Learners from St Matthews Secondary School in Soweto with Sunderland AFC’s resident coaches, Graham Robinson and Michael Havelock
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.” – Nelson Mandela
The pride, passion and tradition of sport is what connects us as individuals, families, communities and nations. Indeed, sport has the capacity to bring people together in ways that transcend boundaries of language, culture, nationality, age, sex, race and social standing.
In the spirit of sport, and with a view to using it as a tool to help grow literacy, the Sunderland Association Football Club (AFC) and representatives from the Nelson Mandela Foundation recently visited St Matthews Secondary School in Soweto.
On 26 March 2014, 39 learners attended the Mandela-inspired coaching session with Sunderland AFC’s resident coaches, Graham Robinson, head of International Football Development, and Michael Havelock, community coach.
The message to the learners was clear: by empowering yourself, doing your school work and being committed to sport, a bright future is possible.
“Nelson Mandela’s legacy has created the opportunity for us to achieve a bright future. This is a journey that is our collective responsibility as active citizens and it cannot be achieved without valued partners. Sunderland AFC is such a partner,” said Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO Sello Hatang.
The learners each received a copy of Nelson Mandela: The Authorised Comic Book, along with the book’s learner life skills component, and 21 soccer balls were donated to the school.