South Africa: football keeps township youth away from violence and crime

24-01-2013 Photo gallery

In South African townships, where there are high levels of violence and crime, young people can easily be enticed to join gangs and get involved in crime. Khayelitsha Township in Cape Town is no exception. Yet, as is the case across much of Africa, football is played and watched with great enthusiasm. As South Africa hosts the African Cup of Nations tournament where elite athletes are showcased, ICRC explores the potential for football to be used as a vehicle for social development, keeping youth away from illegal activities, while developing sporting and life skills. The ICRC has partnered with AMANDLA EduFootball, a Cape Town based NGO to find out more about the impact such programmes can have in reducing youth violence in townships.

- Khayelitsha is the largest township in Cape Town with a population of more than 500,000 and an unemployment rate in excess of 50 percent. Many Khayelitsha residents still live in informal conditions, backyard shacks or informal settlements and overcrowding makes health and security conditions intolerable. Sections of Khayelitsha regularly report violent crime incidences – among the highest in the country – with regular news reports of youth gang violence and vigilante justice.
  © ICRC / I. Edelstein
- Youth from poor communities lack protection from violence and crime due to a lack of positive after-school and weekend activities for youth and limited social and family support systems. As a result, youth are often victims and, later, perpetrators of violence, especially boys and young men. The prime hours for youth-related violence and crime are from 3 to 6 pm on weekdays (after school and before parents and guardians return home) and Friday and Saturday nights (when alcohol and drugs are most often involved).
  © ICRC / I. Edelstein
- Sport, with its physical, movement-related aspects, as well as elements of competition, is a natural, safe outlet for most male youth. However, football is only a way to hook young people and get their attention. At Amandla, the football pitch becomes an active 'classroom' where youth are more likely to be attentive, motivated, and receptive in order to develop skills and attitudes that will keep them away from violent behaviour. The ICRC has partnered with Amandla EduFootball an active, community-grounded NGO, in order to better understand the needs of violence-stricken communities and to lead research to measure the impact of this sport-based, violence-reducing intervention.
  © AMANDLA EduFootball / A. Beste
- The Amandla EduFootball’s Leadership and Life Skills programmes use the power of football to build the capacity and employability of young people and strengthen their life skills. The aim is to improve the socio-economic prospects of young people who are currently unemployed, and not in education or training; and to develop personal leadership ability and positive behaviour, enabling them to become responsible citizens.
  © AMANDLA EduFootball / Georg Höfer
- AMANDLA EduFootball’s Night League, known as the Crime Prevention League throughout the community is the first of its kind in South Africa. The League plays at a lighted field in Khayelitsha from 8 pm to midnight on Friday nights. On average, there are more than 150 participants, 16-30 year-old young men. A DJ and 4 five-a-side matches constantly running on the field creates a positive atmosphere. Incidents of violence on the field were eradicated through a fairplay points system, where teams are awarded for good attendance, behaviour, and, even, contributions to the community. Besides the individual impact on the participants, the night league contributes immensely to promoting a peaceful environment, making the community a safer place on weekends.
  © AMANDLA EduFootball / Georg Höfer
- Lukholo (24) is one of a few young people growing up in Khayelitsha who have overcome the challenge of unemployment. He works for a bus service in Cape Town. In his free time he is regularly seen at the field on Friday nights as manager of the team Umlilo. “This project has done a lot to reduce crime in the area. My personal vision is that the whole of Khayelitsha will be crime-free one day.”
  © AMANDLA EduFootball / Mark Wessels
- Nosipho (18) was the first girl to be selected for the AMANDLA Youth Leadership Programme. She took the initiative to recruit other girls from Khayelitsha to form the first AMANDLA Girls Team from the township. “Despite all the negative things that are happening here, there are also opportunities for people who want to do positive things in the community. When I became part of the Youth Leadership Programme, I started to empower other girls to join the leagues and play football, as the programme taught me many life skills. I wanted to pass those skills on to other girls in need and give them the same opportunities that I had.” Nosipho is now a law student at the University of the Western Cape.
  © AMANDLA EduFootball / Mark Wessels
- 14-year-old Kwanele says, “I feel safe at the field, but outside there are a lot of wrong things. There are no drugs and knives here at the field, but outside there are gangsters who say to me ‘Come, you must smoke, but I say ‘No, you must come and play football.’”
  © AMANDLA EduFootball / A. Beste
- AMANDLA continues to improve the quality of football, instruction, and referees in order to maintain strong attendance, while dealing with critical developmental issues of the vulnerable youth involved. ICRC support has allowed for a strengthening of the youth leadership structure – the actual coaches and life skills facilitators – and improving AMANDLA's programme outcomes. In 2012, the ICRC started behavioural change research with over 300 young men in Khayelitsha, half of which are AMANDLA participants. Initial focus group interviews show that AMANDLA participation offers youth some protection from violence and exposure to crime, peer pressure, and substance abuse in participants' homes and communities. As the research continues over the next two years, data collected will allow for the exploration of changes in attitudes toward violence.
  © ICRC / I. Edelstein

South Africa: football keeps township youth away from violence and crime

24-01-2013 Photo gallery

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