Help local soccer player get to UK
Local soccer player Andile Ndlovu is renewing his efforts to get to the UK for training after the soccer residency he was selected for was postponed due to the pandemic.
Last year, Ndlovu was selected to attend a residential football training programme in England at the UK Pro Academy. He set up a Backabuddy campaign to raise the funds needed to attend the training that he hoped would fast track his dream of becoming a professional soccer player.
When the pandemic hit and the training was postponed to this December, Ndlovu felt he had a second chance to raise the needed amount that he had not managed to raise last year.
He needs to raise R300 000 to cover all the costs, including accommodation and travel. Last year, Ndlovu started going door to door asking for donations around his neighbourhood before getting the idea to start a Backabuddy campaign. He is appealing for his community’s ongoing support to help him achieve his second chance at making his dream a reality.
Ndlovu said he was over the moon when he received the offer from UK Pro Academy. “I would love to pursue soccer as a career and this opportunity would open the right doors for me to be noticed by football scouts from around the world,” he said.
The programme invites soccer players from around the world to take in the training and provides an opportunity to be scouted by football teams.
Ndlovu has been playing soccer since he was nine and said the sport started out as simply a recreational activity, but soon his passion was spurred by the realisation he was good at it.
He played for his school soccer team at Raisethorpe Secondary, and now plays for his community team, Young Colonials, who are supporting him in his fundraising endeavours. He is currently in his final year of accounting at the Durban University of Technology, but would jump at the chance to pursue a career in his favourite sport. Ndlovu said he is “very determined” to make this dream a reality, and is appealing for his community’s support to help him reach his goal. “This opportunity is keeping my dream of becoming a professional soccer player alive,” Ndlovu added. Anyone who is able and willing to contribute towards Ndlovu’s sponsorship can do so through his Backabuddy campaign: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/andile-ndlovu