The Future Goals Nangle has won Gold in the Social Impact category of SponsorRingen awards in the Netherlands.
The Dutch benchmark for sponsorship excellence - the award recognizes the partnership and the impact that has been made between Ajax, Netherlands’ biggest football club, and a major Dutch rights holder, and Sandals Resorts with the Future Goals for 4 years.
The SponsorRingen are the leading sponsorship awards in the Netherlands, celebrating the country’s best brand partnership cases. Each year, an independent jury recognizes work that stands out in strategy, creativity and impact. For brands, rights holders and agencies, winning a SponsorRing is seen as a mark of quality in the Dutch sponsorship industry.
The Jury’s Feedback:
Ajax x Future Goals Curaçao – How Sandals Resorts Creates Lasting Impact Through Sport
The jury considers this case an exceptionally strong and compelling example of purpose-driven sponsorship. Future Goals Curaçao demonstrates how a brand, in partnership with a sports organization, can make a meaningful and long-term contribution to social, educational, and sustainable development.
The strength of this case lies in its integrated approach: sport, education, and sustainability are connected in a natural and effective way. By using football as a vehicle for personal development while incorporating themes such as environmental awareness and talent development, the program creates lasting impact.
Its local roots are particularly strong. By training young people to become Future Coaches and working closely with existing structures on the island, the initiative ensures that its impact is not temporary, but sustainably embedded within the community. The jury also values the program’s scalability, supported by concrete plans for expansion into other regions.
What makes this case especially noteworthy is the clear connection between brand purpose and social contribution. Sandals credibly demonstrates its commitment to the communities in which it operates, while Ajax contributes its expertise to strengthen the program’s content and execution.
This is an inspiring and scalable case in which social impact, brand strategy, and partnership come together in exemplary fashion.
The jury awards Future Goals Curaçao the Gold Award for its exceptional combination of social impact, strong local integration, and scalability. The case shows how a sponsorship initiative, rooted in a creative idea and sustained through years of dedication, can evolve into a structural program that genuinely improves a community. The integration of education, sport, and sustainability, combined with a strong collaboration between partners, makes this a benchmark case within the category.
In a powerful show of support and celebration for Curacao’s historic participation in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup games, Sandals Resorts, AFC Ajax, and the Sandals Foundation have mobilized thousands of students in its Future Goals programme to adorn the streets of Kura Hulanda with sustainable art decorations celebrating The Blue.
The masterpiece, which was unveiled on World Oceans Day, Monday June 8, served as the highly anticipated Year End Event for the local football programme which implements an 8-week curriculum to primary school students blending in-class learning with on-the-field training– teaching skills in teamwork, problem-solving, and confidence - all through the game of football.
“Across the island, there is an electric energy anticipating the debut of members of the Blue Wave© as they take to the world’s biggest sporting stage,” says Patrice Gilpin, Public Relations Manager Sandals Foundation. “To help celebrate, we wanted to create an opportunity for students to be part of this historic milestone. With the support of craft moms, plastics and lost fish nets were reimagined to create colourful works of art. The materials will then be donated to Limpi for continued recycling.”
As a build up to the Ocean’s Day Street Reveal, students across 21 schools and local recycling company Limpi collected 384kg of blue, white and yellow plastic waste, 192.319 plastic lids and 40m2 of ghost nets . Students also got a chance to take part in their own schoolyard football tournament, making the magic of the moment even more real.
“The love of football lives and breathes in the hearts of families on this island. There was no better way to bring this year’s event to a close than to have every school showcase their skills on and off the field,” says Future Coach Clayton Goeloe.
Launched in 2022, the Future Goals programme serves as a unique vehicle for promoting physical play and raising environmental education and stewardship amongst students with goals made from recycled plastics and ghost nets pulled from the sea. To date, the programme has collected more than 3,400 kg of plastic waste, 1.7 million plastic lids and 315 m² of ghost nets.
“It has been four incredible years of partnership. We believe youth is the future and has the power to shape it. Educating youth together with our partner Sandals Resorts on life skills and caring for the island is something we truly value and is deeply rooted in our club philosophy,” says Cas Biesta, Chief Commercial Officer at AFC Ajax.
As part of activities commemorating World Environment Day, 28 students from New Hope Primary and Kings Primary School joined farmers, Forestry Department representatives, environmental wardens, and the Sandals Foundation to plant fruit trees in Whitehouse, Westmoreland. The activity forms part of the Foundation's support of Jamaica's national RE-LEAF (Reforestation, Ecological Enhancement and Landscape Framework) Initiative. As part of its commitment, the philanthropic organization has distributed 360 fruit trees to schools and farmers to aid landscape restoration and food security efforts.
A variety of food trees including breadfruit, ackee, jackfruit, mango, avocado, soursop, and Otaheite apple were distributed to Culloden Early Childhood Institution, Whitehouse Basic School, New Hope Primary School, Kings Primary School, Petersville Primary School, and Petersville Early Childhood Institution as well as to members of the Westmoreland Organic Farmers Association to increase access to locally grown produce
Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, said the Organization’s choice of trees was a deliberate effort to build the resilience of the communities. "We chose fruit trees because in addition to helping to restore green space sand biodiversity, they sustain a community’s food security. "
Recently, Whitehouse farmers joined students of Kings and New Hope Primary School students, Forestry Department representatives, and Sandals Foundation environmental wardens to plant 20 trees – demonstrating a community approach to their landscape restoration efforts.
"Reforestation is about much more than planting trees," said Georgia Scarlett, Environmental Manager at the Sandals Foundation. " It is also about ensuring future generations understand their role in protecting the natural resources that sustain our communities. By placing fruit trees in schools and farming communities, we are creating opportunities for learning, nourishment, and long-term environmental stewardship.
For Caribbean communities facing growing pressure on food systems, green spaces, and natural resources, the project offers a practical model for local action. By placing fruit trees in schools and farming communities, the initiative gives residents more than seedlings. It gives them a direct role in producing food, restoring shade, and protecting the environment their children will inherit.
For a child, the right book can spark confidence, unlock imagination, and shape a lifelong relationship with learning. That belief is at the heart of the Sandals Foundation’s longstanding partnership with Hands Across the Sea, a leading literacy nonprofit advancing childhood literacy across the Eastern Caribbean. Together, the organizations are expanding targeted literacy support for 1192 students across five schools in Antigua through the latest phase of the Hands Across the Sea Caribbean Literacy and School Support (CLASS) programme.
Backed by an investment of EC $54,607 from the Sandals Foundation, the initiative has delivered carefully curated collections of brand-new books, specialized literacy resources, and strengthened lending libraries tailored to each participating school's needs across Antigua. The enhanced spaces are creating vibrant environments where students can engage, explore, and grow.
Across the island, students at TOR Memorial School, St. Michael’s Primary, Urlings Primary, Parham Primary, and Princess Margaret Secondary School are already benefiting from strengthened library spaces supported by librarians, educators, and school teams actively encouraging reading engagement.
“Through our Caribbean Literacy and School Support (CLASS) programme, Hands Across the Sea does far more than place books on shelves,” says Ben Engle, Executive Director of Hands Across the Sea. “We help create or rejuvenate school libraries, train and support literacy champions on the ground, and work alongside educators to ensure resources remain active, relevant, and impactful long after delivery.”
This deeply intentional approach is what makes the partnership especially powerful.
“Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, schools are identified based on need,” continued Engle, “Each school’s collection is thoughtfully assembled to reflect students’ reading levels, classroom realities, and developmental stages. The result is literacy support that is both practical and personal.”
For the Sandals Foundation, the partnership represents an essential component to creating stronger communities.
“Education remains one of the most powerful ways we strengthen communities, and literacy sits at the heart of that journey,” said Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation. “Our partnership with Hands Across the Sea is especially meaningful because it combines shared purpose with proven expertise. Their understanding of the literacy landscape across our region allows us to invest in ways that are thoughtful, strategic, and deeply responsive to the needs of children and educators alike.”
Founded in 2007, Hands Across the Sea has become one of the Eastern Caribbean’s most trusted literacy partners. The organization works directly with schools, educators, Ministries of Education, and local literacy specialists to build meaningful, sustainable reading cultures.
The latest initiative builds on 5 years of Sandals Foundation partnership with Hands Across the Sea in Antigua, Saint Lucia, and Grenada—outfitting numerous libraries on the islands. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to ensuring more Caribbean children have access to the tools, spaces, and encouragement they need to thrive.
Because every confident reader begins with access, and someone who believes they could become one.
