The first workshop will be held in Soweto at the Nike training Centre (M68 Klipspruit Soweto Gauteng 1837, M68, Klipspruit, Soweto, 1837). At the workshop 25 coaches will be trained through the KNVB international program. Following this workshop, the next 25 coaches will be training in Pietermaritzburg. With the final 50 coaches coming on to the program in November 2018.
The first workshop will be begin on 16 July 2018, playing into the celebration of what would have been Mandela's 100 birthday on 18 July 2018. The final day of the workshop will see 60 young footballers playing in a football festival at the Nike centre.
The coaches are selected through the Soweto Local Football Association, Gauteng department of education and SAFA, in a joint effort to educate coaches from the region. Each coach will leave the workshop as a qualified SAFA D-License coach as well as KNVB World coaches certificate. Amongst some of the participants are former Banyana Banayana star Amanda Dlamini, former Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena, Nompumelelo ‘Mpumi’ Nyandeni, with 115 caps for Banyana Banyana, Andile Dlamini, Banyana Banyana and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper. The course will also include guest appearances from ‘WorldCoaches’ ambassadors such as Kalusha Bwalya & Eric Tinkler.
The Mandela Foundation and KNVB will be focusing on the development of the game in South Africa, Johan Neeskens WorldCoaches Ambassador, former Dutch football manager and former midfielder, will be hosting the workshop. As a player, he was an important member of the Dutch national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered to be one of the greatest Dutch midfielders of all time. In 2004, he was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony, while in 2017 he has been included in the FourFourTwo list of the 100 all-time greatest players.
About KNVB
The Royal Dutch Football Association is the governing body of football in Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues, the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women's national teams.
About WorldCoaches
Since 1997, the KNVB - along with local partners - has trained football coaches around the world, with a special focus on developing countries, using the "Coaching the Coaches" program. "Coaching the coaches" helped develop football as a sport, but also strengthened the local community: first, by encouraging children and young adults to develop their talents and passions, then improving their future prospects. In the summer of 2009 the former "Coach the Coaches" program evolved into the WorldCoaches program. A new name, the same goal: to educate coaches who inspire the local youth, and the community, to develop. Since the start of the program in 2009, there are more than 10,000 trained WorldCoaches worldwide. Programs run in many countries across the world including, but not limited to: India, Kenya, Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa, Indonesia, Nederlandse Antillen and Suriname.
About Nelson Mandela Foundation
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded by Nelson Mandela in 1999 to promote Mandela's vision of freedom and equality for all. The vision of Nelson Mandela Foundation is to contribute to build a society that remembers its past, listens to all voices, and pursues social justice for all. The foundation was created in 1999 by Nelson Mandela when he stepped down as the President of South Africa.
