Champions Playground

The first Champions Playground will be achieved in Manenberg, township of Cape Town, in South Africa, as a tribute to Nelson Mandela's legacy and to celebrate sport with the FIFA World Cup in 2010. It is a very special project, born thanks to the cooperation among Champions for Children Foundation and the Catholic University of Milano, Italy, and the University of the Western Cape.

Champions Playground is based on an educational model that provides opportunities for children from vulnerable areas to develop their own abilities through sports and creative activities. The Champions Playground's methodology can be adapted to specific local circumstances with the assistance of local institutions and used in different countries all over the world. Training of the operators is an essential aspect in guaranteeing the replication and sustainability of the project.

The Champions Playground will consist of a multi-functional sports complex, covered and uncovered, where the children, accompanied by teachers, educators and trainers, will have a chance to cultivate their own potential. Sports can be a highly efficient tool for stimulating self-discovery and cooperative interaction with others by serving as a means for personal growth and, more generally, a vehicle for cultivating humanity. 

Sports activities represent a “school of life” where a type of dialog can be found that is accessible to everyone for measuring up against the rules, learning to face defeats and relating better with others.