Linda Stars Football Club, co-owned by Maria Cebekhulu (61) and Agens Mithi (52), aims to keep children off the streets and away from drugs.
Cebekhulu said her heart is torn apart every time she sees what substance abuse is doing to the lives of the Alexandra youth.
“I was walking [along] the street and I saw kids playing football [on] the pavement,” she said.
“There was one next to them sniffing glue. I was so hurt, that’s when I decided to form this club.”
The club has three teams including U10, U13 and U15. The U13 team recently participated in the Maimane Alfred Phiri (Map) Games and was knocked out in the quarterfinals.
The club has struggled financially and they do not have proper facilities. Cebekhulu said they sometimes use their own money for the benefit of the club.
Mithi said, “When we started the club we did not have balls and Phiri gave us two balls for the boys to play with.” The team recently received new balls from the Alexandra North Rand Local Football Association, and a recent donation of kit and boots from former Alex FM presenter, Murendeni Nndanduleni.
Teboho Motaung, who coaches the boys said, “Education is also important. I always tell the boys to bring their books along to gym so that we can also help them with their homework.”
Motaung added that the boys shared boots because some of them could not afford their own.
Details: Teboho Motaung 073 847 3189.
