Community is a key part of Nike’s athlete partnerships and it’s also core to FBB’s holistic outlook. “As part of our Football Beyond Borders program curriculum, we look specifically at what community means,” Baxendale says. “Exploring this is useful for [students] to realize who they can turn to in times of difficulty.”
Being active across the U.K., Nike connected Marcus Rashford with the program earlier this year to launch a new branch of the program. Since then, the football star has been supporting the Manchester faction of the initiative. Speaking on the impact of FBB Baxendale says, “This program has given young people a strong sense of belonging in school.” Whether it’s students at risk of exclusion or instilling confidence in introverted young people, FBB has provided support across the board through long-term programs “built around relationships and young people’s passions.”
Having first got into boxing during her teenage years as a means to get fit, Ramla Ali has since become one of the leading figures in the sport. “Boxing helped me gain self-confidence. It gave me purpose and allowed me to connect with individuals that I wouldn’t necessarily have done outside of the gym,” she says. But from the time Ali first stepped into a gym, one thing she noticed was a lack of representation, “Not only were there not a lot of girls that looked like me, but there weren’t a lot of women in the gym full stop,” she recalls.
“Only 0.0001% of the world’s population can call themselves an Olympian, that’s something I’ll forever be proud of,” Ali says of being called up for Tokyo 2020. Already holding the accolade of first Muslim woman to win a British boxing title, she was the first boxer to represent Somalia at the Olympics — ever. “It was an incredible feeling because I’ve always said that representation is important. You can’t be what you can’t see. It inspires a whole new wave of young girls, proving that you can be anything you want to be.”
“The moment I picked up my first set of boxing gloves, I was hooked.”
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