Development minister Bert Koenders is to contribute €600,000 to a sports project in the South African townships. The project is intended to strengthen vulnerable communities through a combination of football and education.

The project aims to offer an alternative to young township dwellers. By providing football training, it will give them opportunities to follow other educational paths. The project will consist of three components: football, computer skills and life skills, augmented by optional courses in English, HIV/AIDS prevention and economics.

The Youth Zone Legacy project was devised by the Foundation for a Safe South Africa, headed by Roelf Meyer, who played an important part in ending apartheid in the 1990s.

The project is also supported by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), which works to strengthen communities. And it is supported officially by the South African FIFA World Cup 2010 organising committee.

On behalf of Mr Koenders, ambassador Rob de Vos attended the signing of an agreement between the World Cup organising committee and the implementing organisation.

The Dutch contribution has made the project possible. The intention is that it should become so popular and successful that it can be repeated and expanded with money from other sources.



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