South Africa

Ambassadors In Sport South Africa (AIS-SA) are part of Ambassadors in Sport International which was founded in Cape Town in April 2001.

The primary objective of AIS-SA is to “bring hope through soccer”. As a Christian Non-Profit and Public Benefit Organisation, AIS-SA endeavour to partner with Church groups and other NGO’s in communities across South Africa and help impact the world of soccer from grass roots through to professional ranks.

Beginning with two full-time staff members working out of a small office in a sports complex in Cape Town, AIS-SA now oversees the growth of the work across Africa from their headquarters in Pretoria. AIS-SA now has over 20 full-time staff as well as interns and volunteer staff.

AIS-SA has pioneered a number of soccer programmes with the aim of helping young people develop holistically.  These programmes include:
• AIS-SA Soccer Club: Including junior boy’s teams, two ladies teams, and two senior men’s teams. All teams are based upon Christian values and principles and compete in the local South African Soccer Association leagues.
• Soccer Academy: AIS-SA has recently launched two academies (Cape Town and Polokwane) to develop young soccer talent.
• Soccer events: AIS-SA partners with local churches to host coaching clinics, soccer schools and soccer tournaments.
• Schools coaching: AIS-SA staff are involved in soccer and sports coaching in local schools and a homeless shelter.
• Community Soccer training programmes: AIS-SA offers training for those interested in soccer outreach development.
• Prison outreach: called the Hope Academy, an AIS-SA team works every day with juvenile offenders in Cape Town’s Pollsmoor prison and Drakenstein Youth centre.  The work is expanding to include Leeuwkop prison and Gauteng and Polokwane prison in Limpopo.
• Touring teams: each year AIS-SA recruits soccer teams to tour other parts of Africa.  AIS-SA has visited: Mozambique, Swaziland, Nambia, Senegal and Sudan.
• Curriculum development: AIS-SA have developed and integrated soccer/life skills curriculum’s in such areas as leadership, team work, and Bible based programmes.  AIS-SA are currently developing an HIV/AIDS curriculum.

AIS South Africa currently have offices in Cape Town, Soweto, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Polokwane.

For more information email africa@ais-africa.co.za

Phone: 012 348 0025

Fax: 0865236234