Today the PFA and Coaching for Hope are visiting the South African equivalent of the PFA – the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU).
SAFPU was formed in 1997, and is the unique organization of South African Footballers defending the rights and interests of 441 current and 159 former South African Professional Football Players.
SAFPU is affiliated with FIFPRO - the International Federation of Professional Footballers.
In April 2011 the PFA, FIFPro and SAFPU visited Coaching for Hope programmes where they met implementing partners in Western Cape, Cape Town. This was a result of Cocahing for Hope being introduced to FIFPro by the PFA earlier that year.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) was incorporated in March 1991 following a long unity process that was to rid the sport in South Arica of all its past racial division.
SAFA oversees all football in South Africa; promotes and facilitates the development of the sport through sustainable infrastructural and training initiatives. SAFA is the largest membership organisation in South Africa operating in 9 provinces, 52 regions, 341 local communities and with 3 million members. The SAFA Legacy Development programme is seeking to reach 800,000 boys and girls through 400 football plus youth development centres and to train 100,000 football coaches.
With ambitious plans to reach high numbers of coaches, SAFA is now partnering with NGOs such as Skillshare International to ensure that coaches from disadvantegd communities can access accredited football qualifications.
Coaching for Hope is now partnering with SAFA to ensure that all participants in Coaching for Hope training sessions qualify under the SAFA accreditation scheme and achieve the SAFA Level D License.
This accreditation brings relevance to the course and fits nicely with our work in addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment by giving prospective coaches from disadvantaged backgrounds a recognized qualification that links to the National Qualifications Framework.
In March 2015, CfH delivered their first SAFA accredited course. Aboobaker Williams (accredited SAFA Tutor) led the course, with support from Steve Lomas from the LMA and Darren Teague, a founding member of the CfH programme.
The Coaching for Hope Course was five and a half days in duration, with one of the days focusing on planning football sessions to convey social messages, covering the philosophy of the CfH approach, getting participants to experience specific examples and work in groups to deliver an activity that includes a football activity that conveys a social message.
Darren commented “I’ve been so impressed with the enthusiasm of all the coaches and how they have soaked up all the knowledge on the Level D License Course. Their ability to adapt learning sessions into HIV and drugs misuse crossover session was seamless. It’s a great and strong of coaches that I look forward to seeing again in the future”.
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