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| World Cup legacy project launched
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Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) -
As Africa celebrated Africa Day on Monday, anot
her 2001 World Cup milestone
was achieved with the official ground-breaking ceremony for the first of the 20
Football for Hope Centres in Khayelitsha
in Cape Town.
The project is part of “20 Centres for 2010”, the Official Campaign of the 2010
FIFA World Cup South Africa, which aims
to build 20 Football for Hope community centres in South Africa, Mali, Ghana, Ke
nya, Rwanda, Namibia and other
still-to-be-determined locations across Africa.
The centres will address local social challenges in disadvantaged areas and impr
ove education and health services for young people.
They will include rooms for public health services and informal education, offic
e space, common space for community gatherings, and a
football turf pitch.
The construction will be implemented by Architecture for Humanity, a charitable
organisation that offers services to communities in need,
and GreenFields, a leader in the construction and development of synthetic turf
systems.
“This campaign emphasises the power of football far beyond the boundaries of the
pitch. These Football for Hope Centres will provide a
platform for communities to address social issues such as children’s rights, edu
cation, health, HIV/AIDS prevention, social integration and the
environment, and will leave a legacy for Africa that will last long after the fi
nal whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been blown,” said FIFA
President Sepp Blatter.
The Khayelitsha Development Forum spearheaded a request on behalf of the communi
ty to host the first of Africa’s 20 centres as part of a
collective effort to address the social economic challenges in local communities
.
“It is significant that today, as we mark Africa Day, the first tangible results
of this wonderful legacy project are being rolled out. It’s always been very
important for the Organising Committee and FIFA that this tournament makes a gen
uine, lasting impact both on and off the field.
''The launch of this project will help ensure the tournament’s benefits are felt
across the continent long after Africa’s first FIFA World Cup has come and
gone,” said Dr. Danny Jordaan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Organising Com
mittee, who attended the event alongside Helen Zille, Premier of the Western
Cape; Dan Plato, the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, and Federico Addiechi, FIFA H
ead of Corporate Responsibility, among others.
Each of the 20 centres will be run by an existing community organisation and wit
h the guidance of the Khayelitsha Development Forum.
The Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha will be managed by Grassroot Soccer,
a South African-based non-profit organisation that uses football to educate
young people about HIV and AIDS and empower them with the knowledge to live HIV-
free.
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| Cape Town - 25/05/2009 |
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