When the Real Madrid Foundation launched its third football academy in Gauteng midweek, the eager tiny-tots who attended felt a wave of joy, and the excitement on the faces of the enthusiastic youngsters was palpable.
One of the kids, Kutlwano Bareki, who attended the launch with her mother Koketso, says that it is his dream to be accepted at the school so that he can be moulded by a club of Madrid’s stature.
“I am hoping that they select me because I want to join this academy, and maybe they can coach me so that I can be good enough to go and play soccer overseas,” said the 10-year-old with a twinkle in his eye.
Los Blancos, as Madrid are known by their legion of die-hard fanatics, are a global powerhouse and one of the biggest football clubs in the world, and their collaboration with the Generation Schools has attracted massive attention from eager footballers, parents and students alike.
This is Madrid’s third academy and the first in Gauteng at the Generation Schools Taroko in Modderfontein. The other two opened in Cape Town.
“We are going to be honest and not promise the youngsters that they are going to join Real Madrid,” Jevron Epstein, CEO of Generation Schools and president of the Real Madrid Foundation South Africa, told Sunday World.
“The chances of that happening are very slim, but we will endeavour to create opportunities for them to play professional football locally and even try to get them to play in lower divisions or leagues abroad.
Also, we will provide them with a solid educational background. It’s not only about football because a soccer career is very short and life has to continue after that.
“In the context of South Africa’s high youth unemployment and gaps in access to quality education, programmes like this are essential,” Epstein added.
