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With support from FIFA’s Player Impact program, the Canadian defender is turning her story into new opportunities for girls in football.
Canadian international and Chelsea footballer Kadeisha Buchanan is deepening her impact beyond the pitch with the launch of a new foundation to support single mothers and their daughters. Inspired by her own upbringing in a single-parent household, Buchanan’s initiative seeks to remove financial barriers that prevent girls from accessing the game and the mental wellness that sport can provide.
“My mum is my rock and stone. I grew up with six other sisters, seeing the hardships and suffering in ways. I think football was always my escape from reality,” the Toronto-born star remarked to BBC Sport.
The foundation was started with seed funding and professional support from the FIFA Player Impact Program. Launched this year, the program offers elite female football players the opportunity to develop and implement their own community impact projects around the world. One of 14 athletes chosen as part of the inaugural cohort of changemakers, Buchanan hopes that her foundation can support young players and their families with resources to stay active and on the pitch. Her organization will provide grants to cover essentials like transportation, registration fees and kits.
Families will also receive free tickets to Canada national team matches and events, creating opportunities for connection and inspiration. With over 150 caps for the Canadian national team, Buchanan understands how important those moments can be, but also what it’s like to miss shared experiences with her friends and country. These cultural experiences provide young people with language to connect and without them they risk losing valuable socialization moments.
“I want kids to be able to go to football matches. All my teammates used to go to games and I couldn’t get tickets. I had to pretend I watched them.”
In addition to $25,000 in seed funding, the FIFA program also provides capacity-building resources and training for each player in the cohort. Led by FIFA’s chief women’s football officer Sarai Bareman and aided by chief football officer Jill Ellis, the program is expected to welcome new cohorts of players annually with training and coaching being at the forefront of their vision.
The other members of the inaugural class include world class players like Tierna Davidson of the United States, the Lionesses’ Alessia Russo, Brazil’s Miraildes “Formiga” Maciel Mota and Jamaican national team player Khadija “Bunny” Shaw. As the program grows, so will the players’ impact.
“What we continue to fund is their coaching so we don’t just get them ready then leave them there,” said Ellis. “It’s a continued process to make sure their projects get off the ground and have sustainability. That was important to us.”
For Buchanan, that’s meant three months of training and professional development to officially launch her foundation in January 2026 – training on securing partnerships, building out an infrastructure and program delivery. The foundation’s first public event will be a girls’ football camp in April.
Her vision is clear: to create equal access and opportunities for girls in football so no child feels uncomfortable asking for help to play.
Click here to learn more about the FIFA Player Impact Program.
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