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“An Inspirational Group Called Grassroot Soccer”

By GRSweb on March 11, 2010

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, made time during a whirlwind trip to South Africa to visit  Grassroot Soccer in Soweto yesterday.  In between meetings with the Minister of Finance, business leaders, and students at the Witwatersrand University to discuss the challenges facing the South African economy, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was received at the George Ndlovu Stadium by Soweto Site Coordinator Gregory Laing, where 7th graders from Paul Mosaka Primary School were playing Risk Field.  After listening to the children discussing risks that can lead to HIV, Mr. Strauss-Kahn watched on as girls and boys played five-a-side soccer, and even got a chance to kick a soccer ball around himself!  (“I was a rugby player,” he conceded.)

Visibly moved by the experience, he called Grassroot Soccer an “inspirational group” and wrote later, “As I watched those children play, I was filled with emotion—and inspiration.  Yes, South Africa is going to meet its challenges.”

To learn more about Mr. Strauss-Kahns visit to SA, read the Huffington Post article here.

To see videos of the visit, click here, here, and here

To see a BBC picture, click here.

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Master Coach Titie Plaatjie Features In New Book “Eleven”

By GRSweb on March 5, 2010

Nolusindiso ‘Titie’ Plaatjie, of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, has recently been featured in the book ELEVEN: Making Lives Better, 11 Stories of Development Through Football.  Written by Steve Fleming, co-founder of GRS Implementing Partner Kick4Life, and co-edited by streetfootballworld, the book tells stories of eleven extraordinary individuals, each of whom has been transformed by the power of football in their lives.  It further explores the work of the eleven organizations, from Cambodia, to Columbia, to South Africa, that enabled these transformations.  Through these case studies, ELEVEN proposes that “the beginnings of a new phase in the game’s evolutionary journey are already underway – football as a tool for social development – as more and more communities and individual lives are transformed through the power and influence of the sport.”

Titie, who features as the final case study in the book, is the ultimate Grassroot Soccer role model – a symbol of inspiration to all who know and work with her.

Born in Peddie, a small town in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Titie moved to Port Elizabeth (PE) when she was just five years old. In the early 1990s, Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape were hot spots for HIV, poverty, and crime, and Titie’s family didn’t have the resources to escape these challenges.  Despite her impoverished upbringing, Titie focused her time and energy on football, which gave her the strength and focus to make positive life choices.  As she grew older, football became a defining feature in her life,  and she was named captain of City Lads, a local women’s team in Port Elizabeth.  Titie’s success at school saw her progress to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, but without sufficient funding, she was unable to complete her degree and had to drop out.

It was at this point in her life that Titie found GRS.  In February 2007, GRS visited City Lads to recruit Coaches for our program.  Titie signed up immediately and quickly showed great skill as a facilitator and role model for youth.  In time, Titie was hired as a Program Coordinator for GRS PE, and was promoted as a Master Coach just last month.  With support from GRS and tremendous dedication, Titie is also back in school and on her way to earning a degree in Human Movement Science.

To read Titie’s story, visit www.elevenbook.com

To view Titie’s profile, click here.

You can also see “A Game For Life,” a documentary of Titie’s work in Port Elizabeth.

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GRS Coach Lunga Sidzumo Wins Mac Aids Fellowship

By GRSweb on March 1, 2010

Lunga Sidzumo , co-founder of Ragball International, poses with a handmade ragball.

As a young leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS, Grassroot Soccer South Africa Coach Lunga Sidzumo, from Khayelitsha, was recently awarded a prestigious MAC AIDS Leadership Initiative Fellowship. Through a year-long training and development program, the fellowship supports leaders who have made significant contributions to reducing the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS

“It is my goal to use my experience in the MAC AIDS Leadership Initiative to further promote HIV education and gender awareness in my community,” says Lunga, whose work as a MAC AIDS Fellow will focus on continued delivery of the Skillz curriculum in schools and at the Khayelitsha Football For Hope Centre.

A member of the Grassroot Soccer (GRS) team since February 2009, 23 year old Lunga was initially involved as a Coach for the F-MARC funded “11 For Health” pilot program, addressing the eleven most serious health problems in South Africa.  As an 11 For Health Coach, Lunga’s drive and natural leadership qualities stood out. He was named Coach Coordinator, responsible for direct oversight of the entire 11 For Health team.  Following the pilot, Lunga was trained as a Skillz Coach to deliver GRS’ HIV prevention curriculum to youth.

“As a Grassroot Soccer and 11 For Health Coach, I can see the power of these programmes, yet we are only scratching the surface,” says Lunga.  “I hope to gain an even greater understanding of the pandemic and interact with other young people who are making a difference in their communities.”

In 2009, Lunga co-founded Ragball International with several members of the GRS team.  Through the production and sale of handmade soccer balls, Ragball International aims to empower young people from developing countries with income-generation opportunities and basic entrepreneurial skills.  Now serving as Country Director, Lunga oversees a local production team of school-going youth who benefit directly from the sale of the ragballs and was recently featured as a Changemaker on Ashoka’s Changemakers website for his work.  Visit www.ragballinternational.com or click here to learn more about this project.

“To be part of MAC makes me feel so special and more confident about myself.  I never thought on the first day I joined Grassroot Soccer that I’d have this opportunity.  I’d like to thank Grassroot Soccer Coaches and staff for being true family and friends and supporting me with passion, hard work, and commitment.”


MAC AIDS Leadership Initiative

In order to meet the urgent need for new leaders in HIV prevention, the M·A·C AIDS Fund has invited two of the world’s leading educational institutions – Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – to join South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council in creating the M·A·C Leadership Initiative. For the first two months of the program, the Fellows are immersed in a daily, intensive, in-residence training in South Africa where they explore “what works” in HIV prevention at the international, national, and local levels and develop skills needed to carry out unique HIV prevention projects during the year with pilot funds and ongoing support from the program.

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Methembe Ndlovu Wins Dartmouth College Social Justice Award

By GRSweb on February 19, 2010


GRS Board Members Ric Lewis and Peter Grieve present the Martin Luther King Social Justice Award to GRS Co-Founder Methembe Ndlovu at the Football For Hope Centre Opening in Cape Town, South Africa. December 2009.


On Friday, January 29, 2010, Grassroot Soccer Co-Founder and Zimbabwe Director Methembe Ndlovu was awarded Dartmouth College’s 2010 Martin Luther King Social Justice Award.  The awards recognize members of the Dartmouth community who have contributed significantly to social justice, peace, civil rights, education, public health, or environmental justice.  One of the three awardees in 2010, Methembe received the Emerging Leadership Award, in recognition of his vision, enthusiasm, and persistence in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe.  Methembe was unable to attend the ceremony in the US and was presented the award at GRS’ Football For Hope Centre Opening in Cape Town, South Africa. 

“I feel honored to receive such a prestigious award.  I am fortunate to have an opportunity to affect young people’s lives in such a direct way — one can work a lifetime without getting such an opportunity,” said Methembe. “I am always humbled by the energy and enthusiasm young people here have for life and the challenges it carries, despite growing up in an
extremely difficult period for our young country.  They are the ones that keep our team going.”

GRS’ Co-Founder, CEO, and former teammate of Methembe’s, Dr. Tommy Clark, who received the award in 2006, accepted the award on his behalf.

“The power of role models is key to Grassroot Soccer’s success – and Methembe is mine,” said Tommy.  “He had the vision and talent to leave Zimbabwe when he came to study at Dartmouth and the courage and conscience to return.  As a former national team captain and one of Zimbabwe’s most recognized figures, his work with young people on a daily basis is a
powerful example for others.”

Methembe was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and was the first from his area to attend Dartmouth College. After Dartmouth, he returned to Zimbabwe, where the idea for Grassroot Soccer was born. He has captained both Highlanders Football Club and the Zimbabwean National Team, and his intelligence, charisma, and skills as an educator make him an invaluable asset to the GRS team.  Methembe now serves as the Director of GRS Zimbabwe, in addition to his roles as the Coach of the Zimbabwe Under 20 National Team and Co-Owner of the new Bantu Rovers in Bulawayo.

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The Revolution’s Chris Tierney Spends His Off-Season With GRS

By GRSweb on February 17, 2010

Chris Tierney is in his third year playing left midfield for the New England Revolution.

Chris Tierney, a wide left midfielder for the New England Revolution, spent a month of his off season not vacationing with friends and family, but volunteering for HIV/AIDS outreach with Grassroot Soccer in South Africa.

Tierney is 24 and heading into his third season with the Revolution. The Massachusetts native graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelors degree in psychology and was spotted by the Revolution in the 2008 invitation-only tryout and drafted in the Supplemental Draft the following day.

He traveled to South Africa alone and joined a group of ten interns who have volunteered a year of their time, unpaid, to Grassroot Soccer. GRS has offices throughout Africa and Tierney was the only MLS player involved over the winter break.


To read the full article and the interview with Chris Tierney, click here.

Article written by L.E. Eisenmenger  for Ussoccerplayers.com.  Boston Ma, Jan 29, 2010.

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