Football to address fatherlessness in South Africa

Dear supporters,

The past couple of months have been encouraging for us as we continue to reach young men in prison, and mentor our graduates who have been released. Since the middle of January we've been working inside the prison. We have had exciting talks about the values of the Academy, starting with respect and self-discipline. On the 1st of February we started practising again. We have had some guys recently released on parole and serve as good role models in their communities. Through them leaving we have the opportunity to have new guys joining the Academy. We have had some trials already and 6 new inmates have been selected to join the Academy.

Let's have a closer look now at the teams performance in the local football league.

On the 5th/6th of April the Promotional League in the Drakenstein LFA area kicked off with a 4:0 (1:0) win for Hope Academy Drakenstein against Green Hills. In sunny weather conditions of 28ºC Anele Buja, within the first 15 minutes of the game, scored the first goal for Drakenstein.

Still in the first half, Drakenstein for a brief moment, seemed to have lost a goal to their opponents, until it became clear that there was a handball by the opponents before the ball crossed the line. After allowing Green Hills a lot of play during the rest of the first half, Drakenstein dominated for most of the second half with a second goal by Ayanda Singama and a third by Axiwe Khonjwa. In the last 20 minutes a seemingly more fit Drakenstein team scored a fourth goal, executed by Thulani Ngxokomsa.

After a fair games on both sides and a well-deserved win by Drakenstein, Coach Sivuyile “Juju” Tabata stated that he was satisfied with the team’s performance, calling it a great first match.  He did however add that improvement is needed and that the team will work on certain weaker areas in the coming practice sessions. A great match day was characterized by an equally great team spirit, not only on the pitch but also next to it, with loyal support for the players.

Drakenstein were supposed to play another match on Sunday, but as the opponents didn’t arrive for the game this gives the Drakenstein 6 points for the first two matches.There are still 24 more games ahead and it looks set to be a great season for Drakenstein!

Thanks for all your continued support towards the young men and their FOOTBALL, FAITH and FUTURE development.

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