Radebe's festival of football development
29 September 2011
The newly launched Lucas Radebe Football Festival, named after the much-loved former Bafana Bafana captain and Leeds United star, aims to develop the game, unearth hidden football talent, and cultivate life-skills among youngsters across South Africa.
The festival was launched in Johannesburg on Wednesday, backed by First National Bank (FNB), which has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Radebe. The inaugural event takes place at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus from 3 to 7 October.
The event will cater to boys and girls from the under-15 age group and will consist of a development leg, which includes development teams from the Football First Programme, and an international leg which includes boys' and girls' teams from South Africa, Namibia and Zambia.
"I think that I have got a great sponsorship, which is going to be there for me," Radebe told East Coast Radio's KFC Sports Cage.
Job creation
"I think it's going to create jobs for local lads and ex-players, to get them involved. I think, starting now, this is only a base, only the start of all of it, and as time goes on we will see how it progresses. Hopefully we will spread around the country. I think there is huge talent out there, especially in those rural areas."
During the course of the festival the players will also attend life skills sessions presented by the Macsteel Maestros Programme.
"Those kids, they love football, they want to play the game, particularly with proper facilities, yet most of them cannot even watch TV because they don't have them. For me to get in there, it gives them hope, hope for their future," Radebe continued.
"[It's] not only that, because there are life skills involved in the game, and it's nice to let them go out there and showcase their talent and enjoy it. I think a big part of it is [them] enjoying their life.
'Come and have fun'
"Whether you can play or you can't play [well], come and have fun. You never know if there's hidden talent, if there's raw talent out there that can be uprooted. We give a chance to under-17 coaches and to the young development coaches to come and look at the new talent."
The FNB Football First Programme has been running successfully since of this year in Pietermaritzburg, Mthatha, Thohoyandou, George and Kimberley at the FNB artificial pitches.
Three coaches (two male and one female) were identified and trained per pitch and have been responsible for presenting various weekly training sessions and two festivals per pitch over the past five months.
The coaches have now identified their boys' and girls' development squads who will compete against each other in the inaugural Lucas Radebe Festival.
Development festivals were also presented in Namibia and Zambia as part of the FNB 2010 Legacy Programme.
'An inspiration'
Bernice Samuels, chief marketing officer at FNB, said: "Lucas has been an inspiration to the young players who have benefitted from the various football sponsorships of the bank for the past decade.
"Now that we are celebrating the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World through the FNB 2010 Legacy Programme, we also thought it fitting to celebrate the career of one of South Africa's most successful football icons by dedicating this festival to his amazing career."
Radebe told the Sports Cage that, "having experience and a taste of what football can do to enhance one's life, for me now it's a pleasure that I can give back to the community and to the development of football in South Africa, developing kids from the under-15s to make sure that we create a platform for them to play football at the highest level,"
In an interview with the South African Football Association, he said: "Throughout my football career and specifically while playing abroad, I remained committed to ploughing back what I had learnt here at home and abroad into the development of South African football, especially at grassroots level.
Soweto Schools Football Tournament
"This tournament is the start of my commitment to doing so, and I thank FNB for partnering with me in such an important project."
Safa's Director of Development Serama Letsoaka said: "We are purposely combining a development festival with an international festival. The development squads could very well produce international players in future and we would like the development players to be exposed to the match protocols involved in an international match.
"They will also be exposed to a level of football that they can aspire to, which should motivate them even more to train hard and to persevere," he added.
Early in 2012, Radebe will also host a Soweto Schools Football Tournament where young talent from local schools will be identified to form a Soweto Schools development team. The team will then compete against a composite team selected from the inaugural Lucas Radebe Football Festival.
"I hope that all the youngsters who have been touched by the FNB Football First Programme will take with them the experience and exposure they have gained through the development programme and make a positive difference in their lives," Radebe said.
SAinfo reporter and South African Football Association
