England footie fans ready to give up sex for World Cup! – 17.05.10

Photography – TiinaMaria

As part of preparations for the football World Cup in South Africa, officials recently inaugurated a refurbished sports stadium in one of Johannesburg’s less wealthy neighbourhoods. During the World Cup, the 3,000-seat facility will host an alternative football tournament for disadvantaged young people from around the world. 

Football officials and community organizers recently launched the Football for Hope Festival on March 25 in Alexandra, an impoverished township in eastern Johannesburg torn by violence and crime.

Speaking at the official opening launch, managing director of Streetfootballworld Jurgun Griesbeck said that the aim of the event was to encourage young people to take responsibility for their own lives. 
 
"The participants were chosen to show the world that they are young leaders so that when they are talking about themselves and where they are going, you yourself become inspired," he said. 
 
The players will also participate in activities which promote the exchange of ideas and life experiences, including talks on issues like HIV/AIDS and football coaching workshops.

Also speaking at the launch, the chief executive of the local organizing committee for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Danny Jordaan said that the upcoming world cup was not only about the famous football stars that are coming to South Africa for the event but also about the youngsters participating in the Football for Hope Festival. 
 
"It is a World Cup of hope, a World Cup of change, a World Cup of opportunity, a World Cup that focuses on the young people and their ambitions and their dreams," Jordaan said.

The two-week-long tournament, to be held in July toward the end of the World Cup, will bring together more than 200 underprivileged young people from 40 nations.

Football’s governing body, FIFA, is sponsoring the event. Head of corporate responsibility Federico Addiechi stated this is a way to give back to disadvantaged people who often are among the sport’s most ardent supporters.

“Football is with no doubt an integral part of our life. And therefore it is FIFA’s responsibility and the responsibility of everyone involved in the game of football to use its popularity, to use its power, as a tool for social change,” Addiechi said.

Football for Hope was founded five years ago. It works with 82 organizations in 50 countries that use football to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, conflict resolution, children’s rights, anti-discrimination and environmental issues.”

Conflict resolution is a major theme here. The team coming from Israel includes both Israeli and Palestinian kids. Players from the war-torn nations of the former Yugoslavia make up another team.

The Cambodian team includes land mine victims, and those from Britain and the United States include homeless youths.

The tournament will have mixed teams of girls and boys and each of the 12-minute games will be played without official referees so that all disagreements will be resolved through dialogue, a method which organizers hope will enhance mutual understanding and personal development in the young players. 

FIFA plans to launch 20 such centres across Africa this year. It wants them to be a legacy of the excitement and good will created by the continent’s first World Cup.