William Smith is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of Monrovia Football Academy. Founded in October 2015, the Liberia-based Academy combines high-quality education with professional sport training to improve academic performance, break down gender barriers, and empower Liberia’s future leaders. Under Smith’s direction, the Academy’s rigorous academic model and commitment to gender equality has been recognized by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as an “exciting, innovative approach to academic and leadership training.”
In addition to his work at Monrovia Football Academy, Smith has consulted for sport for social change organizations in Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, and the UK. He also speaks internationally on social entrepreneurship and sport for development, most recently at FC Barcelona, the University of Oxford, and a FIFA conference in Dubai. Smith’s talks advocate for a radical rethinking of international development, with a focus on increased investment in locally-driven, evidence-based solutions.
Smith holds an MSc in African Studies from Oxford University, BA’s in Government and French from the College of William & Mary, and a degree in social entrepreneurship from Santa Clara University. He is a 2018 Cordes Fellow and a member of the Barça Foundation and UNICEF’s Working Group on Sport for Development.