Football for Hope

Recently, the world’s first Football for Hope Centre opened in Khayelitsha, South Africa.

This is the first of twenty that will be built in disadvantaged communities across Africa as part of Football for Hope’s 20 Centres for 2010, the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The center will be managed by Grassroot Soccer, an organization founded by Survivor winner Ethan Zohn, along with professional players from Zimbabwe. It hopes to tap into Africa's love for soccer to educate young people about HIV and AIDS.

At the opening, FIFA president Joseph Blatter declared, “These Football for Hope Centres will use the power of football to address social challenges. Each will provide a platform for organisations that use the game to address social issues such as children’s rights and education, health, HIV and Aids and the environment, and will leave a legacy for Africa that will last long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

The Centre is more than just a soccer field. It is meant to be a community center that will “provide alternatives to crime, violence and drugs for the township's kids.” The facility has, “rooms for educational activities and community gatherings, public health services, office space, and an artificial turf field, where Grassroot Soccer will run HIV and AIDS prevention education for youth. It also includes several all-purpose rooms, for private counseling and testing. A Grassroot Soccer Skillz coach will be staffed on site at all times.”

“The Khayelitsha facitlity is the culmination of a yearlong collaboration involving the Football for Hope movement, Grassroot Soccer, the Khayelitsha Development Forum, and numerous supporters.”

Using the influence (and fun) of soccer, the center - and organizations such as Grassroots Soccer - create games and activities that teach responsible, healthy behaviors in a country beset by HIV/AIDS, unemployment, drugs, rape, and environmental issues. South Africa was a natural choice for the first center, which stands out against the slums and shanties, since the country will be hosting next year’s World Cup.

"The centre can take many children out of the streets and lead them to something else than drugs and prostitution ... it gives us an opportunity and one day we might even make it," said Yonela Mapasa, a 14-year-old girl from the area.

"It's a good game. It teaches you a lot," said 12 year-old Lihle Bonkolo, "Soccer is a good way to learn because it is fun."

South Africa has almost six million people living with HIV/AIDS, the most of any African Country.

To learn more, visit Grassroot Soccer’s page. You can also read some of the press from Sports Illustrated and Reuters.

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What can you do? By purchasing a OneTribe t-shirt, you can directly support Grassroot Soccer. Exactly 50% of the sale price goes to helping one child stay HIV/AIDS free.

Learn more at OneTribe.com/GrassrootSoccer

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