Grassroot Soccer South Africa – Organisation
South Africa
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Western Cape
Johannesburg, Cape Town
10 Van Beek Street, MarketUp #E20, Maboneng Precinct, New Doornfontein, Johannesburg
Civil society and community based organisations, Community, Health / Recreation, NGOs/CBOs, Sport / Recreation
Alcohol & substance abuse, Bullying, Domestic violence / Intimate partner violence, Gender-based violence, Masculinity, Monitoring & evaluation, Sexual violence, Social justice for young women, Violence in Schools and Educational Institutions, Youth and violence
Description
Grassroot Soccer is an adolescent health organisation that leverages the power of soccer to educate, inspire and mobilise youth to overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities. Grassroot Soccer South Africa (GRS South Africa) is an independent, locally registered NPO with a South African Board of Directors. Grassroot Soccer first began programmes in South Africa in 2006, and has steadily built a very strong local infrastructure.
Flagship sites in South Africa are located in Alexandra and Khayelitsha (FIFA Football for Hope Centres), and in Soweto at the Nike Training Centre, all with full-time staff and peer mentors. The multi-faceted nature of Grassroot Soccer’s approach (health, education, soccer, youth development, child protection) puts GRS South Africa in a unique position to work with a wide variety of trusted local partners, including Childline, Thuthuzela Care Centers (TCC), Sonke Gender Justice, WITS Reproductive Health Institute, University of Western Cape, University of Cape Town, University of Witswaterstrand, the Soul City Institute for Social Justice, and the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading. The organisation has established relationships at multiple levels of South Africa’s government, as well as a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Basic Education and the South African Football Association (SAFA).
In addition, through the organisation‘s membership in the streetfootballworld and Sport for Social Change networks, GRS has access to platforms for sharing of best practices among sport-for-development organisations across the country and continent. GRS South Africa also has a strong record of promoting girls’ and women’s participation in organised football. Two women’s club teams, RV United in Khayelitsha and the Bluebirds in Alexandra, are linked to GRS and have become part of the fabric of these communities. Both teams play in the SAFA SASOL league, the highest women’s league in South Africa.