A resurfaced padel court’s turf now forms a five-a-side football pitch at Vanguard Primary School in Heideveld.

The school unveiled the pitch at a community music and soccer festival. Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille attended the event.

The pitch gives learners a dedicated space to play football and take part in sport.

Pitches for Peace

The project forms part of the Pitches for Peace programme. The programme aims to build five-a-side pitches at 15 schools in Hanover Park and Heideveld. The Vanguard Primary pitch is the sixth under the programme.

Cape Town non-profit Amazeballs led the initiative. The organisation collects discarded padel balls, rackets and court surfaces before they reach landfill. It then redirects them to schools and early childhood development centres.

Padel boom

Padel, a racket sport similar to squash and tennis, has grown rapidly in South Africa in recent years. Courts have sprung up at clubs, schools and other facilities across the country.

When court operator Africa Padel resurfaced its courts, the old turf would typically have gone to landfill. Amazeballs saw an opportunity to repurpose it instead. That turf now forms the playing surface of the Vanguard Primary pitch.

Waste to wonder

An almost R500 000 donation from travel trade show We Are Africa made the project possible. It forms part of Uthando South Africa’s Waste to Wonder campaign. The campaign turns end-of-life materials into community infrastructure.

The programme has already delivered a pitch to Athwood Primary in Hanover Park. It works with partners including Uthando South Africa, the Natural Building Collective, Great Commission United and the Cape Flats Sports Academy.

Existing facilities

Heideveld and Hanover Park each have sports complexes and indoor recreation centres, says Councillor Francine Higham. She is the Mayoral Committee member for Community Services and Health.

Higham says both areas have sports fields for soccer and cricket. Each facility has a full-sized artificial soccer field.

She says safe sporting spaces give young people more than exercise. “They give young people structured and supportive environments where they can develop confidence, discipline, teamwork, and positive relationships.”

“In communities where young people may face violence, gang activity and substance abuse, accessible and safe sporting facilities can provide a constructive alternative.”

She says regular participation in sport can also encourage young people to set goals and work towards a positive future.

City not involved

The City is not involved in the Pitches for Peace programme, Higham confirms.

She says sport and recreation facilities are currently fully used. The City does not currently consider repurposing.

However, the City engages the community continuously. It considers underused facilities and changing community needs, she says.

A second life

The initiative raises questions about what happens to materials from sporting facilities once they no longer serve their purpose. Padel courts need regular resurfacing. Workers usually discard the old turf.

Amazeballs says the Vanguard Primary project shows such materials can find a second life in communities that need them.

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