The pivotal role played by soccer in society drove global online travel agency travelwings.com and Young Bafana Soccer Academy, to host an activation day in Strand last Saturday (3 December).
What made the day so unique is having youth from impoverished areas of the Helderberg play against those of the Young Bafana Soccer Academy in an inflatable soccer field.
The youths were divided into three groups (two playing on the normal fields), the third inside the inflatable soccer field. After a couple of minutes the referee would blow his whistle, then the teams were divided up to again give players a chance to play against each other.
Each participating player received a soccer ball after the day’s activities.
“As a global company, with our head offices in the United Arab Emirates, we wanted to bring the spirit of the sport to the local communities to support organisations such as the Young Bafana Soccer Academy in the upliftment and development of our youth through this versatile sport,” said Sean Bradley, Pan Africa chief business development officer for travelwings.com.
Young Bafana Soccer Academy aims to equip children aged five to 19 from some of the Helderberg’s disadvantaged areas with the skills they need to realise their potential.
The non-profit organisation provides these youths with the opportunity to hone their soccer skills while benefiting from further educational, life skills and youth development programmes.
“Our programmes are designed to help individuals develop holistically, build confidence, and keep active which the partnership with travelwings.com has supported in,” explained Bernd Steinhage, founder of Young Bafana Soccer Academy.
“We look forward to future initiatives involving the brand that will assist us in fulfilling our mandate and goals.”
