"I learnt all about life with a ball at my feet" - Rhonaldinio
Humble Beginnings
Jacoba Football Club started in October 2012, as a grass roots soccer outreach programme for underprivileged children who come from difficult and impoverished backgrounds. Our Outreach program supports a host of boys ranging from 9 to 17 years old of which we currently have 190 boys who have joined our club from the surrounding areas, mainly Yeoville, Hillbrow, Berea, Bellevue and Norwood in Johannesburg South Africa.
All of our players come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have found a lot of light and purpose through Jacoba Outreach program. We have taken our children off the streets and helped them lead a balanced lifestyle through soccer and by educating them in life skills so as to better equip them in overcoming their circumstances. We empower our boy's dreams of becoming someone who believes in themselves, and strives to makes a difference in the world.
Goals and Purpose
As we are a grass roots soccer development academy, our first goal is to train our children in the beautiful game of soccer and to teach them to enjoy its attributes in their own way. We are committed to soccer development in Africa, and pride ourselves in instituting the principles of teamwork, unity, trust, humility, discipline, superior effort and confidence.
Our academy aims to provide a safe, challenging and enriching environment for students of all ages with various skills and experience, to grow into fine young soccer players. Jacoba Outreach brings the children of the community together, provides them with purpose and helps them make friends, thus playing a part in eliminating potential violent and destructive behaviour. We provide all of our boys with a hot meal after every practice, and for many of the players it is their only meal of the day. Our motto at Jacoba Outreach is:
Education Centre
We accept anyone who wants to play soccer, or wants to learn, as we also provide them with life lessons through our mentorship, which we believe will benefit them forever.
Jacoba football Academy runs a co educational centre for learners to gain an education and to be educated by highly qualified teachers from schools in Johannesburg.
We offer this centre to all our football players and to whoever walks through our doors. At this centre we do all education based work, from Maths, English, Afrikaans to drama, music, arts and crafts.
At the Education Centre learner's receive a hot meal to make sure they getting the right vitamins to grow up and be healthy footballers. For some this is their only meal. If anyone has any donations, old teaching aids or things to help equip the centre that would be greatly appreciated. At the homework centre we work hard at improving the lives of our footballers by giving them guidance and a formulated structure to succeed in the field they desire.
Jacoba Give Back Policy
Jacoba runs a program called the 'Give Back Policy ' just as much as we receive and give back to our learner's we teach them to also give back but to other communities outside their own.
We are currently working on a project out in Brits, Johannesburg where Jacoba staff offer their assistance to the church. We come in and give the underprivileged learner's an opportunity to develop their skills and are able to train under a fun, safe and structured environment. If we all work together we will become a stronger nation and unite as one. Sindawonye Simbambelele which means together we stand.
We have currently done and helped with community Gardens around Johannesburg either to help maintain or set them up. We are able to feed a family's out in Haartebeesport, and surrounding areas of Johannesburg. Jacoba FC does litter patrols in certain parks and is currently making Football cones with coke bottles for various schools in rural areas of Gauteng that don't have access to such materials. We have also given various underprivileged kinder-gardens teaching aids to help equip the school.
SPORT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD
-Nelson Mandela-