The Football for Hope Centre Kick-Off will take place after the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, on 5 and 6 December 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event will celebrate the inauguration of the first Football for Hope Centre, constructed in the community of Khayelitsha.

“20 Centres for 2010” is the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Its aim is to raise funds to create twenty Football for Hope Centres for public health, education and football for youth across Africa. The centres will help increase awareness about HIV/AIDS, increase literacy, improve gender equality, integrate youth with intellectual disabilities and promote development in other targeted ways, leaving a social legacy for the African continent.

The Centre Kick-Off is organised by FIFA and streetfootballworld, along with the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa, the City of Cape Town, the Province of the Western Cape and streetfootballworld network member Grassroot Soccer.

Grassroot Soccer, the local Football for Hope Centre Host, is a South African-based, non-profit organisation that uses football to educate young people about HIV and AIDS and empower them with the knowledge to live HIV-free. From the Football for Hope Centre, Grassroot Soccer will deliver their innovative programmes and services to the community of Khayelitsha.

During the Centre Kick-Off there will be live demonstrations of these programmes on and off the pitch. The event will also feature a football tournament where the teams negotiate their own rules - without referees - to promote communication, understanding and respect. The mixed-gender teams will represent organisations from the Football for Hope movement that are using football to effect social change.

Most of the organisations are streetfootballworld network members, which will get another opportunity for face-to-face exchange during their days in Khayelitsha.

Read more about the centres and the Football for Hope movement.