Chelsea's Buchanan to help fund female players in single-parent families with FIFA's help
MANCHESTER, England :Chelsea's Canada defender Kadeisha Buchanan knows what it feels like to dream big while living with limited means having grown up around Toronto as the youngest of seven daughters to a single mother, moving from house-to-house.
Soccer became Buchanan’s escape. But the costs were daunting. She always chose new soccer boots over back-to-school shoes. She often asked teammates for rides to training and games.
Buchanan is now launching a foundation for girls in single-parent homes to help fund their soccer goals, and is one of 14 female players around the world who are part of the FIFA Player Impact Programme unveiled on Friday.
“This project hits home," the 32-year-old said in an interview with Reuters. "I'm super passionate about it, because this is basically my life story.
"I lived in Toronto, Mississauga, Georgetown, Brampton. I just moved around from house-to-house. Mom (Melsadie Tate), being Jamaican, it was difficult for her to find a job, we ended up in government housing. I remember a team email that said, ‘Kadeisha Buchanan, your fees are still due.’
"There were a lot of mouths to feed. But my mother really hustled, she asked friends and family to help with travel, registration fees and uniforms. So, it really took a community to get me where I am today through football.”
Those experiences helped shape her foundation.
GETTING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Armed with an initial $25,000 plus guidance from soccer's global governing body FIFA, Buchanan plans to provide financial assistance and mentorship to 12 girls aged 12 to 16, to "help them get to the next level, whether it's going pro or going to America on a full ride scholarship.”
Players had to pitch their ideas to FIFA, who also selected Melchie Dumornay (Haiti), Gaelle Enganamouit (Cameroon), Formiga (Brazil), Seba Tawfiq (Saudi Arabia), Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi), Lydia Williams (Australia), Saki Kumagai (Japan), Mary Earps and Alessia Russo (England), Tierna Davidson (U.S.), Malia Steinmetz (New Zealand), Laura Georges (France/Guadeloupe) and Khadija Shaw (Jamaica).
For FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, the initiative is about helping players extend their legacy beyond the game.
“Players leave an impact on the pitch, but they also want and care so much about creating a legacy and giving this forward,” Ellis told Reuters.
“My hope (through Buchanan's foundation) is finding the next Kadeisha Buchanan and helping her. What I know about these players is it matters they give back.”
Ellis believes the program’s strength lies in amplifying players’ voices.
“Kadeisha's initiative is getting girls interested in football, and keeping them there," she said. "And what a role model. There is no better medium for impact than the players’ own voices and their own intentions.”
For Buchanan, the goal is simple: to give girls the opportunities she once wished for.
“Growing up, the Canadian international team was often playing at (Toronto's) BMO Field and I wasn't able to attend because the tickets were just expensive," she said.
"So being able to work with Canada Soccer to provide tickets for the group of girls to go to matches, I think that would be nice and something I was never able to do.”
Buchanan, who was a key member of the Canada team that won gold at the 2022 Olympics and has three Women's Super League titles plus an FA Cup with Chelsea, has not played since tearing her anterior cruciate ligament just over a year ago, but said after some setbacks in her recovery she has made good progress.
Buchanan is also pursuing her other passion - coaching - and is working toward her UEFA A licence.
