Colfe’s was delighted to welcome Mingabala founder and CEO Steve Eadon, who delivered an inspiring and lively presentation to Year 9 on how learning languages can open a world of career opportunities within the football industry and beyond.
Mingabala is an organisation that promotes learning languages using the global appeal of football. Drawing on his background of over 12 years at Arsenal FC, Steve won the audience over with a dynamic and personable talk that showcased the myriad opportunities there are for a career in football for those who speak additional languages.
The breadth of possibilities surprised many. In today’s globalised football landscape – where players, coaches and executives hail from across the world – language skills have become a vital asset for clubs at every level. Steve highlighted how multilingualism plays a crucial role not only on the pitch but throughout the wider ecosystem of the sport. From law, finance, psychology and physiotherapy to technology, marketing, media and the creative industries, he demonstrated the hundreds of opportunities open, and the pathways where language ability helps applicants stand out in a competitive job market.
Weaving in his own experiences of studying and working abroad in Spain, Germany, Barbados and Kenya—countries where he both did and did not speak the local language—Steve showed how learning languages develops essential life skills such as confidence, adaptability, resilience and cultural awareness.
Steve began his talk with a poll of the audience to measure pupils’ enthusiasm for a career using language; the question ‘are you considering further studies or a career in languages’ elicited only a small show of hands. At the end of the talk, however, the same question saw every pupil in the audience raise their hand to the question ‘would you now consider learning a new language or living abroad in a country where you didn’t know the language?’
Head of French Cécile Davies said: “Steve Eadon gave a fantastically engaging talk about the intersection of sport and language, enthusing and inspiring the pupils with a hugely motivational message about the real-world personal and career benefits of speaking other languages at any level. Using football as a real-life tool of engagement was such an effective way to inspire our students to pursue language learning, and I was delighted to see his message resonate so strongly with them. I’d also like to thank Colfe’s Parents’ and Friends’ Association for kindly funding this event.”
