Legends step up to groom young players
South African Masters and Legends Football Association are calling on young boys to fight GBVF.
Kwa-Thema – Over 150 young soccer players participated in the gender-based violence campaign held by the South African Masters and Legends Football Association Kwa-Thema Sports Complex on Friday.
The initiative saw U15 soccer players and their coaches participating in the tournament, aimed at educating and fighting the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
This was part of the association’s social development programmes.
Chairperson of the association and former soccer player at the Witbank Aces, John ‘Bull’ Sibeko, said they felt this is the right target group to groom and educate about the importance of sharing their challenges.
“Sadly, there are national campaigns to groom young women while leaving the boy child behind. What do we expect would become of them?
“Many of these boys are raised in an environment where they are taught boys don’t cry and should always show their strong side in public. We are discouraging this notion and encouraging boys to be vulnerable if they feel the need to,” he added.
Sibeko added they also involved the coaches in the campaign as they spend more time with the boys.
“We pleaded with them to integrate life skills into their daily training to ensure the message is not lost.
“We will be running similar initiatives and inviting other male groups to join us in grooming these young boys,” he added.
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