GOALS Haiti: Football, youth leadership and stronger communities
By combining football with education and leadership development, UEFA Foundation for Children partner GOALS Haiti is creating opportunities for young people in rural communities to thrive and contribute to lasting social impact
Growing up in rural Haiti, Rosemirlande Romelus had few opportunities to participate in sport. She would sometimes join local children for a game, but it was not until she was 14, when GOALS Haiti came to her village, that she had the chance to play football regularly.
What she found was much more than a place to play. Over the next four years, Rosemirlande became part of a welcoming, inclusive community where she built her confidence and leadership skills.
As her confidence grew, so did her responsibilities. Rosemirlande became a team captain, then an assistant coach. Today, as one of GOALS’ coaches, she has helped guide more than 150 girls along their own journeys.
Helping every child fulfil their potential
Founded in 2010, GOALS Haiti operates across three rural communities in Haiti where lack of access to basic infrastructure, high unemployment levels and recurring natural disasters can make life for young people extremely challenging.
GOALS Haiti’s response is to offer spaces and football fields where children can play, learn, grow and lead. Football sits at the heart of the programme, providing a platform to engage participants in educational sessions on topics including health, gender equality and environmental action. Literacy tutoring, scholarships and nutritious meals are also provided, and contribute to achieving GOALS Haiti’s vision: a country where every child is able to reach their full potential.
Young people are encouraged to make a difference in their communities, too. Participants have planted more than 7,000 trees and help grow produce in community gardens. The programme’s impact can also be seen in wider social outcomes: teen pregnancy among GOALS Haiti participants has fallen from the community baseline of 7% to 0%.
Learn more about the UEFA Foundation for Children’s support for GOALS Haiti
Building a sustainable future
GOALS Haiti is designed not only to support young people today, but equip them to build stronger, healthier communities. Leadership development is central to that approach, with more than 200 participants having graduated from GOALS Haiti’s Young Leaders Programme.
That focus helps make GOALS Haiti’s impact lasting. Seventeen former participants now work as coaches or staff, using their own experiences to support the next generation of young people.
Rosemirlande is one of them. For her, the chance to motivate others and inspire them to reach for opportunities that may otherwise have seemed out of reach is especially powerful.
"My proudest achievement is that all of my players have graduated from high school and continue to apply themselves to learn more,” she says. “Football gave me more than a game; it gave me the confidence to lead and the opportunity to help the next generation of girls believe in themselves.”
Football gave me more than a game; it gave me the confidence to lead and the opportunity to help the next generation of girls believe in themselves.”
- Rosemirlande Romelus, GOALS Haiti coach