The Football Foundation of South Africa
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UPLIFTING SOUTH AFRICA THROUGH SPORT ONE CHILD AT A TIME
Our Team
Sir David Richards was appointed as Chairman of the Premier League in 1999, a position in which he still resides. He is a Member of the Football Association (FA) Main Board and also Vice Chairman of The FA. Other appointments include Chairman of the Professional Game Board and Chairman of The FA International Committee. He is a Member of the UEFA Strategy board and the International Board of FIFA.
Geoff Rothschild is an immediate past Chairman of the JSE and was a member of the board from 1991 - 2008. Geoff currently holds the position of Director: Government and International Affairs promoting the JSE. He is a Director of the NEPAD Business Foundation and Nurturing Orphans of Aids for Humanity. He is a Council Member of the National Advisory Council for Innovation (NACI), serves on sub-committees with the Council for Higher Education and Innovation for Development and an Honorary Fellow of the Da Vinci Institute of Technology and is a Patron of Education Africa.
Sam Ramsamy is an educator, activist and sports administrator. He led the first non-racial South African team to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Ramsamy is a member of the International Olympic Committee and sits on their Commission evaluating the bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Michael Lutzeyer is the owner and Managing Director of the five-star Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, and Director of the Grootbos Foundation. He also serves on the board of South African Tourism 2006 – 2012.
Leán Terblanche has been leading the Football Foundation’s operations since it’s inception in January 2008. She majored in Psychology, History and English, and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing at the University of Stellenbosch. She played squash for SA Schools, netball and tennis for South Western Districts, and is also a keen cyclist. Leán has a passion for youth development and hopes to change the world, one child at a time.
Natasha Bredekamp joined the Football Foundation team in June 2012 to coordinate all event programmes and manage organizational aspects of the team. She has a Diploma in Sports Management from the Exercise Teachers and Training Academy (ETA) and was also the national representative of the 2001 Commonwealth Championships for the under 21 Lifesaving Presidents Team. She has a passion for kids and a determination to make a difference towards the communities in which she works in - “if you give a child a chance, the child could make a change.”
Bulelani Mtobela has been overseeing the sports training programmes as Head Coach since mid-2012. After attaining a Level 4 qualification certificate from the Exercise Teachers and Training Academy (ETA), completing two coaching courses from Ajax Cape Town, and graduating from the Grootbos Foundation’s Green Futures Horticulture and Life Skills College training programme, he has been actively pursuing his career in coaching to extend his mission for sports for development.
Before joining the Football Foundation in 2012 as the Athletics Coach, Corrie Avenant played for the South African professional rugby team. He has shown exceptionally hard work in motivating and training children through weekly athletics sessions and through various sports programmes such as the “Umntana Phambili ” youth programme.
After graduating from the Breaking Barriers training programme, Shereen Van De Merwe joined the Football Foundation in 2012 as the Hockey Coach. She has actively contributed new and innovate ways in teaching hockey and attracting more participants towards the sport. Shereen spends her summers as a swimming instructor for young kids as she believes that all children need basic awareness and skills in water safety.
As a former youth soccer player from our programme, Mziyanda Matiwane has experienced numerous opportunities for growth through the Foundation. Before joining the Football Foundation as the Soccer Coach, he was able to graduate with an accredited ETA certificate, hold the position as Junior Soccer Coach, and be one of thirty-five students across South Africa for the 2013 Laureus Youth Empowerment Programme. Mziyanda hopes to utilize his teachings by continuing to work with children through sport and education and to give back to the community the priceless skills and confidence that the Foundation has provided him.
Anchelle Damon joined the Football Foundation as the Netball Coach in 2014. After completing a netball coaching course at Chrysalis Academy and a facilitator’s course at SIMS Khula Academy, She has extended her life-long passion for netball through our Foundation. She teaches both children and adults in our Gansbaai, Stanford, and Hermanus sites and continually exudes willingness to empower children through her coaching – “Not everybody gets a chance in life and I think that giving them the opportunity to shine is the best thing you can possibly give to a child.”
Board of Directors
Sir David Richards
Geoff Rothschild
Sam Ramsamy
Michael Lutzeyer
Lean Terblanche
Natasha Bredekamp
Bulelani Mtobela
Corrie Avenant
Shereen Van De Merwe
Mziyanda Matiwane
Anchelle Damon
Managing Director, FFSA
Netball Coach
Football/Soccer Coach
Hockey Coach
Athletics Coach
Head Football/Soccer Coach
FFSA Project Coordinator
General Manager, Grootbos Foundation
Julie Cheetham
Julie Cheetham joined the Football Foundation in 2014 to manage and support business operations. After obtaining her B.Comm in Economics at Port Elizabeth University (NMMU) and working at several corporate companies such as Standard Bank, Distell, and National Australia Bank she has developed key expertise in business development and programme leadership. Her passion for community development and empowerment of women led her to initiate the award-winning NAB corporate finance community programme in 2009 and subsequently return to South Africa to join the Grootbos Foundation and spend time with her two sons.
Project Manager
Nina Johannsen
Nina Johannsen joined the Football Foundation team in 2013 to manage the Food for Sport programme, a brand new food security and nutrition initiative for sports programme participants as well as oversee the Volunteer and Intern Recruitment programme. She received a B.A in International Studies – with a focus on development – at Stellenbosch University in 2012 and it was through her involvement at a food relief mission in Zimbabwe that led her to experience the joy and positive impact food growing brought to schools and orphanages. Her passion lies in finding solutions to tackle the issue of food insecurity through sustainable and innovative means.
Project Manager: Dibanisa Programme
Lily Upton
Lily Upton has been with the Grootbos Foundation since October 2010 and has been an active force in the Dibanisa Environmental Education Program. She has extensive experience in nature conservancy as she has completed a National Diploma in Landscape Technology, B.Tech in Environment Management and has worked several jobs in environmental consulting and landscape architecture in Hermanus and Cape Town. She currently is involved with the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy as well.
Finance Manager
Joan De Villiers
Joan De Villiers has been a part of the Grootbos Foundation since 2004 and has managed all finance and HR related duties for the Football Foundation since its establishment. She has over 25 years of experience in both private and public sector finance around the Stellenbosch and Somerset West regions. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family and grandson.