Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is working hard with his foundation to increase the standards of grass roots football in his homeland.

The Asmir Begovic Foundation has been launched to improve facilities in Bosnia-Herzegovina which has not fully recovered from the Bosnian War which ended in 1995, three years after the Eastern European country proclaimed independence for a breakup from Yugoslavia.

Begovic told Chelseafc.com that his current home, the UK, also benefits from the work the organisation does.

"It is a way of giving something to back home in Bosnia but also trying to help people in the UK," the former Stoke City man said.

"The Foundation was set up by me and my family and we focus on building new or rebuilding current sporting facilities, and by doing that it encourages kids and people in general to get involved in sports, be active, have fun, be sociable.

"We do a lot of work in Bosnia. We've helped a school for special needs by building a multi-purpose sporting facility with a great surface with caging around so you can do football, basketball and all sort of activities.



"We helped build a playing surface at another special needs school and handed out new sports gear to other specialist schools. We have helped a deaf school here in the UK and a local club up north from my Stoke days.

"We are trying to help as many areas as possible. With what happened in Bosnia 20 years ago, the facilities were wrecked by the war and need a lot of work. The kids have a real passion to play sports but don't have the facilities to do so."