Standard Chartered launches ‘Go Forward’ soccer camp for inner city youth

Standard Chartered launched its ‘Go Forward’ programme – an initiative the Bank has embarked on in partnership with Liverpool Football Club (LFC) to discover soccer talent and afford opportunities for financial literacy to inner city communities – in Sri Lanka on 15 September 2012 at the Maligawatte Municipal Council Grounds.

The ‘Go Forward’ initiative in Sri Lanka is being conducted in partnership with the Football Federation of Sri Lanka and Thaarunyata Hetak. The launching ceremony was attended by John Rankin, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and other distinguished invitees, Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, Chief Executive Officer, and senior management, of Standard Chartered Bank.

“The bank’s ‘Go Forward’ initiative together with LFC, in Sri Lanka, will aim to reach out to 1000 of Colombo’s inner city youth between the ages of 8 to 15 years within one year. The initiative’s objectives are to popularise the game of football and identify potential talent, and to empower/educate the youth on financial literacy via the soccer camps conducted in various parts of the island. Liverpool Football Club has committed to fly down coaches later this year for a soccer clinic – an opportunity for the youth to learn, and demonstrate their talent,” said Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank.  

Standard Chartered has been the sponsor of Liverpool Football Club since July 2010. Since becoming sponsors, the Bank has teamed up with LFC to raise awareness and funds for avoidable blindness and visual impairment - joining forces on everything from global soccer clinics to half time activities involving visually impaired young people.

The ‘Go Forward’ initiative aims to conduct special coaching camps in six inner-city venues. Its ultimate aim is to identify and select a team representing the top talent from within this group and to this end, soccer matches will be played on a round robin basis and two final teams will be selected. The best of these players – the Sri Lanka Go Forward Team – will thereafter play matches against school and club teams.