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June 16, 2023
The Bachar Houli Foundation (BHF) – an Australian non-profit working to develop young leaders in the Muslim community – has teamed up with Richmond Football Club to provide Islamic youth with “unprecedented access to careers in sport.” The Islamic College of Sport (ICS) will provide a culturally safe environment for students to engage in sports and career opportunities.
There are around 600,000 Muslim people living in Australia, with 66% under 35 years of age. BHF delivers football programs and intends to develop young leaders within the Muslim community across the country. Former Richmond Australian Football League (AFL) player Bachar Houli launched its first program in 2013 in partnership with the AFL and Richmond FC. Since then, it has reached over 5,000 participants annually with programs delivered in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The non-profit focuses on football development, physical health, peak performance, leadership and identity. It delivers its programs through the AFL with a team of experts including Houli, former St Kilda player Ahmed Saad and former AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour. The ICS came about as a result of BHF program facilitators seeing an opportunity for an educational pathway to sport that catered to young people who weren’t engaged with traditional streams.
The college was established to meet the growing need for Muslim students who are better suited to an applied and hands-on approach to learning and will allow young people to pursue their passion for sports in a religious and culturally welcoming environment. The independent senior secondary school will help students explore faith and a sense of identity while completing a holistic and applied education that is connected to the genuine sports industry and community experiences.
“The college will offer so much more… empowering them to become better human beings, better Muslims and more importantly, just giving them an opportunity at a different level when it comes to education,” said Bachar Houli.
It will provide a program that intends to maximize the sporting potential of each student-athlete by providing them with the tools to excel both on and off the sporting field. The Foundation’s current program only gets students in three or four times a year – whereas the new college will bring them in five days a week.
“We work with a lot of young people and we understand many have struggled in the classroom or lost interest in school, or they’re struggling with their results,” shared Fahour, the Director of BHF. “But when they’re in our environment, we just see them grow and prosper.”
The ICS will provide an alternative to traditional VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) studies through a sport and faith lens that will give Islamic students the opportunity to learn in a culturally safe environment. The alternate education pathway will also allow students to complete a Certificate III in Sport and Recreation and give students the opportunity to opt into high-performance programs, catering to all sports not just Australian Rules Football.
“Whether they’re doing literacy or numeracy, work-related skills, professional development, it’s all going to be related back to sports and faith, which is what motivates young people and what they are coming for,” said Fahour.
The ICS will launch in 2024 with an initial intake of Year 11 boys and girls.
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