Welcome to the Football for Hope Festival Team Blog. Enjoy!

July 25, 2010: Thank you for a wonderful time at the Festival 2010!

The World Cup and the Festival have came to a close and it is fantastic to think back to the wonderful two weeks we spent together in South Africa. We are pleased to report that all delegations have long since returned home safely! From the emails and facebook exchanges it is clear that a lot of outstanding young individuals have fond memories of their experiences and the friends they made! THANK YOU for all of your hard work and fantastic involvement in the festival. It was the contribution of your wonderful delegation members that made the festival so special and as a team we say: Siyabonga! Keep up the great work!

July 8, 2010: More than just football!

Yesterday’s spectators of the Festival 2010 weren’t only treated to the exciting Fair Play football matches of the delegations, but also to two special events in the Alex Stadium. Over lunch time, the festival’s celebrity-factor rose once more: The Football for Hope All Stars, including stars such as ex-French international player Christian Karembeu and former Black Stars player Anthony Baffoe, showed off their skills in a fair play exhibition match against team SMYN. Team SMYN consisted of South African football stars supporting the HIV-testing campaign ’Show Me Your Number’, a flagship project of the South African Football Players Union. For the first time, these international players were introduced to the social method of Fair Play Football and were enjoying the wonderful atmosphere that it creates on and off the pitch. Even though the crowd from Alexandra noisily cheered for Kaizer Chiefs striker José Torrealba and his FFH All stars team, the game ended in a friendly 2:2 draw. After the final game of the day, the excitement grew as everyone awaited the South African Hip Hop star HHP. Festival participants, visitors and staff members alike went crazy as he performed in English and the local languages Setswana, Zulu and Sesohto. Thrilled by the rapper’s hits ‘Make the circle bigger’ and a song about ‘Jabulani’ – the World Cup ball and also HHP’S real name – everyone joined in the singing and dancing; celebrating South Africa, the World Cup and the Festival on a beautiful sunny day in Alexandra!

July 4, 2010: Delegates talk about their first day at 3 Square

"So great and so perfect. I'm just so excited... 'cause we won!" Stella, 17, The Kids League (Uganda) "I'm so excited! It's amazing that football brings everyone together." Hermanta, 17, Football United (Australia)

"It went great! Everyone was in a good mood and I met a lot of people. I wish I could stay even longer!" Mehmet, 17, German Street Football Network

June 28th, 2010: The first delegates see Soccer City!

Football for Hope was presented to World Cup journalists at the Media Briefing in Soccer City this morning. streetfootballworld Managing Director Jürgen Griesbeck, FIFA Head of CSR Federico Addiechi, ex-Bafana Bafana player Lucas Radebe, the coordinator of the Mathare Football for Hope Centre Henry Majale and two young participants of the Football for Hope Festival headed out to the stadium to discuss the festival and the power of football. Nury Ortíz from Team USA and Sello Mahlangu from Team Alexandra were present at the media event and answered questions from the journalists about their expectations and their hopes for the two weeks that lie ahead of them. “This stadium is great and I am really happy that I got the chance to see it today! It really feels like I am at the World Cup now,” said 16-year-old Nury. The group held their preparation meeting in the VVIP lounge, with Sello and Nury confidently taking their seats in the comfortable chairs on the president’s balcony. At the media briefing, the Football for Hope Centres and the Festival were presented as the highlights of what Football for Hope has to offer in the framework of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After all the discussions about refereeing and video analysis in the World Cup, journalists were especially delighted to hear that there will be no referees in sight at the Football for Hope Festival!

June 27, 2010: Volunteering at the Football for Hope Festival 2010

Over the last few days, more than 300 volunteers from around the world have been converging on Johannesburg.  With Soccer City and the glitz and glamour of professional football as their backdrop, these volunteers are getting to know the only non-professional players in the World Cup: the Football for Hope Festival 2010 delegations. Twenty-four-year-old Maria Eugenia from Argentina is just one of a team of 65 volunteers in the Festival 2010 Hospitality Department, all of whom met at the Team Village for training.  She is currently studying tourism and hospitality, and volunteers in her home town in disadvantaged villages.  At home she worked three jobs to save up the 8000 pesos she needed for the flight to Johannesburg. "In my interview they asked me why I would want to spend so much money when I could put it to use locally," she smiles. "It's a dream come true to come to South Africa.  It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Being in touch with people who are so far from Argentina... teams are from Chile, Cambodia, all over the world!" Maria Eugenia arrived on June 21st and quickly found out first-hand about the famed South African friendliness. Her host, a Johannesburg native, has already presented her with a ticket to watch her team play against Mexico, and Maria Eugenia is thrilled to be truly living the experience of her thesis topic, international hospitality. "I believe that destiny is already written," Maria Eugenia offers, eyes wide. "The other things I've done already, they were the things I needed to be here.  The people, the culture, the society... I'm in the right place."

Maria Eugenia joins two other Festival 2010 Hospitality volunteers on their first day Getting to know each other

June 26, 2010: Getting ready for 400 international guests!

The crew was busy putting the final touches on the Team Village in preparation for 400 delegation members from around the world. Signs were being hung, boxes of drinks were being carried into the cafeteria, kits were being packed, and the final licks of paint were drying in the hot (yes, hot!) midday sun. Almost all of the Berlin streetfootballworld office has flown in to lend a hand, so the Football for Hope team in Johannesburg has been growing exponentially! The first four delegations--Spirit of Soccer, Team USA, Special Olympics, and A Ganar Ser Paz--arrive on Sunday and will be greeted by a busy Football for Hope team that's been working non-stop to ensure that every participant has a great time!

June 8, 2010: The stadium is complete!

 May 19, 2010: Football Friday fever rises in Alex! 

The community of Alexandra celebrated the countdown to the Football for Hope Festival 2010 in style at the Alex Plaza Shopping Centre on Friday, 14 May. The organisers built on the excitement created by Football Fridays and saw that members of the local community of Alexandra Township are feeling the fever too.

The celebrations allowed the organisers, friends of Football for Hope and local DJs to interact with the community and generate interest around Alexandra in the build-up to the Football for Hope Festival 2010.

Maimane Alfred Phiri, part of South Africa’s 1998 World Cup team, was on hand to sign caps, T-shirts and balls that were given away to the public at the event.

May 12, 2010: Football for Hope Festival Entertainment team selects their line-up!

The Football for Hope Festival is not just about football – it’s also a celebration of music, arts and culture! The Festival Organising Team is hard at work creating an exciting line-up of cultural performers that will include talented young performers from the host community of Alexandra as well as some of the biggest names in South African music.

The festival will feature a daily programme of music, performance and dance at both the Festival village and in the Festival Stadium, with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies boasting a stellar line up of award-winning artists.

At the Opening Ceremony, rising star of South African music JR will perform alongside South Africa’s premier hiphop act Skwatta Camp. There will also be a performance of ‘Shout’ by chart-topping solo artist Danny K and Kabelo Mabalane of the multi-award winning Kwaito outfit TKZEE. Alongside them will be three dance groups from Alexandra – township jive group ABCDE, traditional dancers Africa Dance Theatre Group and Wayback, who perform the traditional South African ‘gumboot’ dance.

To find the best performers in Alexandra, the Festival Organising Team held three days of auditions in the township where any and all types of cultural performers were invited to show what they could do. Hundreds of performers auditioned for the chance to be part of an official event of the FIFA World Cup –from Michael Jackson impersonators to opera singers.

“We saw almost 200 acts in Alexandra and I’m proud to say we’ve found some great performers to reflect the culture and lifestyle of South Africa” said Kevin Fine, Entertainment Manager for the festival and a former South African radio DJ. “Anyone who visits the festival will not only be able to see the football but also be informed and entertained by some of South Africa’s best and up-and-coming talent”.

The festival will close with interactive drumming experience Drum Cafe – who will invite all the festival participants from around the world to perform with them in a giant drumming circle!

May 6, 2010: Meeting Team Alexandra

This week we held a reception in Alexandra for some of the visitors from Berlin and Zurich to meet Team Alexandra, the host team who will represent their community at the Football for Hope Festival 2010.

Team Alexandra is made up of young volunteer coaches from Play Soccer, an organization that uses football to educate children about social issues like healthy eating, peer pressure and safe sex. The team are quickly growing into their roles as local celebrities!

18 year old Sello Mahlangu is one of the team coaches and he can’t wait for the festival to arrive. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to empower myself and learn more about other cultures” he said. “Alexandra has finally caught the eye of the world!” “First and foremost, this World Cup isn't just about the big stars, but also about bringing hope, change and opportunities to communities like Alexandra” said Sello. “It’s very important for kids from ‘Alex’ to see that, even if you come from a poor background, if you work hard and stay out of trouble, you can make it too. Already I am having an impact with kids in my area because they know I am part of this team. “Being part of Team Alexandra has already changed my life, and that of the whole team, for the better. I now look at life with a positive attitude and I hope to share this experience with my peers after the World Cup.

I think that by the end of the festival I will have learned to be tolerant and to love others, to have learned some coaching and life-skills trainings which we can then give back to the community”.

In the picture:
Back row (from left to right): Lebogang, Thumeka, Victoria, Lowyard, Tina, Ayanda
Front row (from left to right):  Neo, Katlego, Sello

GO BACK TO THE OVERVIEW OF FOOTBALL FOR HOPE 2010