Soccer mad Kieren takes his love of football to the slums of South Africa

Soccer mad Kieren takes his love of football to the slums of South Africa

22 July 2015

KIEREN Laverty loves football and loves the kick he gets out of sharing it with some of South Africa’s most deprived children.

The Killyleagh man is heading back out to Cape Town in February as an ambassador for the HQ Coaching Centre, which has spent many years travelling to the city promoting sport in over 20 primary and secondary schools.

A recent trip opened his eyes to what is considered one of the most unequal societies in the world, where around half of its 19 million children live in poverty — many still in shacks with no proper washing or cooking facilities.

“With Cape Town you are shown one side of this city,” he said. “Then literally you cross over the other side of the road to see what other people are living off.

“It is a bit of a shock, you do not realise how close in proximity the shacks are.

“Matt Houghton, who runs the project, has gone out a couple of times a year there and where there were 10 to 15 houses there are now 100. This is in six to nine months.

“The poverty situation is not getting any better.

“The rich are in the top one per cent, 99 per cent have next to nothing.”

The aim of HQ coaching project is to go into these impoverished areas and help schools set up sports programmes, which they can run on a long-term basis.

The aim is also to divert young people away from a prevalent gang culture.

“People are so happy to see you going into these areas, they would not see a lot of people visiting,” said Kieren.

“People were shocked us showing our faces, as you would not find a white person for miles. People were genuinely shocked.”

Undaunted, Kieran spent time in the Mitchells Plain area, one of the South Africa’s largest townships, which was built during the 1970s by the Apartheid government. While there may be no more segregation, many problems remain.

From a football perspective, the Castleabbey Football Club player, who is studying a Sports Development degree University of the West of Scotland, said the very poor pitch conditions were difficult to adjust to.

“They are using tyres for nets and the pitches have stones,” he said. “I took a tumble and cut my knees and legs but those wee lads there did not care.”

There are plenty of rewarding moments too, such as giving out the football jerseys donated by clubs such as Everton, and seeing the sheer enjoyment of the game on the faces of the children.

“It is great to see the difference in them,” said Kieren. “One young fellow had ADHD, was very hyperactive. But if you give them that little bit of independence, simple things like having a team talk, tell them what to do, it all helps.”

On his next trip to Cape Town, Kieren will be involved with the leadership of a small coaching group and is busy fundraising. Anyone who can donate, or any businesses who can offer sponsorship, are asked to get in touch.

The next upcoming fundraising event is a 90s themed night being held on August 22 at Kelly’s International Bar in Killyleagh. Everyone is welcome.

Anyone wishing to get involved as a coach or youth worker is asked to email kierenlaverty@gmail.com or admin@thehqcoachingcentre.co.uk

Details of the HQ scheme are available at http://www.thehqcoachingcentre.co.uk/ and through its Facebook page.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the next Cape Town project can contact Kieren at kierenlaverty@gmail.com or donate via http://www.gofundme.com/yf7jajk