Knight and Williams happy to give back
Published:Saturday | December 21, 2019 | 12:25 AMDaniel Wheeler/Gleaner Writer
Jamaican internationals Amal Knight and Devon Williams believe they have a role to play in guiding the future of their younger counterparts.
The pair were speaking at the launch of the 2019 Game of Life Charity Games at Mary Seacole Hall on the campus of The University of the West Indies, Mona on Thursday. Organisers say the fourth staging of the football festival which will take place at Ashenheim Stadium at Jamaica College on January 11, is a showcase of the top talent from the junior to senior level. They aim to raise funds for sporting equipment for underprivileged children. Knight and Williams are ambassadors for the event as part of the non-profit organisation The Game of Life Foundation.
Knight says being able to give children from troubled communities an opportunity to play will have lasting change in their lives.
“You have several young men in the country that don’t have proper equipment or proper shoes,” Knight said. “Being a part of the foundation where we can donate those stuff, and the child feel welcome, it brings a joy to them and to the school.”
Growth
He said that the move to Ashenheim signifies the growth of the competition, being able to possibly generate more donations to further the foundation’s mission and to give the youngsters more exposure for future opportunities.
“Each year it gets bigger,” he said. “These kids are in grade six, and you probably don’t know, a high-school coach is at the games and he wants this kid.”
Williams, who plays in the United States in the second tier United Soccer League with Louisville City FC, expressed similar sentiments that football can prevent troubled youth from going down what he describes as a dangerous path.
“That’s the main aim of this foundation,” Williams said. “[To give] kids that don’t have the resources or the ability, [the opportunity] to have new boots or a ball to play some ball. If some kids don’t have, maybe we can offer some so they can do something they love instead of going another route. Instead of going left, you can give them a ball and they’ll go right.
“Football has done a lot for me and is the reason I am where I am now, as a professional player. This is one way of giving back for me and I am humbled to be a part of a group of players who believe in giving back to the sport through youth development”
Andre Blake, Oneil Fisher, Allando Brown, Damion Lowe, and Junior Flemmings are the other national senior players who are Game of Life Foundation ambassadors and will also take part in the all day event.