Founder: The Farouk Abrahams Goalkeepers Academy
Why is Farouk a Community Builder?
It all started with a burning passion to produce great goalkeepers. Farouk Abrahams, an accomplished football coach and player, believes you can have a fantastic club but, if your goalkeeper is erratic, the overall performance of your team will be poor.
Almost seven years ago, Farouk presented to insurer Metropolitan his idea to launch a goalkeeper’s academy that would not only train talented youngsters for potential football careers, but also feed much-needed skills development into previously disadvantaged communities.
Farouk believes that too many clubs in South Africa focus only on football development, disregarding the need for social upliftment. Farouk has built his academy on these principles, and it’s no surprise that the boys see him not just as a coach but also as a mentor and, for some, even a surrogate father.
In his own words .
“Beyond this academy is creating the structure for the boys to become good adults. Because if you are a good adult you are going to find something to do that is positive. You are going to find something worthwhile to live for. We are going to produce complete people and not just goalkeepers.”
Fast Facts
- Every Sunday, 80 to 100 children turn up for training.
- Today, The Farouk Abrahams Goalkeeper Academy in the Western Cape not only provides essential goalkeeper training, but also offers life skills in the form of HIV counselling, regular bonding camps, drug awareness campaigns, a feeding scheme and a school support system.
- The 20 best goalkeepers between the ages of 14 and 18 years are selected from the academy and placed in an advanced coaching school.
- Farouk was the goalkeeper coach for Bafana Bafana at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.
How can I help?
For more information on the Farouk Abrahams Goalkeepers Academy and how you can help, e-mail Christabell Kota.
Story published on SAinfo on 4 June 2008.
Source: Brand South Africa
