GOALS- The Gift of Soccer to Armenian Girls

Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS) and empowers young girls to see themselves as Armenia’s leaders of tomorrow. They are the only NGO working in the regions of Armenia to use sport for education outside the classroom. Research shows girls who play sports have better mental health, higher confidence levels, improved teamwork and communication skills, increased graduation rates, and leadership skills. With your donation, you make all of that possible for the girls of Armenia.

GOALS directly impacts more than 2,000 girls and boys in 65 communities. Their goal is to increase their impact to every region of the country by expanding their co-ed After-School programs to 50 communities.

GOALS needs supporters of every kind. They want donations, fundraiser sponsors, and volunteers. If you are interested or have questions about where and how GOALS works you can contact them directly at Lorik@goalsarmenia.org.

Investing in GOALS is an investment in the future women leaders of Armenia … and remember, a little bit goes a long way.

Sponsor a League
Our leagues are designed to give young women the chance to play soccer, build confidence and teamwork skills, as well as change public perception of women’s sports. Leagues consist of a minimum of four teams with a nine or more players on each team aged 12-17. Each team is headed by an Armenian coach, who signs a contract committing to one-year of training their team a minimum once-per-week of the season (March – May; September – November) for one hour per session. Teams travel and play one competitive game per week. Sponsoring a league provides all travel costs, referees, nurses, venue space, and all the equipment needed to hold trainings; jerseys, socks, footballs, cones, and pennies for an entire league. Currently we have leagues in Yeghegnadzor, Alaverdi, Goris, and Dilijan. – $3,000 (for a year).

Sponsor a Camp
It’s safe to say there are not many summer sport camp opportunities for girls in Armenia. GOALS leadership summer camps are implemented in areas where GOALS hopes to operate on a longer-term basis, in order to excite the community and motivate the girls to continue playing soccer. Our summer camps are 3 full days and each day consists of sport for social impact games that address gender equity, tolerance, diversity, human rights, and whatever issues the community is facing. Technical drills, lunch, and a leadership seminar including inspiring local guest speakers follow the sessions. Camps bring together communities that often don’t interact and spark the interest that leads to more GOALS programming in the region. – $1,500

Sponsor a Team
Teams are designed to help girls build new friendships, teamwork, and skills to compete. Teams have the opportunity to travel to Yerevan and participate in cross-cultural events. Each team needs coaches, equipment and travel. We currently have 36 teams and will be creating at least ten more in 2018. Sponsoring a team supports these needs for two full seasons/1 year. – $500​

Sponsor a Player
Sponsoring a player is an easy way to make a big impact through a small donation. This donation will pay for one girls uniform, socks, and travel to competitive games – $50

GOALS has already received a grant from the US Democracy Commission for part of this program, in addition to support from COAF and World Vision. The overall budget of this project is $33,500 of which they need $15,000.