Johannesburg - Football body FIFA says it is on track to roll out about 20 Football for Hope centres across Africa after this year's World Cup.
The ambitious project is seen as one of the major legacy initiatives FIFA wants to leave after staging the first ever World Cup tournament on the continent.
They will feature a mini-pitch otherwise known as a football turf, along with classrooms and health care facilities, providing the youth with access to counseling, health and educational services.
"We are definitely on track and we want to complete the centre by 2012. In fact, work on three of the centres will start in Nairobi and Kenya in the next three weeks," said FIFA's Henry Nasale, who is the director of the centres.
"We are receiving a lot of support from the governments and local communities so indeed our work is progressing and people will be seeing these legacy centres very soon, its just a matter of time," Nasale said at a media briefing on Monday.
Five of the centres will be built in South Africa and one is already operational in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. It is used as a vehicle to promote education, health and community development in this fastest growing township.
Nasale said each centre is designed in close collaboration with the community to ensure that the infrastructure is consistent with local needs. Football-based activities are used at the centres to provide an out-of-school learning experience for young people.
Former Bafana Bafana Captain Lucas Radebe, who lent his name for the campaign, says football should go beyond the pitch. "I think the time has come that football makes an impact in the lives of people, many of us have become role models through football and many kids are looking up to us so it only makes sense that we are involved in some kind of community development," Radebe said.
"The centres are emphasising what we refer to as the power of football because with this game you can do anything and what better way to use the power of the sport than investing in community upliftment. I'm happy to be part of this," he said.
He will be traveling around the continent helping FIFA to set up the centres that aim at leaving a social legacy for the continent.
FIFA's six official partners - Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai, Sony and Visa - had last year also committed to contributing about $500 for every goal scored during the more than 800 World Cup qualifying matches, which will result in a donation of at least $1 million. - [src.: BuaNews]
Its aim is to raise funds to create twenty Football for Hope Centres for public health, education and football across Africa. The centres will address local social challenges in disadvantaged areas and improve education and health services for young people.
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