The Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association (ANLFA) in partnership with Simphiwe Dludlu Foundation and Mavu Sport Development recently unveiled a newly formed Alex Girls Football Development that will unearth new talents in the area.
The project, which is a brainchild of Mavu Sport Development that has it presence in five provinces, will work with 12 local primary schools to unearth new talent in women’s soccer.
Speaking to dozens of people attended the launch of the organisation that was held in Altrec Sports Complex, former Banyana Banyana captain and current coach of head coach of the South African U17 Women’s National Team (Bantwana) Simphiwe Dludlu urged parents, teachers and community of Alexandra to support to the organisation.
“We must support these young girls and always remind them that they add value to society. The biggest thing that we forget about nurturing kids is that we forget that one day they will be citizens of the world not just of Alex. We want them to know and believe that they are important global citizens through sports and education,” Dludlu said.
“We want to make sure that the girl child has a voice, we also want to make sure that she has necessary resources to go further in a territory that was known to be a boy’s territory. We want to bridge the gap between boys and girls when it comes to sport and ensure that we unearth new talent that will be nurtured to represent the country one day.”
Bram van Wijck the director of operations at Mavu Sport Development said the positive response they received from local schools, department of education and the City of Johannesburg was heartwarming.
“Our work cannot be a success without a buy-in from the Department of Education and schools. We will be working with 12 local primary schools and the City of Johannesburg in this project. Women’s football has been identified as one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and for South Africa to be able to compete with the world, we need to work more at the grassroots level to develop new talent.
“We have more than 500 girls from different schools who have signed to be part of the Alex Girls Football Development,” he said.
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