Football4WASH – Looking Back at the First Project Year

From the Bundesliga to the schoolyards of South Africa – in cooperation with Viva con Agua South Africa, FC Augsburg launched the long-term project “Football4WASH” in Mpumalanga Province during its summer training camp in 2024. One year after the kick-off, it is time to look back on the first year of the project. For this, FC Augsburg returned and visited the two project schools.

At John Mdluli Primary School, everyone gathered under the motto “Sinamandla” and was welcomed with a lively reception – students, coaches, representatives from Viva con Agua, FC Augsburg, and the local club TS Galaxy. “Sinamandla” means “We have the power” in isiZulu and thus stands for the goal of empowering young people through knowledge, skills, and values to initiate change in their communities. Sports, music, and art play an important role in this. The program for the event day included, among other things, a tour of the expanded and newly designed sanitation facilities and participation in a WASH training session, accompanied by many enthusiastic students.

Thanks to the partnership between FC Augsburg and Viva con Agua South Africa, as well as support from the German Football League (DFL), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and local Premier League club TS Galaxy, the following measures were implemented during the first year of the project:

• Over 2,600 children and young people benefited from weekly sports and educational activities as well as various action days
• Establishment of a local team and training as “Sport4Development” coaches, creating new jobs with prospects
• Expansion and redesign of sanitary facilities at both partner schools
• Building of long-term partnerships with schools and civil society organizations

As part of its sustainability commitment under the motto “Building bridges. Moving people. Protecting the environment.”, the club is taking responsibility for the resource water – also on a global scale. The first project year in South Africa already impressively demonstrates the unifying power of football as a bridge-builder to enable sustainable development and improved living conditions. With this “power”, the second year of the project will now be tackled together.

About the Football4WASH Project

With its special relation to the World Heritage Augsburg Water Management System and in light of the great importance of the water resource for the global sustainability goals, FC Augsburg has embedded water as a focal theme in its sustainability strategy.

Launched during the FCA summer training camp in 2024 in South Africa, the “Football4WASH” project operates under the motto “Sinamandla” in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Mbombela – in communities without access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. The project uses the universal language of football to teach hygiene knowledge, promote gender equality, and create safe learning environments. The educational project is coordinated by Viva con Agua South Africa. The German Football League (DFL), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the local club TS Galaxy also support the project. Additionally, the FCA family contributed last season through their donations of deposit cups as part of “Cups for a Good Cause.”

Unsere FCA-APP

Jetzt herunterladen!