German Missions in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland

PASCH takes to the pitch in South Africa!

Feb 17, 2011

The first of six PASCH football tournaments took place in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha in early December. Ten teams of boys and girls aged 14 to 18 came together not only to compete in sports, but also to engage in cultural exchange.

Goals plus knowledge of Germany earned players points Enlarge image Goals plus knowledge of Germany earned players points (© Micky Wiswedel ) Six of the teams hailed from schools taking part in the PASCH initiative, while the other four teams were formed of boys and girls from the township. In keeping with the tournament series aim of bringing people together, the actual rules of football were not taken so seriously. Teams were thus able to score goals before kick-off by correctly answering questions about the culture, languages and history of Germany and South Africa. Players also earned points through model behaviour and fair play on the pitch.

But there were also other reasons for the spirit of friendship that prevailed at the games. Even before the tournament began, participants had the chance to get to know each other in various workshops on culture, tolerance, team-building and life skills – an opportunity they eagerly took after some initial hesitation. This fostered team spirit and respect among the players, while social and cultural differences faded into the background.

Thanks to this spirit, all of the participants joined the winning team, Khayelitsha FC, in celebrating their victory at the end of the tournament, which was organized by AMANDLA EduFootball, a member of the streetfootballworld network. The team could hardly believe their luck when they heard they had won a trip to Germany. For all of them, it will be the first time travelling outside of Cape Town.

The first PASCH tournament in Cape Town Enlarge image The first PASCH tournament in Cape Town (© Micky Wiswedel) In Germany they will not only get to see FIFA Women’s World Cup games live, but will also meet the winners of the other five PASCH football tournaments. The weeks to come will determine who these five winners will be!

Dates of upcoming PASCH tournaments:

January 28-29, 2011: Mumbai, India
March 12-13, 2011: Buea, Cameroon
March 17-18, 2011: Netanya, Israel
March 19-20, 2011: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
March 26-27, 2011: Sao Paolo, Brazil

Model sportsmanship at the Khayelitsha PASCH tournament Enlarge image Model sportsmanship at the Khayelitsha PASCH tournament (© Micky Wiswedel, AMANDLA EduFootball)

AMANDLA EduFootball supports disadvantaged children in South Africa through sports. Founded in Cape Town in 2007, AMANDLA now offers more than 2500 children and young people weekly training programmes to develop their social skills. Football acts as a means to the goal of getting children excited about educational activities, and thereby improving their future prospects. The organization aims to develop leaders and role models, who will in turn positively influence young people in their communities. AMANDLA has been a member of the streetfootballworld network since 2009.

For more information about AMANDLA EduFootball

Initiated in 2002, streetfootballworld currently unites more than 80 organizations which treat football as a tool for improving the living conditions of disadvantaged people worldwide. Through their ongoing programmes, members of the network take on local challenges in the areas of education, health, job training, gender, peace, social integration and the environment.

For more information about streetfootballworld