Roc Nation to launch Dream to Play youth sports clinics in South Africa

Roc Nation Sports International will launch its Dream to Play grassroots sports programme in South Africa at the end of September, beginning with a football clinic for 100 young participants in Nyanga, Cape Town.

The initiative is designed as a global, year-round community project using sport to inspire young people and create new opportunities for the next generation. South Africa will host the first in a planned series of clinics, with the programme expected to expand into Roc Nation Sports International’s other global markets.

Participants in the opening event will take part in a structured skills workshop led by professional coaches from Nkala FTBL. Lwazi Mlonyeni will serve as the lead coach for the clinic.

Roc Nation Sports International president Michael Yormark said the programme represented an expansion of the agency’s work with local communities.

“Roc Nation Sports International has always given back to the communities in which we work, so now we are taking it to another level with our Dream to Play clinics,” Yormark stated.

The first event’s location in Nyanga will allow the organisation to work directly with the local community through an experience intended to have an impact beyond the football pitch.

“We are proud to launch this new initiative in South Africa before running future clinics in our other global markets, which will inspire young men and women around the world via the power of sport,” he continued.

Mlonyeni said Nkala FTBL was honoured to have been selected to support the first Dream to Play event and welcomed the opportunity to work with young people in Nyanga.

“We are so excited to work with Roc Nation Sports International and the youngsters in Nyanga to lend a helping hand in the community and to start off this great initiative. This is such a special opportunity for the youngsters involved, and we cannot wait to get started,” he concluded.

Dream to Play will be backed by South African and international commercial partners who share Roc Nation Sports International’s aim of creating meaningful opportunities for young people through sport.

Grant Veitch, Roc Nation Sports International’s director of African football recruitment, said the programme would seek to turn ambition into practical opportunities for young talent.

“Dream to Play is rooted in creating tangible pathways and giving young talent the belief that their ambitions are valid and achievable,” said Veitch.

The programme is intended to become a sustainable annual roadshow in South Africa. Clinics are planned every three to four months, with the sports rotating between football, rugby and basketball.

Roc Nation Sports International described the project as the next stage in its efforts to support youth development through sport. The organisation said the South African launch would be followed by future clinics in its other markets, extending the initiative’s reach beyond the opening event in Cape Town.