Hi my name is Nikki, I am looking to raise funds for my daughter to follow her dream to play football, Keira has been offered a scholarship to play football in America. However as this is only a part funded scholarship her dad and I have to find the funds to cover the other half of the costs. Although we both work full time we are just your average working family so finding the extra money is out of our control. The opportunity our daughter has been been given is phenomenal and both her dad and I are so proud of her. Not many get this opportunity and I would love for her to be able to take this fantastic opportunity with both hands and follow her dream of playing the sport which she has played and love for most of her life.

Keira’ s story

My footballing started when I was about 8-9, my auntie use to look after me in the school holiday while my parents worked, in the summer holiday my cousin was attending a football summer school for 1 week of the holiday and my aunt told me that they also do one for girls, so my parents paid for the week and that is when I first fell in love with the sport, the coaches then asked if I would like to join the Sunday team, so they invited me to come along to the Saturday morning training which I did and I then joined the team, I then got into the school team at primary school and then continued to play at my secondary school.

When I left school like everyone asks what do you want to do, I always replied I want to be a footballer, I know I had to have a backup plan so I was due to start Colchester sixth form to study law but I knew that football had always been my passion, I then got a call form Sudbury football academy and they wanted me to start there, after talking to my parents they said “go for 2 years follow your dream you never know”. Before the term started I see the U.S Scholarships were doing a trail day so again I asked my parents if I could go, never for one minute believing that it would go anywhere, I attend the trail day then on the Saturday to my complete amazement they offered me a placement, my dreams were coming true and the opportunities that this could have for me, not many people get this chance of such an amazing opportunity, but me an average girl I couldn’t believe it. This opportunity allows me to play in a different country and learn more about the sport I love and have such opportunities to be recognised by other scouts and to have a fighting chance to have the career I so long for.