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Amanda Dlamini Foundation empowers girls through soccer

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Former Banyana Banyana skipper Amanda Dlamini will be hosting a football tournament aimed at encouraging young girls to be part of the sport.

The Amanda Dlamini Girls Foundation tournament will take place in Makhehleni Sports Ground in Kwamashu, north of Durban on Saturday, April 14, 2018 from 09h00.

The Foundation has partnered with KwaMashu based organisation, Khulanathi Sports and Recreation, and is sponsored by Jockey. The schools will be provided with soccer kits.

“Basically, the aim is to encourage the young girls to sort of take up a talent, because I think it is where you develop your love for sport. For me as a little young girl at the age of 11 years already, I was playing football. I feel that we need to encourage the young girls to take a sport, especially soccer because it is still predominantly a male dominated sport. Our aim is to remind not only girls but the teachers and community at large that girls should also play sport, especially soccer.”

The schools that will be partaking in the tournament are: Nsimbini Primary School, Vilakazi Primary School, Bhekilanga Primary School and Dumani Primary School.

Dlamini also believes that women’s football status in the country is on the rise, but she also feels that it’s something that should have happened long ago.

“I think some of us have even retired because things were not changing, and if it is that things have changed we would have probably made soccer a career. And we wouldn’t have to start now looking for jobs everywhere, but the passion kept us that long in the football career. Hopefully, after South African Football Association (Safa) elections we will find people who will really advocate for women’s football and equality,” says Dlamini.

Moreover, the 29 year-old retired footballer, says she is happy to see South African female players going to oversees, and she says that shows a huge improvement.

In echoing Dlamini’s sentiments the Secretary General of Khulanathi Sports and Recreation, Mduduzi Majola, says these kinds of tournaments seek to empower and provide young girls with preventive tools against social ills which affects townships, like substance abuse as well as teenage pregnancy just to name the few.

“Street drugs like Whoonga and alcohol have robbed our township of career driven and responsible youth, and so such initiatives aim to prevent or mend the scars left by such socials ills.”

 

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