Future Goals encourages children to take up football while promoting sustainability and environmental awareness. At the heart of the programme are recycled materials and an inspiring educational curriculum. Participating schools receive essential football equipment that has often been lacking in the past, including footballs and goals. The goals themselves are made from discarded fishing nets and recycled plastic waste.
Over the past eight weeks, thousands of primary school pupils have taken part in a varied programme both on and off the pitch. Classroom lessons were combined with football training sessions, while a schools' football tournament also formed part of the initiative.
The culmination of the eight-week programme came on Monday June 8, World Oceans Day, with the unveiling of a series of sustainable artworks. The pieces were created from plastic waste and abandoned fishing nets collected by pupils from 21 schools in partnership with local recycling company Limpi.
Future Coach Clayton Goeloe reflected positively on the programme’s impact: "The love of football lives in the hearts of families across this island. There could not have been a better way to conclude this year’s programme than by giving every school the opportunity to showcase its talents both on and off the pitch."
Ajax and Sandals Resorts have been working together on the Future Goals programme in Curaçao since 2022. Last year, the partnership was extended until at least June 2028. To date, the initiative has recycled approximately 3,400 kilograms of plastic waste, while participants have collected more than 1.7 million plastic bottle caps and 314 square metres of fishing nets.
Cas Biesta, Commercial Director of Ajax, said: "It has been four fantastic years of collaboration. We believe young people are the future and have the power to shape that future. Educating young people about life skills and caring for the island alongside our partner Sandals Resorts is something we consider extremely important and is deeply embedded in the philosophy of our club."
