Local service station serves community with soccer sponsorship:
PORT ELIZABETH – THE SOCCER-LOVING YOUTH of Kuyga on the outskirts of Nelson Mandela Bay have a fresh injection of competitive energy with a new local football league and R80,000 sponsorship by the Caltex Greenbushes service station launched Tuesday, 2 July 2019.
The “beautiful game” has proved the secret weapon in reducing crime, and drug and alcohol abuse by young people, in the Greenbushes, St Albans, Seaview, Theescombe and Rocklands areas that fall under Kuyga (Ward 40), said Kuyga Football Association (KUYGAFA) president Thekiso Mntwana.
Caltex Greenbushes owner Jurie Snyman said the R80,000 sponsorship, in partnership with master franchisor Caltex Eastern Cape Marketer (CECM) and convenience retailer Freshstop, was an acknowledgement of the success of the KUYGAFA in making a positive impact on youth in the community.
Mntwana said that community leaders had seen a significant drop in social ills in the area since establishment in 2011 of the KUYGAFA, which now administers 12 clubs with more than 800 players.
“Discipline and dedication have improved among our youth. Interest in taking part in sport has increased and that means more children and youth on the playing fields and less in the streets,” he said.
Mntwana said the new sponsorship by Greenbushes Caltex this year had already led to increased interest and participation in soccer in the area, with the incentive of trophies, medals and cash prizes spurring “people to take it more seriously and teams being more competitive than ever before”.
Mntwana said the 12 clubs were currently fielding under-13 and under-15 boys’ teams and senior men’s sides and anticipated that next season (2020) would see growth in the number of clubs and teams as well as increasing participation by girls.
Snyman said the one-year sponsorship, renewable for a further two years, extended long-standing support for the annual Caltex Greenbushes Freshstop Youth Day Soccer Tournament into a year-long commitment.
“The tournament is an annual highlight, and now the excitement of soccer will be a year-round event. We are proud that we can play a part in people being introduced to healthier lifestyles.
“We are more than a business in this area. Our staff come from this area, and we want to be an active participant in the community that we serve. By supporting soccer, other sports, schools and community outreach projects in the area, we believe we are contributing to uplifting people and making this a better area to live, work and play,” Snyman said.
Freshstop regional business consultant Roy Price said the company, which operates its convenience stores on Caltex forecourts, welcomed the opportunity to participate in the sponsorship as supporting sport and recreation aligned with “our ethos of promoting clean, healthy living for all”.
“Caltex Greenbushes is a beacon in this area, and Freshstop here is growing thanks to community support and so we are very happy and proud to be able to give something back,” Price said.
CECM regional manager Craig Herman said the company was committed to supporting community outreach projects by all the service stations in its Eastern Cape network.
“The Caltex ethos is to care for the communities that we serve and that support us. We also believe that healthy bodies make healthy minds and flourishing communities, so it is a natural fit for us to assist Caltex Greenbushes in supporting the Kuyga Football League,” Herman said.
“We have been involved with Caltex Greenbushes for a long time and they have changed this community. It has been positive for us, as a neglected community on the outskirts of the city. This brings new attention to our area,” Mntwana said.
KUYGAFA is affiliated to SAFA-Nelson Mandela Bay and league games are played every Sunday.
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