Courtesy: Mathaba News


Muslim women win UK sports grant

30/10/2009

The Muslim Women`s Sports Foundation (MWSF) in Britain has won a grant to build on its pioneering success in developing local futsal and basketball clubs for ethnic minority women.

London, Oct 30, IRNA -- MWSF chair Rimla Akhtar said that she believed the award of £235,000 ($370,000) from the Football Foundation, the UK’s largest sports charity is the first of its kind and will help future generations of ethnic minority women to succeed in sport.

“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,” Aktar said.

She suggested that the grant to be used to develop facilities is only the beginning of a much larger effort to develop healthy and confident women and girls in the UK.

MWSF was founded in 2001 by Muslim News editor Ahmed Versi with the overarching aim to enable Muslim women to participate in a variety of sports without compromising their Islamic values.

The Football Foundation’s chief executive Paul Thorogood said he wanted to warmly congratulate the club and the local Football Association for their “hard work and dedication in securing this award.”

“Sport is playing a central role in helping people to stay fit, strengthen communities and promote responsibility amongst young people,” Thorogood said.

The grant will allow the MWSF to embark on the ‘Born to Succeed’ project - a three year plan aiming to increase the number of ethnic minority women in sport, which is being launched in London on Saturday.

With the funding, it is hoping to provide facilities and support that take into consideration religious and cultural sensitivities of women from different backgrounds.

Its aim is create summer and all-year round leagues by developing the number of futsal and basketball clubs that includes school outreach programs.

MWSF also seeks to promote cohesion and understanding between non-Muslim and Muslim communities by offering alternative social activities in mainstream society and developing role models for future generations of black and minority ethnic women.







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com