Empowering Youth in Sports Across AFRICA and Beyond
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Join us in building the next generation of Athletes and Role Models
The Foundation
The Maxwell Woledzi Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and engaging young people, especially girls in football. Founded by professional football player Maxwell Woledzi, we work closely with communities to remove barriers, provide access to equipment, and create inclusive opportunities for the youth to thrive through sports. As a proud Nimanian Maxwell kicked off his first initiative in Nima.
Empowering Girls Through Football
Our Community, Our Strength
Celebrating Every Victory
Connecting With Local Communities
The Foundation
The Hijab Project
The very foundation of the Hijab Project is a community story. It takes us back to when Maxwell attended junior high school, the Islamic Training Institute in Nima, Ghana. Although it is an Islamic school, students from all religions attend.
At the time, Maxwell had a classmate named Habiba. She had a true talent for sports, but whenever there would be a sports activity in school, he rarely saw her participate. As a Muslima coming from a very religious family, Habiba found it challenging to play sports without her hair being fully covered. She had access to a normal veil as part of the school uniform; however, that veil was supposed to be worn during daily classes. It wasn’t suitable as a sports veil. This made it difficult for her to play sports. The fact that Habiba and other girls could not experience the joy of doing what they love, is something that stuck with Maxwell.
Later on, in 2018, when Maxwell had the opportunity to sign for Nike as a professional athlete, Habiba’s story immediately came to mind. That’s when he got the idea to support the girls in his community. He had a conversation with Tina Salminen, the marketing director for Africa at that time, and she was willing to support the idea. Together they provided sports hijabs and other sports gear for the girls to wear. Ever since, the Maxwell Woledzi Foundation organizes an annual football tournament for girls in Nima.
The Vision
DRIVEN BY PURPOSE
We value every person’s athletic talent and we would like to create an environment in which the youth can freely experience the joy of playing sports.
Sports can make an incredible difference in kids’ lives and we believe it is important to provide solutions to the challenges the youth faces. We organize football tournaments for girls to keep their passion going and to encourage them to explore their athletic gift. As an organization we try to step in wherever we see the need for support.
In order to be effective we aim to be in constant dialogue with the respective communities to identify the areas where we can create an impact.
TOURNAMENTS
The Maxwell Woledzi Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and engaging young people, especially girls in football. Founded by professional football player Maxwell Woledzi, we work closely with communities to remove barriers, provide access to equipment, and create inclusive opportunities for the youth to thrive through sports. As a proud Nimanian Maxwell kicked off his first initiative in Nima.
NIma
Tamale
Kumasi
Norway
Impact
As a result of the annual Nima football tournament, the Ghana Football Association has changed its regulations by allowing female football players to wear a sports veil during official competitions. The Maxwell Woledzi Foundation shared a sports veil with Anatu Sadat, who was a professional football player in Ghana's Premiere League at the time. She started wearing the veil, the Ghana Football Association picked up on this and changed its policy.
Zenith Bank Ghana:
Name: Maxwell Woledzi Initiative LBG
Account number: 6010231329
Your support helps fund sports gear, facilities, and travel costs that make these tournaments a reality. Thank you for contributing to our cause!
For all inquiries kindly contact us via: maxwellwfoundation@gmail.com
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