How good is was to see a positive news story today about Charlton and there community footbal scheme which was shown on the bbc news this morning and written about in a newspaper regarding Paul Elliots efforts abroad teaching kids abroad. The feature is called Township United and is in the mirror, ......... it was on breakfast tv just before 8.30 today Saturday.
Great photo used on Breakfast tv showing the kids in Charlton shirts.
In a world or excess, greed and self indulgenge Charlton are taking a lead intrying to present football in a positive way forward. This is why this club is special as it its roots based on the wellbeing of football and has always been at the front of trying to being football to all in a positive way. I have yet to read the article, but a great piece of positive news for Charlton and football and how proud we should be that the people behind this scheme ar doing something so positive. Well done Charlton!
0
Comments
Might have to buy the Mirror for the first time in about 20 years now though!
To those still supporting Terry (on the basis of winning at all costs) read this article to see what being a real role model is all about.
what he said
this is what Charlton are all about. There was an article in last weeks programme too
Charlton needs to promote this as they have worked for 7 years doing this in the township. The article which is a page and a half in Saturdays Mirror, amide the sqaulor of the Terry fiasco, this legacy shows Matt Parish, sean Daly, and Paul Elliott doing a great job for football and Charlton. It talks about Charlton as a 'tenplate' and the positive work it does in Khayelitsha with other partners BA and police. as the article states' When the world cup bandwagon rolls into SA the eyes of the world will be on the country..... yet it is away from the TV cameras where a legacy is being forged that could change the nation forever' .
The pr/sponsorship to this partnership and the positive news this has should secure Charlton some really good sponsorship deals for it's own financial situation...... but besides that it is just a great bit of positive news for the club and people attached to it.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/02/06/township-utd-115875-22022436/
and the article....... copyright Daily miror.
How the beautiful game's transforming young lives
The sprawl of tiny corrugated iron houses is home - though that barely seems the right word - to two million people.
Somehow they survive in this deprived shanty town without basics such as electricity and running water.
The township, Khayelitsha, is also one of the most dangerous places on earth, with shootings and murders happening every day.
It is just 20 miles from prosperous downtown Cape Town but it is a side of South Africa that World Cup organisers will not want England fans to see.
Yet football is one of the few things the two communities have in common. Rich or poor, black or white, the beautiful game knows no barriers in this troubled country.
And it is through the sport that British clubs and businesses are now helping to improve the lives of township dwellers.
The aim is to create a legacy for South Africa once the World Cup bandwagon rolls out of town in July.
A number of Premier League teams have run coaching sessions in townships over the years. But it is League One minnows Charlton Athletic who have led the way.
For seven years the Charlton Athletic Community Trust has educated and mentored youngsters in Khayelitsha and other townships.
In a Foreign Office-funded project with the Met Police and British Airways, they use football coaching as a way of engaging with local children.
Ex-players including Paul Elliott MBE, Bob Bolder and Paul Mortimer regularly coach in the townships where pitches often have to be cleared of broken glass and even bullets.
LEGACY
After training, Metropolitan Police officers talk to the kids about the dangers of drugs, gangs and guns, and British Airways tutors teach them skills and citizenship.
The three-way partnership, says Elliott, is making a difference.
"Social inclusion, integration and community cohesion have formed part of my world since finishing football," says Elliott.
"To engage in those type of programs with my first club was something I wanted to do.
"We went into the heart of the townships, to different schools and coached the kids. It was so illuminating - you could see the appreciation on all of their faces.
"Football is vital - we are trying to leave a lasting legacy here. Legacy will also be an intrinsic contribution to the 2018 World Cup bid for England."
Advertisement - article continues below »
The Charlton programme has now been to three major cities - Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. In all of them they have worked together with South African Premier League clubs.
Using Charlton as a template, Ajax Cape Town, one of South Africa's 16 Premier League sides, now has its own successful community scheme.
Coaches have regular sessions with youngsters in Khayelitsha and the neighbouring township of Mitchell's Plain.
One of them, Riyaad Khan, 31, grew up in South London and gained his badges with the help of Charlton. He now works full-time for Ajax.
"They just want to play football," says Riyaad. "If it wasn't for football, they would never turn up to meet with teachers or police officers."
"Ajax epitomises the success story," adds Elliott, who is also on England's 2018 World Cup bid board.
ENTHUSIASM
Charlton staff were in Pretoria last week training South African coaches to run their own coaching courses.
Police officer Jerome Voegt, 35, signed up to become a coach with Ajax to make it easier to talk to kids in the township where he works. He now wants to help his colleagues become coaches.
"If you are an officer, there is no way the kids will talk to you," says Jerome. "But now that I wear a club tracksuit, they have respect for me. This scheme will help future generations change."
Alongside Charlton, senior Met officers are training South African police to become specialist schools officers.
They have also gone into schools to highlight the dangers of drugs and gang and domestic violence.
Chief Supt Wayne Chance, 42, from the Met Police says: "We teach them everything we teach kids in UK schools. The children we deal with now are the future, and if they see the police differently then we're winning."
British Airways provides tutors and trainers.
Mary Barry, manager of BA's community investment programme, says: "We ask them what worries they might have, whether it's crime, domestic violence or bullying. What amazes us is the enthusiasm they have for the classes."
Last month, the UK partners met with South Africa's police, Football Association and Premier Soccer League to discuss a national roll-out of a Charltonstyle programme.
When the World Cup bandwagon rolls into South Africa, the eyes of the world will be on the country.
Yet it is away from the TV cameras where a legacy is being forged that could change the nation forever.
They still can't grasp the separation of club and trust funding while refusing to see how this and the many other great initiatives such as the Upbeats help tp raise the profile of Charlton.