Four South African youth teams participated in the “Bafana Cup” against eight best Bavarian school teams from 10th to 11th July 2009. At the end Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg won the tournament before Franken-Landschulheim Gaibach from Lower Franconia and Theodolinden-Gymnasium Munich. The South African teams came at places 6., 8., 11. and 12.

All in all 6,000 boys and girls aged 12 and 13 from Bavaria and South Africa participated in the Club of good hope tournament. The ecumenical campaign initiated by several aid organisations uses football to promote meetings between young South Africans and Germans. The Bavarian State Chancery and the Bavarian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs support the project.

Siegfried Schneider, head of the Bavarian State Chancery, and missio’s President Fr. Eric Englert OSA honoured the three winning teams. All participating teams received medals and Club footballs. “Football was an ideal method to promote tolerance and solidarity beyond borders. The friendship between South African and Bavarian youth had received a strong impulse by Club of good hope, said Head of State Chancery Schneider.

“Only the meeting with people made us humane, was an African saying. We thank our partners who opened new life prospects for marginalised children and youth in South Africa. But in particular, we thanked our young guests who had demonstrated the enormous potential of their African home through their ambitious football play and their zest for life”, added Fr. Eric Englert OSA.

During the last week the South African guests managed a strict programme. Next to visits at Bavarian schools and sight seeing tours, the boys and girls completed a football training with the Bavarian Football Association and were received at the Bavarian State Chancery.

The ecumenical initiative Club of good hope supports – in view of World Cup 2010 – churchly projects against youth violence in South Africa and promotes understanding between South African and German youth. Supporting organisations of the campaign are: missio in Munich, Mission EineWelt – Centre for relationship, development and mission of the Protestant-Lutheran Church in Bavaria, the Protestant-Lutheran Mission Society in Lower Saxony and the Protestant Mission Society in Germany. Partners in South Africa are among others: Salesians Don Bosco, the Archdiocese of Cape Town and Protestant partner organisations working with children and youth.

Results “Bafana Cup”:

1. Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg
2. Franken-Landschulheim Schloss Gaibach
3. Theodolinden-Gymnasium Munich
4. Grammar school Bamberg
5. Maristenkolleg Mindelheim
6. Youth Unlimited Cape Town
7. Modern Comprehensive school Amberg
8. Injongo Primary school Cape Town
9. Modern Comprehensive school Arnstorf
10. Primary school Taufkirchen
11. Nkandla Stars Nkandla (KwaZulu-Natal)
12. German school Cape Town