WHO WE ARE
Africa Dream International Sports Academy (ADISA) is a multi-accredited, non-secterian training and development not-for-profit sports organization providing the right environment for children to develop their innate abilities as well as valuable skills necessary to ensure a more successful adulthood. We are the fastest growing and largest sports academy in Cameroon and our work is driven by the simple belief that “For every child, another day is another chance to be next person to reach their dream”.
WHAT WE DO
Created in 2012, ADISA’s mission is to provide all-round development to aspiring boys and girls through early identification and consistent training, enabling them lead more productive lives in accordance with their needs and interests. Our operations drive intervention in 2 domains; Youth Empowerment and Gender Equality and that is why in recent years, we keenly look to ameliorate the marginalization of girls in sport through innovative programs which give girls more access to sport.
OUR HISTORY
Created in May 2012 in the city of Limbe, ADISA launched its operations in football through its first club called Africa Dream FC in FECAFOOT’s Fako Departmental League, securing a quick qualification to the South West Regional League in the same year. Africa Dream FC’s senior team aka Victoria Gladiatros featured in 4 FECAFOOT seasons until 2016, when management decided it was time to proceed with strategic resolutions taken in 2014. New approaches to our core strategy had emerged in 2014 with a chief aim to inspire, support and groom much younger athletes, enabling them secure enough time to grow to be all they can be. These approaches permitted us to recruit down to 8-year-old children and enabled the creation of satellite centers which saw ADISA expand across the South West Region.
By opening 3 Recruitment and Training Centers (RTCs) – Limbe RTC, Buea RTC and Tiko RTC, ADISA became the fastest growing and the largest sports academy in Cameroon in terms of trainees with more than 200 trainees in the 3 RTCs. ADISA does not have a training facility of her own. We use some public and private facilities to carry out our weekly training activities. In the same 2014, we added Track Athletics and Basketball to the Football training program and later in 2015 we introduced Floorball. However, Football and Track Athletics remain the principal focus. In 2015, we secured a grant from Total Change Missions in the Netherlands founded by former Indomitable Lions vice-captain Eyong Enoh, to support our work with the youths.
Our drive for change in the industry brought remarkable improvements in our development model and our capabilities as a service and product provider and within two years from creating the RTCs, Africa Dream FC U12 boys’ team won both the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Brasseries Top Cup in Limbe. This prompted several conversations on the need for the boys to find expression at an international platform. By the end of 2017, a grant from the Tony Elumelu Foundation (UBA) was secured for Africa Dream FC in November, which greatly enhanced our efforts in 2018 to launch an overseas tour project. Africa Dream FC finally travelled in April 2019 for the Dubai Super Cup along with 114 teams from around the world.
A WORD FROM THE CEO
When we come close to the mark,
We have made an effort.
When we reach the mark,
We have succeeded.
But when we exceed the mark,
We have excelled!
EXCELLENCE is the place beyond the mark.
Thank you for the interest you have shown in our work and the time you set aside to go through our website. Permit me to draw your attention to some current trends at ADISA through this brief note. In 2018, we succeeded to open our 4th RTC in the Littoral Region – Douala RTC, cementing our position as the fastest growing and largest sports academy in Cameroon and in this year of our 10th anniversary, we are proud to have established 6 RTCs across 3 regions. The Dubai Super Cup project in 2019 was a rollercoaster characterized by zero sponsorship, tight deadlines and demanding clients and collaborators. However, our staff maintained a positive attitude, discipline and consistency because they knew that in the end, we are measured not by how much we undertake, but by what we finally accomplish.
The newly launched Next Heroes project in Douala during the 2019/2020 academic year was unfortunately put on a hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We only resumed in 2021 amidst the huge financial setbacks caused by the current pandemic, which hit us in the wake of our recovery from the heavy financial toll of the Dubai Super Cup in 2019. To be candid, the pressures of the last three years have been truly grinding. Notwithstanding, ADISA continues to steadily improve her capacity and potential to deliver a strong, resilient and world-class sports training and development program in Cameroon. The merits of our success mostly fall on our ability to conduct our business with integrity and passion, not only because these are the standards that our communities and families expect from us, but because this is an integral part of who we are.
We are aware that if our actions must be meaningful, then we must ensure that our young athletes are constantly being challenged in an environment that best inspires their development. By God’s great grace, we continue to play a lead role in the country as we guide the youths on how to make the right choices, develop positive convictions and take advantage of rare opportunities in the pursuit of their interests and dreams. This is what we must do to maintain our ambition and build on our vision to change the world around us and so far, we are emerging one athlete stronger, one dream closer and one family happier.
