Editorial: It's time to tally the score
by Rev. Dr. Makhenkesi Stofile, Minister of Sport and Recreation South Africa
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Achieving sustainability through networking initiatives
Pretoria, 16 April 2010. More than 70 participants from approximately 40 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in the field of sport and development took part in the three-day ‘Southern Africa Easter Meeting’ of the Sport for Social Change Network (SSCN) between 14 and 16 April 2010.
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YDF welcomed Bavarian Sport Committee in Klipkruisfontein
Klipkruisfontein, 27 April 2010. National Freedom Day welcomed some 20 members of the Committee on Education, Youth and Sport of the Bavarian Parliament with rain and chilly African autumn weather.
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A Dream Come True
Orange Farm, 11 May 2010. Dona’s Mates’ youth development project will soon be able to empower the youths from the community on a proper pitch. After two years of hard work and intense discussions with various state authorities, Dona’s Mates Founder and Chairperson James ‘Maradona’ Shabangu received a 99-year lease agreement for land in the Orange Farm community.
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Ground has been broken!
Orange Farm, 18 May 2010. The ground-breaking ceremony for the building of a 20x40-metre street soccer pitch took place in Orange Farm on 18 May 2010. Alongside architects Celliers Greyvenstein (Pty) Ltd and building contractor Trompie Civils CC, representatives of all involved partners were present.
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Training coaches as role models
Pretoria, 28 May 2010. 31 Instructors from all over South Africa and other African partner countries of the Youth Development through Football (YDF) project received their "YDF Football & Life Skills Instructor License” after a one week workshop in Pretoria.
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Kick-off for the Coach Manual
Pretoria, 28 May 2010. Joseph Jacobs has coached approximately 1000 football trainers in the past two years for the South African Sports Coalition (SASCOL), coaching which has taken place mainly in the Eastern Cape.
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No golden shoe but a lot of fun!
Pretoria, 05 June 2010. The German Embassy and the German School Pretoria jointly organised the 7th Diplomatic Football Tournament which took place on 5 June 2010. 32 teams participated, among them YDF’s partner Sport & Recreation South Africa (SRSA).
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The other face of South Africa
Hillbrow, 07 June 2010. Do you have tickets for the WC opening match, with South Africa pitched against Mexico on 11 June, but have no plans yet for 10 or 13 June 2010? Then come with us to Hillbrow in the Central Business District of Johannesburg. Together with non-governmental organisations and churches, we are working with youths in Hillbrow, many of whom are 'street children'.
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Six days to go!
Lusaka, 05 June 2010. Zambia and Germany look back on an excellent long-term relationship. For more than 10 years Zambians and Germans, in the form of private and public entities, have been working together to improve living conditions in Zambia with a focus on establishing cultural relations.
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Fight crime, give the youth a future!
Hillbrow, 06 June 2010. Hillbrow, located in the city centre of Johannesburg, is well known for its high crime rate; yet it is here that Patricia Msebele coordinates the Ekhaya Housing Association. The association represents 12 property owners who joined forces to improve the living conditions of tenants living adjacent to Ekhaya Park.
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Football is about teamplay and not individual profiling
Gamalakhe, 12 June 2010.  I’m very proud that my team showed its full range of skills and was able to win this tournament!” Tino Ndwalane is over the moon. The 27-year-old from the township of Gamalakhe is a volunteer coach for the Active Community Club (ACC).
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YDF showcases toolkit on newly constructed pitch
KwaDukuza, 13 June 2010. The Youth Development through Football (YDF) project showcased its toolkit during the opening of a pitch in KwaDukuza that was financed by the German Development Bank (KfW). The event took place at the Melville Recreational Park, approximately 50 kilometres from Durban.
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Is the ball round?
Johannesburg, 15 June 2010. "We want to get the youth interested in science and use soccer as a vehicle to motivate them,” says Derek Hanekom, Deputy Minister of the Department of Science & Technology, explaining the backdrop to ‘The Science of Soccer’.
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'Umzingisi – persevere and you will succeed'
Port Elizabeth, 17 June 2010. In 2005 Nick Mould, a young professional from the UK, took a gap from his work life and ended up on the shores of South Africa in the Eastern Cape. The region attracts many visitors owing to its natural beauty; nevertheless, it faces many challenges, the province still being one of the poorest in South Africa with one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the country.
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The Ulutsha Soccer Busses are here!
Port Elizabeth, 18 June 2010. "Each bus reaches 12 schools per week. With the three new buses, we can cover 110 schools per year in an area spanning about 80 kilometres around Port Elizabeth. Per coaching session, which comprises at least 12 hours a week, we address 200 to 250 kids, which boils down to 202,000 youths per year!”
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Football for Peace
Hillbrow, 21 June 2010.  "We use football as a tool for reconciliation,” says Gerd Scheuerpflug, coordinator of the Civil Peace Service (CPS) in Rwanda, closely watching his team engage youths from a YDF holiday camp in a forum theatre performance on a pitch in Ekhaya Park in Hillbrow, Johannesburg.
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A country in the throes of football fever
Winterveld, 23 June 2010. "Germany will take the lead and win by one goal" - Walter Eschweiler is in no doubt about that. As ‚Germany's Whistle-Blower‘, the popular former referee - today a sports diplomat for the Foreign Office - is still well known.
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YDF Toolkit is a future-oriented concept
Nienhagen, 26 June 2010. Exercise, play and sport are ways for young people to present themselves in front of other people. Young people experience their social value primarily through their bodily presentations. There is hardly a youth culture in which the body, exercise and sport do not play a role.
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''I didn’t believe this could happen!''
Orange Farm, 27 June 2010. "I didn’t believe that girls could play soccer and I also didn’t believe that one day we would play on such a nice soft pitch,” Nokuthula Klaasen clutches her microphone tightly while addressing the crowd gathered around her.
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Call for Proposals
Pretoria, 28 May 2010. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) is seeking proposals for the implementation of the Youth Development through Sport activities in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Western Cape with financial assistance from the Youth Empowerment Programme funded by the European Union.
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Felix stays on the ball
Winterveld, 30 June 2010. Matthias Eiles sits down on a piece of cardboard in the middle of the dusty training grounds next to Ikeleng Primary School in the township of Winterveld. He is surrounded by more than 30 youths who are attending one of YDF's holiday camps in the area.
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The first real football of their lives
Osire, 30 June 2010. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ having turned all eyes on South Africa, a statement such as the following seems to come from a different world: "Most of our kids have never seen a real football before in their lives. They were absolutely stunned and happy when we presented them with the balls.
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German Chancellor visits YDF project
Cape Town, 03 July 2010. In actual fact, Angela Merkel came to South Africa to root for Germany’s National Football Team. After an exchange of views with South African President, Jacob Zuma, there was, however, still time on 3 July 2010 to visit the Youth Development through Football (YDF) project that GTZ established on behalf of the German Government and the European Union in South Africa and nine other African countries.
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Dr. Bernd Eisenblaetter and Willi Lemke visit Gugulethu Township
Gugulethu, 06 July 2010. "Football is far more than just a game and with its power and fervour, has the potential to be used as an educational tool and effective lever for developing the youth!"
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Waka Waka – one last time!
Pretoria, 06 July 2010. "And the winner of the World Cup is…Paraguay!" What sounds like a far cry from the truth became a reality in Mamelodi. YDF had organised a festival that comprised a soccer tournament and a life-skills session. The event took place at Mahlasedi Masana Primary School on 6 July 2010
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The cooperation is about to begin
Port Elizabeth, 10 July 2010. The last World-Cup weekend marked the final showdown for the German team, which emerged triumphant against Uruguay at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. At the same time, just a few kilometres away in the township of Motherville, 180 youths from the region met for the grand final of the football holiday camps.
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