Football and fiscal fun for the visually impaired

A tinkling sound inside special footballs and assistance from staff coaches of the Liverpool FC Foundation, with help from Standard Chartered Bank Thailand, enabled the children to control the balls during a recent football clinic.

As part of the Liverpool FC Asia Tour 2015 in the middle of this month, Standard Chartered Bank Thailand partnered with the Liverpool FC Foundation to hold a unique football-clinic-cum-financial-education workshop for the children at the school.

They were taught fun-filled activities, including how to control and throw the ball to their buddies.

The children were enthusiastic about the training, especially when they were greeted by Liverpool FC legends Ian Rush and Dietmar Hamann, who also helped out at the clinic.

Hamann – or "Didi" – witnessed this kind of clinic in action in Bangkok two years ago, and he thought the Thai children had improved their skills greatly since then.

"The kids are able to play football. They are [very] well looked after, so I think that’s the main thing. You want to give them the best care and teach them the [football] skills. It’s very important," he said.

He has been teaching children with visual impairment across the world, and feels proud of what they have been able to achieve, he added.

"It’s great to see the kids enjoy playing football. At least we can help improve their football skills and make it happen. I’m more than willing to do [that]," said the former Germany international.

Lyn Kok, CEO and president, Thailand and Greater Mekong, Standard Chartered Bank, said that as the shirt sponsor of the five-time European champions, the bank was leveraging on this opportunity to create a meaningful life-skills session for the school.

Having the coaches from the Liverpool FC Foundation to teach the children here gave them an inspiration to learn and focus, she said.

"Learning to play soccer is just a way of gaining confidence, balance and understanding about sensory skill because they have to listen to the ball when it is moving and tinkling.

"Some of the things they have learned basically give them wonderful life-skills that they can develop with them," she explained.

This month’s activity was also tied into the bank’s "Seeing Is Believing" global charitable initiative to prevent blindness, she added.

"I’m also hoping that word of mouth will continue, and will also help bring focus to blindness and awareness of what blind people have to go through," said the chief executive.

Hopefully, people will understand what it is like to be part of a movement that can help people develop their confidence, and more impor

tantly, give them the ability to interact normally in society, said Kok.

At the event, 40 Standard Chartered Thailand employees also partnered 40 students from the school in a workshop that saw them honing their football skills while sharpening their financial knowledge.

This is part of the bank’s commitment to be "Here for Good" and create a lasting impact in the local community. The school is a long-term partner of the bank in a local employee volunteering programme.