How It Started

Joe was just 13 when he saw the film Cry Freedom but the images stayed with him. 17 years later he visited a Johannesburg township and bought a football for children who were playing barefoot with a bunch of rags scrunched into a ball. Youngsters ran from the nearby 'shacks' to join in. That image stayed with him too. Later, working as Director of the Football Performance Programme at South Nottingham College he was invited to take students to a tournament in South Africa. With 30 footballs stored in his house and powerful images stored in his heart, he saw an opportunity to return and make something positive happen. Joe teamed up with work colleague and close friend Gareth Norman to prepare for the first project in December 2004. They turned it round in just under 4 months! In 2005, 16 students and 3 staff took the 30 deflated balls and some football strips and joined the Premier Cup football championships (reaching the last 16) in Cape Town. When not competing, they coached and played with the children of Guguletu, Cape Town. They were welcomed with joy. The returning students spoke of their life changing experience.

Balls to Poverty was born and the legacy continues for the students of today to enjoy and protect.

Committed to continuing his work in the townships of South Africa, the 'slums' of Uganda and across disadvantaged communities of Nottingham, Joe regularly accepts invitations from other schools, colleges, universities and business organisations to share his experiences and the story.