THE SOUTH AFRICAN

Patrick Maphoso, a prominent South African in Ireland, has set up the African Schools Sports Association (ASSA), which sponsored a soccer tournament in South Africa in December.

ASSA held the tournament near the small town of Tuang, in the Northern Cape. Around 23 schools in the region took part in the tournament. Rabodige Primary School were crowned the winners of the primary school category, after beating Baisitse Primary 2-0. In the secondary schools category, Kgosi Lethola beat St Paul’s Middle School 3-1. The main aim of ASSA is to educate children through sport, keeping them occupied and away from the streets, avoiding crime and the use of drugs.

» Read more at The South African website

The ASSA Soccer Tournament Finals kick-off this weekend in Northern Cape (Pampierstad), South Africa.

Next Wednesday, the finals will be held in North West (Taung).

We thank our supporters and sponsors who made it possible.

I will be leaving Ireland tonight to attend and wish all the teams good luck!

THE SOUTH AFRICAN

“It’s about time that South Africans abroad do something and stop moaning about things back home.”

Patrick Maphoso has been living in Ireland since 2001, and is passionate about making a difference back home in South Africa.

Maphoso grew up in Pampierstad, a small town in the North West Province. Growing up in a small town “was good” says Maphoso, “we are a very close community, and everyone knows each other.”

While working as the security manager at Fourways Mall in Johannesburg in 2001, he was recruited by an Irish company who came to South Africa looking for security officers. “The money I was getting compared to the money I was going to get over here was one of the main reasons for moving” explains Maphoso.

» Read more of this story at The South African website

AN PHOBLACHT

A FESTIVAL of football, ‘Love Football – Hate Racism’, kicks off 7.30pm Friday 31 July at McEnaney’s Bar with an open forum, ‘How can we combat racism in sport?’ Chaired by Michael Culbert (former Antrim and St Gall’s football manager), the panel includes Ireland’s foremost anti-racism and sports campaigner Frank Buckley (co-founder of SARI – Sports Against Racism Ireland), ex-ANC member now living in Ireland Patrick Maphoso, who is now head of the African School Sports Association, as well as supporters’ reps from AC Milan, FC St Pauli, and Sport Under Siege (Milan), among others.

» Read more in An Phoblacht