FIFA World Cup 2010: 1Goal Project in South Africa, education through football
The FIFA World Cup has caught the imagination of the entire world, as millions around the world admire the organisation of the greatest sporting spectacle for the first time in Africa.
The stadiums and infrastructure in place for the World Cup is second to none and the Africans can easily claim that they organised a truly world class event.
The tournament that saw 32 teams from the entire world converge at a country that was ripped apart by apartheid for more than two decades, demonstrated to the rest of the world, what human spirit and unity can achieve as they pull of a stunning event that has brought the traditional African colours and culture to the fore.
In the wake of the mileage received by the rainbow nation, the South Africans plan to build onto their success and take the momentum forward and build a future for their budding football players.
A new project has been launched to build a new generation of footballers, who would have access to football and education at the same time.
The project has been initiated by 1GOAL, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that campaigns for universal education to be made available for children around the world.
The formal launch of the project was made in Johannesburg, last week.
The project, that would be focusing at the promotion of the game at the grass root level, aiming for the upcoming African footballers and budding players dubbed 'Education at Your Feet', brings together children from around Johannesburg in soccer clinics.
An interesting aspect of the development programme is that the students under the wings of 1-Goal will be taught lessons about the 32 countries that are participating in the most prestigious football tournament.
An eleven-year-old student is also part of the programme that will see at least 100 children becoming part of the opening session, the clinics will run over ten days targeting at least 1,000 children from the area.
"I think this is a really magnificent event and I think that by doing this we are also helping a lot of children. We are teaching them and at the same time we are learning how to play soccer," said eleven year old Green
The 1GOAL campaign has received support from some of the greats of the game in the region who think that the project would go a long way in determining the future of these kids.
Some of these children are from a very poor background, the celebrities and soccer stars that backed the project included Cameroon legends Roger Milla and Patrick Mboma.
There was support for them from some of the international greats also like former Netherlands international Ronald De Boer and former Mexico, Nigeria and USA coach Bora Milutinovic at the launch.
"The most important reason is that I know that there are millions of children who deserve and cannot have a proper education so all together we ambassadors and the government can do a good job in order to do that education would be available to all in the future," said Mboma.
The NGO is aiming to spread education and sports together all across the world and their focus is to spread the word around everywhere.
The state of education around the world can be gauged by estimates that around 72 million children around the world do not have access to education.
The Football International Football Association has chosen the 1GOAL campaign as one of its 2010 World Cup charitable 'legacies'.
The host nation is also organising a global education summit on July 11 coinciding with the final match of the tournament.
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