Coaching A Community: Arif’s Story

Thanks to the skills gained through our Side by Side programme in Thailand, Coach Arif is transforming the lives of children in the Haroon community in Bangkok and inspiring a new generation of children to strive for a brighter future. 

For over two years, Arif has been working with Right To Play in Thailand as part of our Side By Side programme with the Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Foundation. Despite working full-time, Arif dedicates his spare time in the evenings and at weekends as a community coach to encourage young people in his community to gain new life skills on and off the pitch.

At the beginning of his life-changing journey, Arif was a self-confessed football enthusiast with a dream to teach the children in the Haroon community and provide them with good opportunities. Using his passion for football, and the valuable training from the Side by Side team in Thailand, Arif has developed the skills and confidence to lead training sessions for children.

“Side By Side has played a transformative role in my life, unlocking my full potential, and bringing a sense of fulfilment in my work. I’ve faced struggles with self-confidence and doubts about my abilities in the past. The team has provided me with the necessary confidence to thrive and excel as a community coach,” Arif says.

He believes that by helping children develop their skills on the pitch, and as part of a disciplined team, his tireless efforts can support them to grow and contribute to a better society. “I’ve gained invaluable insights into enriching children's lives, honing their sports skills, and cultivating leadership qualities," Arif explains.

By encouraging the children to strive for their goals, and pursue successful careers on and off the pitch, coach Arif wants to empower them to claim the bright futures they deserve. And he intends to use his love of football to inspire and transform more children’s lives and opportunities in the future.

“My goal is to make a positive impact on the children in the Haroon community, my own community where I grew up, so that they can all experience happiness."

Side by Side in Thailand

Right To Play and LFC Foundation have been working Side by Side In Thailand since 2020 to support disadvantaged children in urban Bangkok.

Working with DKSH, a leading market expansion services provider, Right To Play and LFC Foundation have rehabilitated spaces across different communities in Bangkok to provide safe and accessible areas for young people to play and learn.

As we transition our programmatic expertise to local partners in Thailand, we would like to express our sincere thanks to our dedicated partners, LFC Foundation and DKSH, for their invaluable support in making a life-changing impact.

Together, we’ve renovated four community play spaces and provided sport and play sessions for more than 2,300 children and young people, empowering them with crucial life skills like leadership, self-confidence, communication and resilience.

We’ve also trained more than 110 youth leaders to lead sports and play sessions for their peers, and our work has been recognised at the highest level by the Football Association of Thailand, receiving the ‘Grassroots Award’ in 2022.

Right To Play is pleased to be able to continue to work in partnership with LFC Foundation, supporting some of the most vulnerable children and communities in Tanzania and Senegal and expanding our partnership into other countries of high need around the world. Together, we're achieving incredible transformations in communities worldwide.