Introduction

LEAD Monrovia Football Academy aims to be among the leaders reshaping the sport for development sector into one driven by evidence-based research. Together with professors from the College of William & Mary, we have designed a robust quantitative impact evaluation to assess our effect on academic proficiency, attitudes toward gender, pro-social skills, and pride in Liberian identity. The study is explained in depth below, but results from the 2018 impact evaluation can be accessed here.

We augment our quantitative study with additional research tools, such as parent surveys, participant observation, football skills tests, and more. In the future, another key impact metric will be the number of students who gain access to academic, athletic, and leadership opportunities.

Flagship Impact Evaluation – Academic Proficiency & Non-Cognitive Skills

Methodology

Students enrolled in the Academy are being compared to those who just missed the cut on the admissions list (i.e., those to whom we would have offered an invitation if we had greater capacity). This regression discontinuity design allows us to carefully measure the improvement of students' learning abilities compared to when they entered the program and to similar students who ended up in alternative schools. Initial results from a 2017 pilot reveal statistically significant impact on academic proficiency, attitudes toward gender, and pride in Liberian identity. An in-depth research paper will be available by July 2018.

2017 Pilot Findings

1) Academic Impact: Between June 2016 and July 2017, Academy students improved performance on a standardized exam by 12 percentage points more than the control group.
2) Attitudes Toward Gender: Academy students were 46% more likely than the control group to say girls are as smart as boys. Academy students were also 59% more likely than the control group to say girls can play football as well as boys.
3) Pride in Liberian Identity: Academy students were significantly more likely than the control group to describe themselves as proud to be Liberian.

Monitoring Football Performance

Methodology

We are using a mixed-methods approach to assess impact on the football pitch. Quantitatively, passing and controlling technique is assessed using an innovative counting system. We assess passing efficiency by putting two cones four feet apart and asking the player to stand three yards away. The challenge is to one-touch pass the ball on the ground and through the two cones. Each player makes 10 passes with each foot, and the success rate is recorded. We run this 'test' throughout the school year to examine progress. Beyond these quantitative methods, we are using participant observation and other forms of ethnographic research to qualitatively assess impact.

MFA student-athletes completed a passing efficiency test on October 15, 2017, and then again on December 8, 2017. The basic idea is as follows: if, on average, we see more successful passes in December than October, then there is a correlation between the Academy's coaching and the student-athletes’ football performance.

Findings

On October 15, the average number of successful passes on the right foot was 7.3/10 and on the left foot it was 5.5/10. On December 8, the average number of successful passes on the right foot was 8.6/10 and on the left foot it was 6.8/10. Those numbers represent an 18% improvement on the right foot and a 24% improvement on the left foot.

Satisfaction with Monrovia Football Academy

Methodology

In March/April 2017, we measured the satisfaction of our student-athletes' parents by conducting parent interviews. Interviews were administered by independent enumerators provided by The Khana Group. Despite numerous attempts, a few of our parents could not be reached for interview. The data covers 42 of our 47 student-athletes from the 2016-17 school year.

Findings

100% of MFA parents are happy their child has joined the Academy.
100% of MFA parents say the Academy is better than their child's previous school.
100% of MFA parents say they have seen an improvement in their child's attitude since joining the Academy.
100% of MFA parents say they would recommend the Academy to a friend.