For the children and young athletes of Mount Pleasant’s first Junior Football Club, soccer is a beacon of hope and an escape from the social challenges they are exposed to daily. Now, the local club has been thrown a lifeline through a sponsorship donation from the local Build It.

The multi-racial club which supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds and extreme social conditions said that the sponsorship has already made a difference in the young athletes’ lives.

“[The young stars] are now more confident and determined to be the champions of the season in the future,” said Desire Jagers, the spokesperson of the junior football club often referred to as MP City FC Junior.

She added: “The club plays a big role in keeping these kids away from drugs, trouble and crime.”

The squad is made up of under-10, 12, 14 and 16 age groups, respectively.

The junior club has been active since 2020 but only began competing in 2025 after finalising the respective age groups. Moreover, there are plans to implement an eight-year-olds squad in 2027.

The local Build It donated new kits and tracksuits, putting smiles on the faces of the young stars and motivating coaches and the squad to keep doing better.

However, for the team, the donation is a lifeline for one of their challenges.

“The needs of the club are extreme, especially because most of our players don’t have football boots,” Jagers said. “We train the children without any equipment [while] operating on little donations as well as from our own pockets.”

Donation a blessing

“If a player doesn’t have transport money, the coaches make a plan to take every player in the club to a game because it keeps them out of trouble and disciplined to rather practise with MP City.” The donation from Build It, Hermanus, is a “blessing because the kids can play in decent kits and dress up in their club tracksuits”, according to Jagers. And, while transportation to the games and affiliation fees remain a big challenge, the players are still very excited. The team currently has 55 members who all believe in themselves.

“Through word of mouth from existing players, how they get treated and the extra mile the coaches go has kept the team disciplined,” Jagers said.

The strain of social issues on the young athletes does not affect them as much anymore because they now focus on being the best footballers they can be without getting easily distracted. The donation from the local Build It is just one of many.

“We want to thank all our donators from 2025 until 2026 who play a big role in the children’s lives,” said Jagers.

The squad, coaches and team send a big thank you and gratitude to local businesses including but not limited to The Round Table, Toyota, Van Bloemenstein, Fruit and Veg, Hi Q, Rodney Lukas, Randall Montique, Justin Petersen, Pastores Thompson and Bernett Fortuin.