THE TEXT :

SOCCER fan Yousif Ameen saw more than sport in his favourite game. He saw a way of life that could be translated into everyday living, to get the best out of youngsters’ talents. Now the father of two has produced a book based on the qualities of the sport, which he says children can learn to live and succeed by. Mr Ameen first wanted to teach his own children, Sammi, aged 11, and Layla, aged nine, in an entertaining and interesting way. Sammi’s shared love of football and the inspirations of world-renowned creative thinker Edward de Bono’s use of symbols in his teaching, gave him the idea for the 78-page-book, Learning Success From Football (For Young People Everywhere). It is full of illustrations and short stories to demonstrate how footballers use their abilities in their lives ... and how boys and girls can do the same. The target age range is for children aged 10 to 15. “I first felt the urge to write this book was just about 10 months ago,” said Mr Ameen, who works as Batelco’s broadband transmission engineer. “In the book I am using football as a tool to educate and help young people to recognise and develop their abilities and potential to the full, by concentrating on the positive aspects of the game.” Both boys and girls  can enjoy reading the book. “You don’t necessarily have to love football to understand the concept of it. A girl who does not like football can read this book and understand it,” he said. The book, in English, was first published in January this year and copies are now available at the Bookcase and Family Bookshop stores at BD2.500 each. The Arabic version was published last month and will be available at local Arabic bookstores soon. Mr Ameen said that it was only by “accident” that he discovered that he could use football to teach his children skills such as leadership, teamwork and respect for others, in an easier and fun way. “Children can benefit from learning these things at an early age, if they can discover these abilities early in life, then it will stay with them forever,” he said. “The whole idea of the book is mine, but I had to seek help from people to help me with my English and Arabic.  It had to be written in a simple way so that children could understand it easily.” The symbols used in the book were taken from a clip art computer package and the original drawings by Mr Ameen have been modified by a designer. “The drawings had to be altered in a way that all the people’s faces are the same, to show equality,” said Mr Ameen. To him, football is the most beautiful and entertaining game in the world, because it is full of tactics, secret plans and strategies.  The best goals are scored by quality players and games are won by teamwork, led by intelligent coaches. The coach will devise a plan based on his players’ abilities, to win the game. “To be successful in life, imagine yourself as the coach and the players are your abilities.  Your job is to identify those abilities you possess and use them effectively in order to be successful in life,” explained Mr Ameen.   “The book contains illustrations and short stories to demonstrate how footballers use their abilities in football and in life. “Abilities include calm, keenness, strength, awareness, alertness, fitness, wisdom, speed,  focus, neatness, readiness, fairness, talking and writing. ” Mr Ameen stresses that nobody is perfect, but should make the most of what they have inside them. “God created us to be different from each other.  Each one of us is gifted with one or many strong abilities to use during our lifetime,” he said. At the end of the book, readers are invited to join in the Searching For A Star competition. “At the end there are exercises, where the children will be asked to write a story about one of the book’s characters,” said Mr Ameen. “The child will also be asked a few questions about the stories in the book and what their opinions are. “I would encourage youngsters to participate in this competition to show how keen they are to be successful in life.” Entries are to be sent directly to the author by post, addressed to Learning Success From Football, P O Box 24555. “The best entries will be given prizes and I also hope to have them published in the next book I am planning on writing,” said Mr Ameen. The next step the author hopes to take is to translate the book into other languages, to reach a wider readership. “I want to reach as many youngsters as possible.  I’d like anyone who is willing to help me to get in touch with me, I would really appreciate it. “I also hope to write a play based on the book, and also if there is anyone willing to help I would love to hear from them,” said Mr Ameen. The book’s official website on the Internet can be accessed at www.success.com.bh To date, the book is only available in Bahrain, but Mr Ameen hopes to distribute it across the Middle East and hopefully, in the near future, worldwide. “I believe this is the first book of its kind, and I hope to have it distributed around the world.  I also hope to go around schools in Bahrain to tell children about it.” British Council director John Shorter has read a copy of the book and, in a letter to Mr Ameen, praised it as an innovative, exciting concept to develop language learning through focus on an activity that appeals to most youngsters. “Teachers and students will have a lot of fun using this book and developing the activities,” he said. Mr Ameen also sent copies of the book to world soccer body FIFA’s director of communications Keith Cooper and the Scottish Football Association chief executive David Taylor for their comments. Mr Cooper wrote that the user-friendly teaching tool was extremely valuable in this modern age. Mr Taylor wrote that it was an interesting approach to linking the sport with the education of young people. The first company to buy copies of the book was Batelco. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Batelco’s chief executive Andrew Hearn and the other senior staff for their wide educational vision, support and encouragement to proceed with the book idea,” said Mr Ameen. “Also I would like to see other large organisations to do the same thing so that their staff and children can benefit as well. “I recommend that large companies who are participating in the development of Bahrain to sponsor the distribution of the book to schools as part of the community development programmes in Bahrain. Mr Ameen may be contacted by calling  +973 9668769 (after normal working hours), e-mail:  success@batelco.com.bh, or by post at P O Box 24555.