Shona Khona - meaning "go for it" - is a youth soccer development
initiative that was started three years ago with the objective of developing
role models from learners country-wide, with a special emphasis on children
from the rural and under-developed communities of the country. Now, the
South African Football Association-endorsed programme is paying exciting
dividends.
The brainchild of the former general manager of Reckitt Benckiser South
Africa, Roberto Funari, Shona Khona has attracted some significant sponsors.
Reckitt Benckiser began the initiative with Metro Cash & Carry three
years ago and the project has since prospered. Its partners now include,
among others: PSL club Mamelodi Sundowns; AIG, the sponsors of Manchester
United; leading sports management agency ForwardZone; Imperial Motors;
and The Sowetan newspaper.
How Shona Khona works
The way it works is that youngsters between the ages of 10 and 16 years
are given the opportunity to take part in training camps by entering through
proof-of-purchase of specially marked household products made by Reckitt
Benckiser. They SMS the lucky number found on the packaging, and numbers
are then drawn which allocate the winners to a training camp closest to
their cities or towns.
Regional camps are held in 20 different locations across the country and
incorporate all nine provinces. At each camp, the most talented players
are selected by South African Football Association (Safa) coaches and
soccer legends to attend a national Shona Khona weekend soccer and life-skills
camp in July.
This year, the special weekend camp will include the Sundowns and Manchester
United Soccer Schools coaches. After the camp, a handful of the most talented
children will be selected to travel to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester
United, for a week of training at the team's highly-esteemed facilities.
Successes
Among the successes achieved so far are five boys who were accepted into,
and are currently enrolled at, the Safa/Transnet School of Excellence.
Another youngster, Sifiso Mnguni, who was discovered at the very first
Shona Khona training camp, has just signed a three-year playing contract
with the under-19 development team of PSL club Platinum Stars.
However, the most exciting accomplishment was recently achieved in Brazil
at the Sao Paulo Futebol de Base, where, since December 2005, 24 youngsters
selected by Shona Khona have undergone a week's training.
It has become the experience of a lifetime for 12-year-old Tyroane Sandows
who, after being selected to go to Brazil, so impressed Sao Paulo's coaches
that he has been signed to a three-year contract with the club.
After the three years are up, he will be re-evaluated, with the prospect
of being able to join the senior section of the club's academy, which
means that he will then be eligible to start the process of becoming a
professional soccer player in accordance with Fifa guidelines.
'He continues to shine'
"Sandows has managed to set himself apart from his peers - he continues
to shine," said Stan Whiting, Shona Khona's project coordinator.
"We never anticipated this kind of success."
Since being discovered, the quiet Sandows has let his talent
speak for itself. His passion and consistency is what impressed his Brazilian
coaches and earned him a contract.
Sandows' experience started with the purchase of a specially marked Reckitt
Benckiser product from his local Metcash store. What seemed then to be
a simple purchase with a lot of hope behind a single lucky number, has
not only earned him a chance, but has changed his and his family's life;
in August, they will relocate to join the older of their two sons in Brazil.
"I do not have enough words to thank you for your commitment to this
project and for making Tyroane's dreams a reality. Thank you," Sandows'
father, Joe, told the Shona Khona sponsors.
"At first, it was just a wonderful weekend experience, then, an incredible
opportunity for Tyroane to travel to Brazil for a week, and now, nearly
two years later we are on our way to actually live in Brazil."
Opportunities in England
The opportunities for talented youngsters will shift from a South American
powerhouse, Sao Paulo, to an English powerhouse, Manchester United, in
2008 and project co-ordinator Whiting is excited about the impact Shona
Khona is making.
He explained: "By taking the training and life-skills camps into
communities, Shona Khona is able to reach more children than ever before
and with AIG on board, the most talented children will have the chance
to travel to the UK, Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, where
they will receive a week of world class football training."
The national soccer camp, featuring the best of the best from the community-based
camps, will give coaches from the Manchester United Schools programme
and the Mamelodi Sundowns technical team a chance to put the youngsters
through their paces, with various skills and training drills covering
all aspects of the game of soccer. These will provide the coaches and
other selectors a chance to make a qualified decision about the players.
During the camps, the learners will also take part in life-skills education
sessions designed to be interactive and fun.
Shona Khona is set to continue annually, up to and beyond the 2010 Fifa
World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa. If its successes are
anything to go by, South Africa will have players to answer the call to
'shona khona' in tournaments beyond 2010.
,
11 March 2008
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