Olympians awarded life-changing scholarships

21 | 9 | 2020

WOA has awarded two Olympians full scholarships to learn new education and leadership skills that will change their lives and communities.

Simona Castro OLY and Sebusiso Keketsi OLY have become the first Olympians to receive life-changing scholarships to gain a globally recognised university qualification and are now studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in International Sports Management by the prestigious University of London. The scholarships form part of WOA’s partnership with World Academy of Sport.

Simona, who competed at both the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and London 2012 in gymnastics, has used her Olympian experience of never giving up to become a successful start-up entrepreneur. The qualification will support Simona in becoming an agent for change within Chile’s sports culture providing the next generation of local athletes with more opportunities.

At the Olympic Games Sydney 2000, Sebusiso became the first person from Lesotho to qualify for the Olympics in boxing and continues to work as a national coach. In 2019, he launched a boxing programme to improve the well-being of the elderly. The scholarship will enable him to become one of only a small number of qualified sports administrators allowing him to continue his inspiring work in developing sport in his country. 

Joël Bouzou OLY, WOA President, personally congratulated the two Olympians, saying:

“The WOA is proud to support Simona and Sebusiso with these well-deserved scholarships and empower them to make a real difference within their communities through this respected qualification. WOA will soon be offering Olympians across the world more educational opportunities as part of our ongoing partnership with the World Academy of Sport.”

There was a huge amount of interest in these scholarships with over 65 applicants and WOA will soon offer a further 150 50% scholarships to Olympians for the January 2021 intake of the same course.