VRYHEID KZN: Vocational bursaries for aspiring footballers

Mpumalanga School of Excellence (MSE) – a football academy in Mbombela, Mpumalanga – has entered into a ground-breaking partnership with Forek Institute of Technology to offer bursaries to aspiring footballers. Forek Institute of Technology, situated in KaBokweni near Mbombela, is a private college that offers various artisanship and apprenticeship courses such as electrical engineering, welding, plumbing, bookkeeping, financial management, etc. Chairman Mr Fortune Sibiya said the college decided to partner with MSE in order to ensure that young footballers have a 50/50 chance in life, in case their ambitions to be professional footballers do not materialise. “It is a fact that a career as a soccer player is very short. We are giving these young footballers something to fall back on at the end of their soccer careers, or something they can build on and grow while they are pursuing their soccer dreams. In case they cannot become professional players, they have valuable skills to make a living. It is a win-win situation,” Mr Sibiya said.

He added that Forek Institute of Technology aims to reach out and help as many youngsters as possible from South Africa and beyond the borders of the country. “As a corporate citizen, we have already initiated a number of Corporate Social Investment (CSI) projects in the community of KaBokweni, where we are situated. This partnership will enable us to touch more lives from different communities.” The football academy used to register players up to 18 years old, but with its partnership with Forek, the age has been increased to 21 years old in order to accommodate players who have finished high school and still harbour ambitions to break into the professional / semi-professional ranks of soccer and have valuable skills as well. Boys who are 14 years old and above, have passed Grade 9 and want to branch into vocational training are also welcome to apply.

“We are very excited to have Forek on board. The benefits of this partnership to MSE are multi-pronged in that the football academy will now be able to offer services to players above 18 years old and not in a mainstream school; boost our longstanding vision to produce educated footballers and keep youngsters focused on educational development; and also give us more time to work with players a little longer. Players develop differently – some are good and ready when they are 16, while others are slow and late-bloomers who are ready to play at a higher level when they are 19 or 20,” Sizwe Yende explained. “The impact of this partnership on the socio-economic status of these youngsters is going to be huge in the future. In the US, tertiary institutions offer these kinds of opportunities to developing athletes. We are very grateful to Forek for choosing us as a partner to pursue this noble course and also for its management’s vision and altruism, as many youngsters from disadvantaged family backgrounds are set to benefit immensely,” he enthused. Parents or guardians who are interested in this opportunity for their children can contact 079-528-990, 078-591-9895 or 065-924-0300.

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