FIFA launches 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust for South Africa

Following a meeting with the President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter presented the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

This trust will support a wide range of public benefit initiatives in the areas of football development, education, health and humanitarian activities in South Africa. The trust forms part of FIFA's 2010 FIFA World Cup™-related legacy programmes and delivers on FIFA's pledge to ensure that South Africans will continue to benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

The trust amounts to USD 1000 million, USD 80 million of which is being allocated directly to social community projects. The remaining USD 20 million was already provided to the South African Football Association (SAFA) in the build-up to the event for preparations and for the construction of SAFA House. As a first project financed by the trust, FIFA purchased 35 of the team buses and a fleet of 52 cars, which were handed over to SAFA today for transport of their regional teams.

The trust will be administered by international auditing company Ernst and Young while the trustees, consisting of a representative each from FIFA, SAFA, the government and the private sector, will evaluate into which public-benefit projects the money is invested. All projects must be submitted to the trustees for review with one of the decisive conditions being that they must be for public benefit only.

The beneficiaries will be selected for projects within the following four areas:

• Football: administration, development, coordination or promotion of non-professional football.

• Education and development: provision of education by a school as defined in the South African Schools Act.

• Health care: provision of health care services to disadvantaged communities, including prevention of HIV infection and other preventative and education programmes.

• Humanitarian activities: community development for disadvantaged persons and anti-poverty initiatives.

“The trust is the latest piece in our mosaic of 2010 FIFA World Cup-related legacy activities for South Africa and the African continent. This is also a reward for South Africans for having been such great hosts. We have always said that the first FIFA World Cup on African soil should leave a lasting sports and social legacy once the tournament is over. This trust is yet another concrete achievement in this area,” said the FIFA President.

“We achieved our goals with regard to the successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup event. Now remains the difficult but most important task of ensuring a lasting legacy and to build world-class national teams both at youth and senior level. The FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust which is being launched today is an important contribution to the achievement of that goal,” said President Jacob Zuma.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust adds to a series of legacy initiatives launched and implemented by FIFA since 2005, consisting of the 20 Football for Hope Centres, the Win in Africa with Africa initiative, the 11 for Health campaign as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup Ticket Fund. FIFA also supports the 1 GOAL: Education for All initiative co-chaired by Queen Rania of Jordan and the FIFA President.

This article was originally posted on South Africa Business Communities

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