NATURENA – Kaizer Chiefs Football Club and North-West University (NWU) have officially entered into a partnership to construct the “Kaizer Chiefs Centre of Innovation” on the NWU Vaal Triangle Campus, situated in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.
The partnership was announced on Friday October 18 at NWU, Vaal.
This pioneering initiative is a first for both sport and higher education in the country and will see the establishment of a multi-purpose, Kaizer Chiefs dedicated walk-in centre on the Vaal campus of one of South Africa’s leading and largest educational institutions.
A formal memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the Kaizer Chiefs Centre of Innovation has been undersigned by both Mr Motaung and Prof Mariba and construction of the building is expected to start by the end of 2013. The centre should be fully operational by the middle of 2014.
The partnership between Kaizer Chiefs and the NWU signifies two powerful South African brands coming together for the creation of synergy.
Mr. Kaizer Motaung, executive chairman of Kaizer Chiefs, said,”It is a milestone in the history of Kaizer Chiefs coming together to team up with the institution of this magnitude, North West University in pursuance of a very noble exercise in terms of empowerment of sports people. The launch of the Innovation Centre will be instrumental in getting us glued to the communities especially in this area that has a very rich history of football. In the 60s, 70s and 80s the Vaal area has produced lots of footballers.”
The partnership will benefit the broader community. It is about empowerment of sports people and the community at large. This is also part of the expansion process that we have embarked upon. These sentiments were shared by Dr Theuns Eloff, vice-chancellor of NWU: “From the NWU’s perspective, as a higher education institution with a track record of education and training as well as development and research in sport, initiatives like these give meaning to our vision.”
