On Saturday 11 December, streetfootballworld network member Kick4Life hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Lesotho Football for Hope Centre at the Old Europa Police Training Grounds.

Fifty Kick4Life (K4L) volunteers, 150 young participants and about 30 special guests, including representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation, the Lesotho Police Commission and the private sector came to experience this special moment. 

The Football for Hope Centre will serve as Kick4Life’s headquarters and will provide a broad range of programming for all Basotho youth, with facilities including HIV testing and counseling, a resource library, a computer and media room, a training room and an artificial turf football pitch.

Construction of the centre will begin early in January with completion scheduled for the end of June.

A real kick-off!
All the attendees who gathered to celebrate the beginning of the construction did more than symbolically turn the first piece of soil; Kick4Life also held a match day of the Maseru Street League.

The nine-team football tournament offered a good chance for disadvantaged young people from the city, many of them orphans, to experience with Kick4Life’s programmes. Teams play 7-a-side matches, participate in K4L educational activities, and have the opportunity to use voluntary counseling and testing services provided on-site.

“The Lesotho Football for Hope Centre is a wonderful initiative for our country because it will be sustainable for many years to come; not just 5 or 6 years, but for a lifetime,” said Centre Manager Refiloe Maphallela.

“During this time, it will be a source of quality programmes for the youth of Lesotho. At the Centre, youth will not only find the commitment, consistency and care that will help fight the spread of HIV, but they’ll also have numerous ways to get involved in a safe, fun, and educational environment.”