“Sport is no longer just about seeing an athlete give their best on a field. It offers so much more to our youth than just a ball in the hand.”
These are the striking words of Ryan Kroutz, director of Athletes Sphere Management (ASM) in South Africa. This world-class sports management company, based in Zimbabwe, has international business networks across the globe including Africa and Europe.
Last month it hosted a three-day football training camp for promising football players in Paarl in partnership with Real Betis Balompié.
“The camp, hosted at the Faure Stadium in Paarl, focused on coaches and football players from various high schools and communities in the Cape Winelands area.
“As part of a strategic alliance we extended an invitation to the Knysna and Namaqualand communities. Coaches and players were trained by the Real Betis technical team and the programme focused on the methodology of Real Betis Balompié.”
Real Betis Balompié, also known as Real Betis, is an internationally acclaimed Spanish professional football team. “Real Betis is one of the top performing clubs in La Liga as well as the Europa league,” Kroutz pointed out. “Athletes Sphere Management is honoured to be affiliated with the Spanish team and their expansion to the Western Cape.”
As part of the expansion programme in the Western Cape a group of young players will be identified to form part of the Real Betis Academy tour to Spain. The group will be announced in the coming months.
“As part of the Real Betis Camp Paarl programme we aim to send at least 15 players to Seville, Spain, where they will participate in a 10-day Real Betis behind the scenes tour,” Kroutz related. “They will stay at the Real Betis hotel, experience the Real Betis facility, be trained and scouted by the Real Betis technical coaches and so much more. This is an opportunity I believe can be life-changing for the football players of the winelands.”
His involvement with ASM and the Real Betis expansion programme in the Western Cape are both a heart-warmingly proud moment for him, as he was born and bred in Paarl. He attended Paulus Joubert and Newton primary schools and matriculated from Klein Nederburg Secondary in 2004.
“In my matric year I was also the head boy of Klein Nederburg. Studies were not on the cards for me, so a small job was the best option to start with. I currently work for a company in the USA. I am married with two beautiful daughters, aged 10 and 3, and my family are all in the Paarl area.”
According to Kroutz he has always had a love for sport, especially rugby and he even played a little soccer when he was younger. And now he says a career in sport has chosen him.
I knew that I wanted to give back to our community. I could think of no better way than to use sport as a platform to do this.
“I started my partnership with Athletes Sphere Management in 2019 and fill the role as director in South Africa. Since then we have worked on the current partnership with Real Betis Balompié to implement the grassroots development programme of Real Betis Academy in Southern Africa. Athletes Sphere Management established the first International Real Betis Academy in Zimbabwe and the football camp in Paarl was the first activation phase of the Real Betis Academy for South Africa.”
Kroutz believes one of the best ways to empower the youth of today is through sport.
“It is one of the best platforms to sow discipline among our youth,” he said. “It builds character and keeps the youth out of harm’s way. Second, it’s not just a sport anymore – it’s a career even off the field. The youth of today can look forward to so many more opportunities, such as establishing a sports academy and making a difference. I want to encourage our local leaders and businesses to support events like this. The winelands has so many talented football players and all they need is the right platform and opportunities.”
