The EL Play Program was created as a solution to three critical problems:
1. 800 million children from low-income backgrounds do not have access to quality education, and end up ill-equipped with the critical life and leadership skills required to thrive at work and in life.
2. Girls face discrimination, violence and lack of agency - at home, at school and in the community. They face barriers to education, financial independence, sexual and reproductive rights, etc.
3. Paternalistic norms come in the way of boys and men learning to value girls and women as equals.
EL-PLAY challenges gender stereotypes through a unique team-sport format. The innovation fosters gender equality and inclusion by breaking down societal norms that often limit girls' potential. The game and the teaching methods as well as the competition involve parents and community members, making it a visually powerful way to demonstrate what equality and diversity means.
When girls are seen and celebrated on the football field, it sends a powerful message to communities about their potential in all areas of life.
In rural areas where this model has been implemented, we've seen improved confidence and leadership among girls, but also increased school attendance and community support for gender equality. Ultimately, we believe that when children play together without bias, they learn to lead together—and that’s the kind of change our society urgently needs.
The Program trains and empowers local youth from the same communities as the students to become coaches, ensuring cultural connection and relatability. Using the unique EL Play curriculum, coaches receive structured lesson plans for mixed-gender sessions and are trained to implement them with confidence and impact.
We partner with under-resourced schools and enroll the entire Grade 4 cohort, ensuring no child is left behind. Each coach leads a batch of 20 students, divided into two teams with equal numbers of girls and boys—promoting gender equality from the start.
Football equipment and resources—jerseys, studs, safety gear, journals—are made available to all, breaking barriers of access. Over six years, students engage in 90-minute sessions twice a week, with 48 sessions annually. Each session concludes with reflection, helping children connect learnings to school and life. Experiential pedagogy ensures children learn by doing, while a safe, fun, and inclusive environment nurtures both skills and values.
Coaches are mentored year-round to ensure quality. The program culminates in mixed-gender tournaments where 6-a-side teams (3 girls and 3 boys) compete in league and knockout formats, leading to a national final. Spirit circles after each match reinforce respect, teamwork, and leadership.
At its heart, EL Play inspires children to defy the impossible—breaking cycles of poverty, overcoming inequality, and rising as confident leaders.
Over the past 10 years, the EL Play program has transformed the lives of over 15,000 students, expanding steadily through strong partnerships with government schools and local education departments. Today, it reaches 6,000 students across 7 cities and 50 villages in 4 countries in Asia and Africa, with its mixed-gender tournament recognized as the largest of its kind in the world.
Designed to address the urgent need for life skills development, EL Play is adaptable across diverse cultural and geographic contexts. Seamlessly integrated into school schedules, the program is formally recognized by education departments. Its standardized curriculum, web-based app, and engagement of local youth as coaches make it a highly scalable, low-cost, high-impact model for underserved communities—proving that with the right approach, transformative education can reach every child.
As EL Play expanded across diverse geographies, we encountered challenges that demanded adaptation and innovation to meet local needs. For instance, nutritional deficiencies made full-size pitches and long games impractical, so we tailored pitch sizes and game lengths by age.
Parental consent for mixed-gender play was another barrier. To address this, we introduced experiential parent orientations, allowing them to experience the program just as their children do, fostering trust and buy-in.
To make the program aspirational and reduce economic barriers, we launched student scholarships for tournament winners, encouraging continued education and motivating both students and parents.
Three years ago, we introduced specialized coach training to equip them with the skills to lead mixed-gender teams effectively. Team composition is carefully structured to ensure gender equality, with 50% of teams having a girl captain and 50% having a girl goalkeeper—embedding leadership and inclusion at every level.
The first step is carefully identifying schools that serve underprivileged children and where leadership and staff demonstrate genuine enthusiasm to collaborate. Typically, we select at least four such schools, following clear criteria: each must serve under-resourced communities, have at least 20 Grade 4 students, and maintain gender balance with roughly equal numbers of girls and boys.
Once schools and student groups are finalized, our team works closely with local partners to plan and implement the program for students in Grades 4 to 9. This includes orientation sessions for school staff, selecting and training local youth as coaches, and adapting the curriculum to meet each cohort’s learning levels and needs. All materials, resources, and continuous support are provided to ensure a seamless, high-impact rollout.
Evidence from our program reports shows that this structured approach results in measurable improvements in life skills, confidence, and collaboration among students. Trying EL Play is more than implementing a curriculum—it is a step toward empowering young children to lead, collaborate, and dream big, while providing a meaningful, lasting impact for the entire school community.
