Amandla is using football to educate and empower vulnerable youth in South African townships. Over 3,000 children benefit from Amandla Programs on a weekly basis.

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As part of his civil service, Florian Zech spent a year in an orphanage in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Seeing how children there were exposed to street violence and had little chance of escaping poverty disturbed him. He started ‘Night League’ football to keep youngsters busy during hours when criminal activity peaked. But a shortage of soccer courts and a question mark over the safety of young participants forced him to do a rethink. Zech then came up with the idea of developing safe hubs for children and youth. Since 2007, AMANDLA educational centers across South Africa have been combining football classes with school lessons. The hubs keep young people off the streets and enable their personal development. Ole Brandmeyer is now spearheading plans to bring AMANDLA to Berlin, Germany.