Beckham PR push for England 2018 takes him to township

By Duncan Mackay

December 3 – David Beckham today continued his one-man campaign to win England its bid to host the 2018 World Cup when attended a ‘Coaching for Hope’ (CfH) session at the Khaylitsha Township, Cape Town to meet with youngsters and coaches involved with the scheme.

The visit to what it is claimed to be South Africa’s biggest township, which is home to more than two million people, inevitably turned into a high-profile picture opportunity to promote England’s World Cup just a day after Beckham had met several members of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and several members of the Executive Committee.

The visit was arranged by Football Association as part of its ‘International Development Programme’ (IDP), which is expected to be an important part of England’s World Cup campaign, promoting the potential legacy benefits of staging the tournament in this country for the first time since 1966 by using the profits to to promote the sport overseas, particularly in Africa.

Beckham, who made the trip after deciding to stay in Cape Town despite the death yesterday of his grandfather, was joined by former South African captain Lucas Radebe and Lord Triesman, the chairman of the FA and the 2018 World Cup bid.

The session was staged at Ikhusi P.P. School and featured a CfH workshop involving HIV awareness techniques.

Beckham was taken on a tour of the facility by CfH young leader Michael, 17 before joining more than 30 youngsters for a question and answer session and kicking off a specially arranged tournament.

Coaching for Hope is the official international charity of the FA for 2009, has been supported by the FA IDP since 2005 and is an innovative programme which uses football to create better futures for young people in West and Southern Africa.

By organising training courses with professionals from UK clubs and developing social education curricula that address the needs of local communities, CfH trains local football coaches and youth workers to recognised FA standards as well as gain skills to educate and enable the youth in their communities to address such issues as HIV and AIDS and Substance Abuse.

With an estimated 18 per cent of people aged 15 to 19 living with HIV, South Africa has one of the highest ratios of the disease in the world; what’s more, use of drugs in the areas CfH coaches work is rampant.

Since 2005, 30,000 young people across Africa and over 800 young people in South Africa have taken part in CfH’s football and education work, which enables them to actively participate in informational sessions about HIV and AIDS and substance misuse.

Many of the children involved are vulnerable – often orphans or with disabilities who have little access to sport and health education.

Beckham said: ”It is amazing to visit a project like this and see the effect football has on young people.

“Football has the power to change lives and these youngsters are able to learn valuable lessons through their love of the game.

“I feel privileged to have met these children and despite the fact we come from different backgrounds we share a love for the game of football.

“Aids is a very real problem in places like Khaylitsha and football must ensure it does whatever it can to help educate young people of its dangers and make a difference.”

Triesman, said: “It has been inspiring visiting this Coaching for Hope session.

“Watching the boundless energy and promise of these young people has been an amazing experience.

“Football has a power to inspire change.

“I am in awe of the coaches here who have the ability to make a difference to the future of these children.

“Schemes such as Coaching for Hope make me proud of the work of the FA’s International Development Programme.

“It is a fantastic example of a project using the universal language of football to help promote positive change in people’s lives.”

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