Balfour Alexandra Football Club

Balfour Alexandra Soccer Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, is one of the places that many young soccer players come to play to escape the harsh streets of Alexandra Township (Alex), Soweto, Hillbrow and Thembisa. Many of the kids walk to training, come from single income homes or homes where they are being cared for by nobody other than older siblings. An example of this is an eight-year-old boy named Brandon who lives on the outskirts of the Alexandra township. One night after soccer practice he was sitting waiting for his parents to come pick him up. In South Africa, there are regular blackouts, called load shedding, due to the shortage of electricity. On this particular night, there was an outage and no one arrived to pick him up. His mother is a cleaner at the local University and his father is unemployed. A parent of one of his teammates offered to drive him home. Brandon was able to direct them in perfect English to his house. He had learned how to fend for himself since he was very young. This is the case with many of the boys at the club. The coaches and staff at the Club not only serve as mentors, but many provide both food and transport to games and practices using their own finances and vehicles. Like many other non-profit organizations, Covid hit Balfour FC hard, and they are desperately in need of financing for transport, kits (uniforms), equipment and a small meal before a match.

I have been playing competitive soccer since I was 5-years-old and have been fortunate enough to never have to worry about getting new uniforms, transport to matches or practice or a meal before a game. Unfortunately, I have been injured much of this season but it has given me the time to reflect on how fortunate I have been and how much the sport I love means to so many others.

South Africa is my parent’s home country. It has a very special place in my heart. I have visited my grandparents there over the years and even had the opportunity to play pick-up-soccer on the beaches of Cape Town with young South African boys. Soccer is the great equalizer, nothing more than a ball is needed to strike up friendships with people where there is a language barrier.

This summer I will be traveling back to South Africa to see my grandmother and other family and friends for the first time in three years. I have been in touch with Balfour FC and have pledged to raise money to help them buy all these necessities. The motto of my school is “men for others” and I would like to follow through on this and help as many of these young boys as I possibly can. Please help me make their soccer dreams come true!!

Thank you,

Dean Schnaid