Karma Cares has been working closely with ACE Soccer Academy in Goa for several years, supporting a grassroots programme where football provides young people with a whole range of opportunities not only to improve their sporting skills, coordination and teamwork – but to learn life skills along the way too. That relationship now deepens with the launch of The Columbus Project — a new initiative focused on identifying and supporting ten talented, underprivileged children through a full season of training and competition.
Led by Columbus Spence, son of Karma Group Founder & Chairman John Spence, the project is practical by design. The selected children will receive full football kits, post-training nutrition, and reliable transport to and from the training ground — removing everyday barriers that too often stand in the way of commitment and progress.
Trials and selection games will take place over the next month, with dates carefully planned around end-of-term exams, in close collaboration with ACE’s coaching team. Columbus is also planning a visit to Goa in April, when the Academy may host a small local tournament to coincide with his time on the ground.
Founded in 2014 in Vasco-da-Gama, ACE Soccer Academy now trains more than 100 boys and girls aged 6 to 15. Under Head Coach M. Mutawali and Lead Coach Umer Mutawali — an AFC A-level coach and current Head Coach of the Goa U-20 team — ACE has produced consistent zone-level champions and players selected by professional Goan clubs.
This is an initiative that Columbus is personally very passionate about, driven by a simple but powerful goal: spot potential early, support it properly, and let the joy of the game do the rest.
