FOOTBALL4GOOD MAGAZINE | MARCH 2020

specially designed to encourage children’s strengths and to promote values, such as equality. The finals of Bonanzas takes place at the beginning of the calendar year with qual- ifying tournaments running through September, October, and November. “I didn’t want my trip to become a showcase visit where I saw the facilities, kicked the ball around, then packed up and left. There’s no benefit to a trip like that. What I want- ed to achieve, and still want to achieve, with Common Goal and Jambo Bukoba is to create a lasting connection with an organisation that embodies education, equality, and sport.” Of course, these are the core values at the heart of Vincent’s own club Vinsky F.C. On founding the club in 2017, he boldly predicted promotion to the French top di- vision, Ligue 1, in 13 years but this was very much tongue- in-cheek. Vinsky F.C. currently sits in the 14 th tier of French football. Players on the team include his own YouTube and Instagram followers, as well as friends and family. All players are welcome, and the team aims to promote a positive atmosphere, where winning is secondary to the love of the game. Growing up, Vinsky played for teams that valued winning over the enjoyment of the game. With Vinsky F.C., he says, “I wanted to set up a team in my own image, where if we win, we win respectfully, and similarly if we lose. Of course, we are not a normal team with our social media presence, and the videos that I make about the team. We take inspiration from the likes of Hashtag United in England who set up a similar team using social media plat- forms as their main source of exposure. Overall, I’m very happy with how the club’s performance and following has grown over the past 3 years.” Vinsky F.C. shares a lot of similarities with the sporting ethos at Jambo Bukoba but Vincent and his team’s social engagement starts a lot closer to home than Tanzania. The team, based in Mantes-La-Jolie to the west of Paris, is involved with charity partners in and around Paris. “The other players and I have created a link with local charity partners that help the homeless and migrant population around Paris with food and clothing. We all donate some food, clothes, and most importantly, our time.” The opportunity to carry out this work on a global scale attracted him to Common Goal and Jambo Bukoba. However, he is eager to use his following for social good both at home and further afield. While he goes by the alias Vinsky in his social media circles, he is quick to dis- tance himself from that creation in his personal life. “It’s difficult because Vinsky has allowed me to travel all over the world and meet all these amazing people through football, but I think that my followers see through the alias and realise that my content is really just Vincent Maduro in disguise. Whether I’m playing football at Cristiano Ronaldo’s house or in Tanzania with Common Goal, you see the same person. You can see through dis- ingenuous people very easily, so I think that’s one reason why my work has gained a following.” Vincent aims to keep up his role with Common Goal and Jambo Bukoba alongside his social media and other philanthropic ventures over the coming months and years and has every intention of returning to Tanzania. “The welcome I got in Tanzania was amazing. It’s an organisation that I immediately became attached to and while I feel it is already quite a sustainable organisation, I think I can do even more to promote it through my social media channels.” Before he makes a return visit to Tanzania with Common Goal, however, he has the small task of getting Vinsky F.C. promoted by the end of the season. Far from embar- rassed by his prediction that it would take 13 years for the team to reach Ligue 1, he now laughs off these sugges- tions. “Okay, we’re not PSG, but we’re going in the right direction for now, give us 25 years maybe!” In the short term, Vinsky and his team are achieving unparalleled levels of football for good in their local community, and clearly have their sights on transforming grassroots football over the course of the decade. With the help of Common Goal, Vinsky hopes that a greater emphasis will be put on this style of social good through football in the years to come. “WHETHER I’M PLAYING FOOTBALL AT CRISTIANO RONALDO’S HOUSE OR IN TANZANIA WITH COMMON GOAL, YOU SEE THE SAME PERSON. YOU CAN SEE THROUGH DISINGENUOUS PEOPLE VERY EASILY, SO I THINK THAT’S ONE REASON WHY MY WORK HAS GAINED A FOLLOWING.” 72 73 FOOTBALL4GOODMAGAZINE | MARCH2020 INFLUENCER FORGOOD