On Monday 14 September, we received an unexpected visitor at the Gansbaai Communal Sports Centre. South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, paid a surprise visit to the Football Foundation’s youth sports programme in Gansbaai. She had been informed about the project by the South African High Commissioner to the UK, Lindiwe Mabuza.
Minister Dlamini-Zuma was amazed by the state-of-the-art facility that was put down in partnership by the Overstrand Municipality, Absa, Grootbos Foundation and the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport. The children and coaches were elated to meet her, and everyone received a hug from the Minister! With only 268 days left until the kick-off of the World Cup next year, many government, NGO, and private entities are looking at the local and international sector for funding support to build legacy projects like the Centre in Gansbaai.
There are two lovely new additions to our sports programme at the 
led by the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom, who had the honour of cutting the carrot ribbon and opening the project.
We celebrated the lives of 3 extraordinary South African women with a presentation for the children. “Mama Africa” was presented by our own passionate women Leán. The kids sang along heartily to Makeba’s famous “The Click Song”. One of South Africa’s most successful sportswomen, Penny Heyns, was introduced next: She won two gold medals at the Olympic Games in Atlanta and broke 14 world records in her extraordinary career as one of the world’s best breaststrokers. In the arts arena it was Charlize Theron who took to the stage, the first South African to win an OSCAR for best actress (Monster). She is a UN Messenger of Peace, involved in Women’s Rights organizations and also runs her own “Africa Outreach Project”.
