The opening of the first Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town is getting closer, and the new facility in the heart of the community is nearly ready to welcome to 100 children and young people from the area each evening to meet and play. During the day, streetfootballworld network member and Centre Host Grassroot Soccer will provide football activities and HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.

The centre will be officially opened on December 5th, 2009 by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter; Helen Zille, the Premier of the Western Cape Province; and former South African footballer Lucas Radebe. Seven African delegations and one Brazilian delegation will also meet for a football tournament.

The final details are currently underway, with a large mural being painted on the building’s exterior. Next week the solar panels in the centre will be activated, providing the property with electricity. The centre will run on a combination of solar power and conventional electricity from the city grid.

Football for Hope is a joint initiative by FIFA and streetfootballworld. The opening of the first Football for Hope Centre is part of 20 Centres for 2010, a campaign which aims to achieve positive social change by building twenty community hubs for public health, education and football across Africa. The centres will address local challenges in disadvantaged areas and improve education and health services for young people.