Meshack Motloung

Meshack Motloung

The South African Soccer Legends (SASL) are to embark on development training in the country's nine provinces soon.

Professor Wim Hollander, pictured, the executive director of sport at the Braamfontein Recreation Centre, conducted workshops for the legends and it went well.

The purpose of the workshop was to empower the members and to take aspiring football players away from the streets.

The organisation, whose members are former professional players, administrators, referees and those who are passionate about the game, aims to assist those who are neglected and unemployed.

"We are involved in community engagement projects where communities could benefit from the process in order to design and implement programmes by themselves, for themselves," said Hollander.

He said the University of Johannesburg saw the relationship with the legends as one of those opportunities where a synergy could be established between education and training, research and community engagement.

"It offers an ideal opportunity for them to be involved in soccer coaching, administration, technical officiating, supporting existing soccer structures as well as to develop structures in their respective communities that could support soccer development nationally."

Professor Walter Jones, the coordinator of strategic health governance, said their members had different talents and could not all be coaches.

But some could venture into business and in other projects.