African Passions: Education and Sport for a Better Life

African Passions (AP) is a small but dedicated UK charity aiming to unlock opportunities for young Africans by promoting education through sports. Co-founded by Aaron Zipper and Harry Tyndall, AP gives students the chance to join football teams that play in a professional-style league. In return, they must agree to attend school and do well.

AP works with underdeveloped communities that have great potential. Though members are good-natured, generous, enthusiastic about education, and possess community values, they face numerous obstacles that prevent them from realizing their true potential. African Passions hopes to serve as the stepping stone that will enable these bright communities and individuals to overcome the hurdles in their way. The charity's community projects keep children engaged, out of trouble, and off the street by providing something that's fun, enriching, and productive – sport.


In 2010, AP's first project was launched in rural Kisii, Kenya. The project comprises eight 11-a-side football clubs, each run by a volunteer coach/captain/manager who organizes, trains, and oversees the players. Each team is also affiliated with a local school to help keep track of the players' attendance and grades. Students who increase their academic performances are rewarded with the opportunity to belong to a team, have a mentor, and own their own football kit and boots. They also gain hope, optimism, and key life skills such as teamwork, responsibility, discipline, punctuality, self-confidence, and more.

African Passions expanded into South Africa, particularly the township of Langa, in 2012. Teams are taken to world-class facilities in nearby Cape Town once a week to play their league games. As with the Kenyan project, each club is managed by an older member who also supervises the members' academic attendance and acts as their mentor.

To date, AP has raised thousands of sports merchandise such as kits, boots, and balls, as well as money that has mostly gone directly to the source of need.