Bundesliga side FC Augsburg had an experience they will never forget when they visited a primary and secondary school in Mbombela this week and made the day of over 400 pupils.
The players and coaching staff led several activities with the classes to the delight of the kids, with everyone involved enjoying themselves.
While Steve Mounié and Felix Uduokhai performed dance routines, Arne Maier, Niklas Dorsch and Maximilian Bauer played some football with the kids.
“It was amazing to see the happiness on the kids’ faces. It was a special experience for our players too. This kind of event reminds us why we’re here,” said FCA CEO Michael Ströll, who even shed a tear.
Elvis Rexhbecaj, who carried two children across the pitch, added: “These kinds of moments are priceless and show that football’s more than just a game.”
FCA still had a surprise up their sleeve as they rounded off an emotional morning, as every pupil was invited to the Fuggerstädter’s game against TS Galaxy on Saturday (15:00).
Augsburg x Football4WASH
Earlier in the week, Augsburg also visited the “Football4WASH” in Mpumalanga, where they will partner with Viva con Agua, not just as part of their summer training camp, but also on a long-term basis.
The educational project for children and young people links the topics of water, sanitation and hygiene with football training drills. The German Football League (DFL) and local club TS Galaxy are also supporting the project. To kick off Football4WASH, FCA and Viva con Agua South Africa led the first workshop at Cyril Clarke Secondary School (Mbombela).
At “Football4WASH”, football training drills are intertwined with sharing information about the key themes of WASH, which stands for water, sanitation and hygiene. Together with a holistic approach, this triad is necessary in order to ensure clean drinking water.
However, in the Mpumalanga province, access to these three components is not always guaranteed. The school workshops strive to raise awareness to children and young for the correct behavioural patterns in a playful way, which will enable them to live a healthier life and improve local living conditions in the long term.
“With Microsoft Word – 20240723 Start of Football4WASH our regional ties to the Augsburg world heritage site, we haven’t just centrally anchored the resource of water to our sustainability strategy, but we’re also taking the opportunity to start a water project during our training camp. ‘Football4WASH’ is a great project that utilises the unifying power of football to build bridges, in order to enable sustainable development and improve living conditions. Access to clean water is a human right and the foundation of our lives,” commented Michael Ströll, CEO of FC Augsburg.
The educational project is being co-ordinated by Viva con Agua South Africa, a partner organisation of Viva con Agua from St. Pauli, who support water projects worldwide with the motto ‘Water for all – all for water’. “Following our successful program in the Eastern Cape, we are proud to launch our Sport for Development initiative in Mpumalanga with FC Augsburg. Our universal languages approach, which underscores the human right to water, uses sports and education to create a lasting, positive impact in our communities,” explained Phumelele Muthali, Business Development & Compliance Manager at Viva con Agua South Africa.
LONGTERM PARTNERSHIP
Augsburg are planning for a partnership with Viva con Agua and other organisations for a minimum of three years. With the Mpumalanga province, a new region in South Africa is to be opened up for the project. It all got underway today (Tuesday) during an on-site visit, after which regular training sessions with children and young people will take place and an evaluation will be carried out to determine infrastructural needs such as toilets, water tanks or hand-washing facilities, in order to close any gaps in supply.
