with the same goal.
Good friends from Burnley Football Club, LaLiga, Petrichor Football Associationand Goals for Girls share a moment in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Hopefully you see these values in what we do and how we do it at Petrichor. Our approach from day one has been built on a decentralized model focused on collaboration, building trust and working together. We're lucky enough to work with leaders that help keep us accountable in the process and we do our best to make decisions as a group in a transparent way. If we're not modeling collaboration, healthy conflict resolution and teamwork - how can we expect the kids we work with to learn it?
These issues are seen when you take a step back as well. I've found in our journey that many clubs and groups do not have collaboration built into their values.
If investors and sponsors respond at all it is often met with "what you can do for me" instead of "what can we do together?
We need to be better at this. We need to show the world what can happen through value aligned partnership. Most importantly we need to model this for the next generation. The football infrastructure system out of balance in many ways and keeps people down. We're doing our best to make small improvements each day that can start a movement of change and innovate towards a better future.
Who's in?
Now you know my WHY, what's yours?