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Brazil Success for South Africa

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“Wow….what a two weeks it has been. I don’t even know where to start! We have just returned from what feels like a dream” – Athapelele Ngwendu, United Through Sport South Africa Scholar.

These were the words of one of our 8 children returning from Brazil having participated in the Street Football World Cup alongside the FIFA event. The trip was to take part in a Football competition but what the group got from it was a whole lot more.

From visiting local Favelas and interacting with the local community to learning Capoeira (a Brazilian form of dance fighting), playing in front of crowds of 100’s in the bustling city centre of Sao Paulo (the largest city in South America) to learning Spanish and making life-long friends with their Argentinean house mates. This trip was filled with such a richness of experiences and learning opportunities that it will take many more weeks to fully digest what they have done and achieved.

On the field the team did extremely well considering their age and background. We cruised through the group stages of the competition with big wins over USA and Costa Rica and a nail biting victory over the Philippines, only to set-up an extremely tough encounter with Ghana in the round of 16. The team were unlucky to lose to a much older, stronger more physical Ghanaian team. From here we moved into a ‘Fair-play’ group which we topped by beating Philippines and Panama and drawing with Sierra Leone, who boasted a full time professional player. Proudly we also finished the competition as one of the few teams to finish with maximum fair-play points for Respect, Cooperation and Solidarity.

Off the field the kids made us even more proud. We proved to be one of the most popular and well supported teams in the competition, especially amongst the locals. This was in no doubt due to the open nature in which our kids engaged with the many other teams and cultures they came across.

A true testament to the impact they had on the other teams was at the fair-well, when we left our house mates from Argentina, Philippines and Panama where endless tears flowed as the new friends were separated for the first time.

It was a truly wonderful trip for the United Through Sport kids that participated which created experiences and memories that will last for a life time. Most important is the lasting impact that the trip has had on their interpersonal skills, their cultural awareness and their aspirations for the future.

“I learned about so many different countries and cultures, I learned Spanish, Portuguese, German and Filipino. We took part in so many discussions and debates and we saw and experienced so many new things. I really feel like our brains were bombarded with new information to learn. It’s left me with a desire to travel more, see more and learn more…I will never forget this experience” – Lindiwe Cezula – United Through Sport South Africa Scholar.

Check out a video of Lindiwe’s trip to the Brazilian World Cup 2014.

Round of 16 Clash with Ghana

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After cruising through the group stages of the Street Football World Cup with three wins, United Through Sport South Africa were given an extremely tough round of 16 clash against Africa Continental Champions Ghana.

Going into the clash, Ghana were regarded as one of the favourites to win the tournament, with a much older and stronger group of players and only one female in their line-up. Ghana also boasted two full time professional players in their ranks. So this was always going to be a David V’s Goliath situation.

The United Through Sport team fought bravely throughout the game and late in the second half looked like possibly causing an upset after coming back from 4-1 down to make the score 4-3 and give Ghana a tense last few minutes.

Unfortunately the upset was not to be and the game finished 5-3 in favour of the older more experienced Ghana side.

Our South Africa side showed their integrity throughout and came away with maximum value points for fair play, respect and cooperation, with Ghana only picking up one point out of three.

We now fall out of the main competition but go into a ‘Fair play’ group to continue to fight for further honours.

“Our team fought really hard and I’m so proud of the fact that they maintained their values and integrity throughout. We are now one of only 5 remaining teams to have picked up maximum value points in all of our games. In context it’s important to remember that we are one of the youngest teams here, with our youngest player being only 14 compared to most teams playing with 20 and 21 year olds. We are also one of the few teams participating with four boys and four girls to give equal gender balance. Lets also remember we have also gone further in the competition than any senior Bafana Bafana team at a World Cup”. Nick Mould – United Through Sport South Africa Coach

Opening Wins in Brazil

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United Through Sport South Africa take maximum points on opening day in Brazil

The United Through Sport team representing South Africa at the Street Football World Cup got off to a dream start on the opening day of the tournament with two wins from two games.

The Street Football World Cup is taking place over the next 7 days with teams from 24 countries around the world competing in the centre of Sao Paulo, Brazil for the coveted title of World Street Football Champions.

United Through Sport is the representative team for South Africa and took 8 young people from our Senior School of Excellence Programme (4 boys and 4 girls) to take part in the tournament. The tournament is not just about Football but places a big emphasis on the cultural exchange; promoting fair-play, respect and cooperation. At the end of each game, teams are awarded a potential extra three points depending on how well the opposition and mediators feel they complied with the aspects promoted.

The team made an unbelievable start beating Costa Rica 5-1 in their first encounter as well as picking up all three extra points for the positive manner in which they played. They then went on to top their first result by beating USA 7-0 in the second game of the day; once again taking maximum points for fair-play, respect and solidarity, to end the day, top of their group.

It was a great first day for the United Through Sport team who were the talk of the day and enjoyed the media attention they received from CNN and Brasil Sport TV.

“We really feel like celebrities here, the children are coming up and asking for photos and autographs and the media cameras are following us around and continuously asking for interviews. It’s such an amazing feeling and to be in Brazil while the World Cup is taking place just makes it even better.” Lorenda Fezile: United Through Sport South Africa team member.