Celebrating Human Rights Day – Wednesday 21 March – Sunrise Beach Muizenberg was the venue for the 3rd annual Khulani Beach Soccer Festival, supported this year by JAG Sport and Education Foundation – where once again Sporting Chance facilitated 310 children from Cape Town communities playing the beautiful game.
Khulani (meaning ‘to grow and prosper’) had children between the ages of 10 and 12 transported to the beach – given a nutritious breakfast snack, then headed onto the beach, divided into teams of 8 according to age and assigned a coach and sent out to play on the demarcated pitches along the shoreline.
After an exciting morning of round robin matches – the top teams from each age group played in thrilling finals, supported by the multitude of spectators who had gathered to witness the fun.
Taking honours in the under 10 age group were “Brazil” from Langa, and another Langa team, “Langa United”, took the title in the under 11 age group. The “senior” winners of the Khulani Beach Soccer Festival 2007, in the under 12 age group, were “Man United” from Khayelitsha!
Once again, AJAX Cape Town talent scouts, together with a number of their Professional players joined the children on the beach.
Mark Grune, Chief Scout for Ajax, gave a brief talk at the end of the day, explaining how those children who wanted to pursue a career in soccer needed to get into a community club, and attend the Ajax trials in October.
He emphasised the importance of parents getting involved by supporting their children, and encouraging their participation in sport.
These sentiments were echoed by Elana Meyer – Chief Executive of JAG Investments Sport and Education Foundation, adding the importance of developing skills, both in actual sports abilities, as well as life skills, from an early age, and nurturing them.
In so doing, South Africa can look forward to a generation of young boys and girls growing up to be healthy, responsible young adults with a positive influence on the future of South Africa.
Once the day’s play was over – the children gathered for a final vibe session and the prize giving, where they were given a talk on safety and security, as well as HIV/AIDS information.
As they departed, they were given lunch and a goodie bag – taking home with them memories of sand sliding tackles, striking goals, and loads of fun in the warm South African sun!
With the 16 years of Calypso Beach Cricket Festival’s experience, Brad Bing and his team of coaches from Sporting Chance strive to bring the joy of sport as an alternative to getting involved in gangs, drugs and petty crime to the youth of South Africa, and the success of Khulani Beach Soccer is leading towards this festival being expanded to include other regions of South Africa.
For more information, contact Brad Bing, MD Sporting Chance, on 021 685 8053, log onto the Sporting Chance website, or email [email protected].
For media information contact Media Liaison Neil Ovens on 082 774 8301.
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