The Aaron Mokoena Foundation was launched in grand style at Emerald Casino Resort on Thursday, 28 May 2009, with over R100 000 raised for his sports development initiative during a charity auction of soccer memorabilia.
During the auction, a Blackburn Rovers shirt worn by Mokoena was bought by the Sedibeng District Municipality for a whopping R62 000. Other shirts, worn by the likes of Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Benni McCarthy and El Hadji Diouf (Rovers), Robinho (Manchester City) and Michael Essien (Chelsea), fetched between R3 500 and R10 000 apiece, while a pair of Mokoena’s boots was snapped up for R7 500.
The charity auction was held to kick-start the Aaron Mokoena Foundation, which the Bafana Bafana captain and newly-signed Portsmouth midfielder has set up to empower the youth, particularly in the Vaal area where Mokoena grew up, through the Beautiful Game. The day started off with a mini-football tournament and coaching session for children from four local schools – which Mokoena says is at the heart of what his new foundation is all about.
“For me, it’s about the kids,” said the 28-year-old Mokoena at the launch. “I really wanted to have an impact on their lives and give them a better future. As the captain of the South African national team, I know that I am in a position to be a role model and change lives, and the younger ones need me. Seeing them smiling and feeling important, and knowing that people care about them, is very rewarding for me.”
Mokoena was the youngest player ever to represent SA, at the age of 18, and understands the plight facing many children in the community where he was born and raised – the dusty streets of Boipatong township. He grew up in difficult circumstances, but today credits his mother as being the main driving force and pillar of support who enabled him to achieve his current status, while remaining humble.
“I remember where I came from,” he said. “I am Aaron Mokoena, and the fame came after that. I had nothing, and here I am today. I have travelled the world, and there is still no place like home. The broader goal of my foundation is to leave a lasting legacy, and reach where I want to reach, touch lives that I want to touch, and change what I want to change.”
The foundation has also been registered in the UK, and Mokoena has brought a crack multinational management team on board. Among their activities will be hosting soccer coaching clinics, sponsored by Emerald Casino Resort. CEO Martin Rice said the resort was unveiling its own Emerald Foundation, as a vehicle through which to run its corporate social investment and community projects.
These initiatives would focus, among others, on boosting education, healthcare, small business development in the area, and would also focus on sports development – hence the Emerald Foundation’s support of Mokoena’s charity.
“We are taking a multi-faceted approach, of which sports development is an important component,” said Rice. “Sport is not only a healthy activity for youngsters to engage in, especially these days where many people prefer to stay indoors and watch TV, but sport also builds social and leadership skills and maturity. Children who play soccer learn a lot more than just soccer.”
The Executive Mayor of Sedibeng, Councillor Mahole Simon Mofokeng, hailed Mokoena as “a true son of the soil”. He hoped the Aaron Mokoena Foundation would reignite the region’s once-proud soccer-playing history and could advance the case for establishing a professional team in the Vaal area. “We want to ensure Sedibeng becomes the home of sport.”
The foundation’s patron is South African Football Association president Molefi Oliphant, himself a son of the Vaal soil.
Mokoena pointed out Sedibeng was where his long-standing love affair with football had begun. “That love affair is still going on. The engagement party is the Fifa Confederations Cup, and the wedding is the 2010 Fifa World Cup – and everyone is invited!” he quipped.
Visit www.aaronmokoenafoundation.com for more information.
