The All Nepal Football Association is formally inaugurating the FIFA Football For Schools programme at Dasharath Stadium on July 31.

Football for Schools (F4S) is a FIFA-run programme, in collaboration with UNESCO, which aims to contribute to the education, development and empowerment of around 700 million children.

Similarly, the programme has been designed to promote targeted life skills and competencies through football and contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and other priorities.

As part of the programme in Nepal, the country’s football governing body ANFA is distributing 32,640 footballs to 1,072 schools from 77 districts.

“Alongside the distribution of footballs, the F4S programme will assist in providing training to coaches and teachers to make football-related education enjoyable and pragmatic,” the ANFA said in a press conference organised on Monday.

ANFA is also coordinating with the ministries of Youth and Sports alongside Education, Science and Technology to implement the programme effectively.

As part of the F4S programme, which includes the provision of equipment (such as Adidas footballs) to be distributed to schools, it also comes with a free digital application (available on Google Play and Apple App Store) and an online learning platform featuring relevant content for programme stakeholders.

“The app contains detailed content and guidance on managing and delivering F4S activities to boys and girls aged 4-7, 8-11 and 12-14,” the programme states on its website. “This includes a series of easy-to-follow videos and instructions, which combine football with life skills.

IFA Football For Schools’ manager Antonio Buenano Sanchez and Alberto Giacomini, a F4S official, were also present in the press conference on Monday.