Fifa funds prove game changer in local soccer
Far from the glare of the World Cup bribery scandal, legacy projects are changing the lives of young players
ALTHOUGH controversy rages over whether South Africa blew $10-million on a bribe for Fifa officials, the silver lining is that the “footballlegacy projects” dotted around the country appear to be thriving thanks to the 2010 World Cup.
This week, the Sunday Times visited several Football for Hope centres — 20 of which were built in 14 African countries with part of the $100-million that Fifa gave to the South African Football Association after the tournament.
Five years after the tournament, this is a welcome sign that at least some of South Africa’s cash did not end up in the pockets of Caribbean soccer chief Jack Warner.
At the Football for Hope centre in QwaQwa, in the Free State, a group of grannies have made the 40m x 20m artificial turf their battleground three days a week while their children and grandchildren are at school.
“This is the only time we have, because once they are out of school we have to make way for them,” said a breathless Elizabeth Mthuwa as she ambled off the pitch.
“The local council encouraged us to make use of the facility and it does feel good to be active,” said the 61year-old grandmother to 17 children.
Each of these centres were to receive an initial injection of $30 000 a year for three years, which is supplemented by another R250 000 grant from Safa’s legacy trust.
After the World Cup, Fifa gave $100-million to Safa as part of its “legacy programme”.
Some $10-million went to build Safa House near FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, $10-million was spent on Bafana Bafana directly, and $10-million was used to buy buses and cars to carry teams and officials around the country.
Another $65-million was deposited in the legacy trust, and $5-million was given to Safa for its development programmes.
The QwaQwa centre is one of two managed by loveLife, the NGO that focuses on youth empowerment. But it is more than just a venue for a kickaround; it also has counselling rooms, a sexual health clinic and an IT centre.
Enterprising midfielder Ntswaki Radebe, 44, said she made sure her 16-year-old met her at the centre every day.
“[It] keeps them occupied with other things, instead of roaming the streets. As parents we are happy and grateful that they are told about safe
GRANNY POWER: The gogos of QwaQwa stay fit when the youngsters are not using the turf at the local Football for Hope centre sex, HIV and pregnancy.”
In Cape Town, dozens of children screamed out their lungs as they played on an artificial turf in Khayelitsha this week, thousands of kilometres from the bribery scandal at the Fifa headquarters in Zürich.
The budding soccer stars, aged between nine and 18, played in the community league on Thursday. The Khayelitsha centre is managed by a company called Grassroot Soccer, which — unlike the $10-million South Africa gave to Warner with no conditions — is apparently subjected to intense scrutiny over how it spends its grant money, which caters for 10 000 children.
Grassroot Soccer MD James Donald said: “The saga at the moment is really damaging the legacy of the World Cup, which is hugely disappointing, but I also think that it is forcing people to ask questions.”
In Khayelitsha, there is a small clubhouse next to the soccer pitch, which was built in 2009.
Donald said the centre hired about 40 coaches a year for the children. “These are unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 25. They do a two-year programme with us and get a monthly stipend of R2 000. Our coaches deliver some programmes at schools and also run soccer leagues and other activities.”
Thanks to the centre, Khayelitsha now has its first girls’ soccer team, and they are playing in Safa’s league this year.
It is a similar story in KwaZuluNatal, where the Football for Hope centre in Pietermaritzburg was a hive of activity when the Sunday Times visited this week.
Nkanyiso Miya, a 12-year-old defender from neighbouring Mthethomusha Primary School, said he went there every day: “I love this place because I see Fifa writing, something I always see on TV when I am watching soccer.”
The Pietermaritzburg centre, situated on the premises of Edendale Hospital, is run by a company called WhizzKids United.
WhizzKids’ Stefan Kunze said R4.5-million of the Fifa money was used to build a conference centre, sanitation facilities, and a 40m x 20m soccer pitch with artificial turf.
“Our theme is football-focused. Al- though we offer a variety of services like counselling, HIV testing and a feeding scheme for orphans, our ultimate goal is to use football as a tool to wage war against poverty,” said Kunze.
Fifa still provides funding of $30 000 (about R371 300) every year, and the centre employs 32 people.
Kunze said the centre was visited by more than 200 people a day, mostly soccer-playing pupils.
In Gauteng, at an Alexandra soccer centre, schoolboys had organised themselves into informal six-a-side teams on the artificial pitch.
The sprawling face-brick buildings at the centre include counselling rooms, a computer lab, a kitchen, and even a film-editing room for the 6 000 children it caters for.
The centre is also operated by Grassroots Soccer South Africa.
Up in Limpopo, the Mogalakwena Football for Hope centre, run by the Red Cross, throngs with locals every afternoon. Situated at Phola Park village, the centre runs soccer competitions, provides psychological support to orphans and vulnerable children, and runs a mobile clinic.
George Mamabolo, the Red Cross provincial manager, said the centre had reached more than 100 000 community members. “We receive more than 100 children daily who come to the centre for different services.”
The clinic means the communities no longer have to “receive primary healthcare services under a big marula tree”.
However, the Polokwane municipality said it had to use its own money to finish the project.
Tidimalo Chuene, spokeswoman for the municipality, said: “The only projects we had were infrastructure-related and there was money promised, which never came from Fifa. We had to make use of our own.”
All South African centres were built and managed by German organisation streetfootballworld, which has a deal with Fifa to implement community programmes.
Streetfootballworld South African director Ian Mills said although the centres got funding from Fifa for the first three years, they could ask for new funding, depending on their financial reporting. : “I can’t mention names, but one organisation’s audit reports did come back showing irregularities, so we jumped in and put a hold on the funding on our side,” Mills said. “Then we sent in some pro bono help to help them put in proper processes. Once they went though that training, we then released the funding again.”
Donald said the 2010 World Cup was beneficial to South Africa. “It gave people a lot of interest in the power of football to do good. It also changed the way that Safa thinks about football development.”
It keeps them from roaming the streets. As parents we’re grateful they are told about safe sex and pregnancy These people are unemployed. They spend two years with us and they get a monthly stipend of R2 000