Tomorrow a group of parents and coaches from the Black Mountain Hua Hin Football Academy will make our monthly trip to Pala U Noi to do a free coaching session for the children from the stateless, landless Karen community living there.
Pala U Noi is deep in the jungle and it takes over two hours to get there from Hua Hin. The trip involves traversing muddy tracks and crossing some fast flowing rivers with local charity Jungle Aid taking us in their 4WD vehicles.
The children play bare foot and the pitch is basically a patch of mud surrounded by jungle but they love football. After three hours of non stop coaching they are still hungry for more and are always sad when we have to leave.
A big thank you to Black Mountain and the Hua Hin International School for supporting this fantastic initiative. Once the Black Mountain Hua Hin Football Academy is officially open we hope to be able to invite some of the children from Pala U Noi to our pitch for a friendly match.