The Steve Pila Foundation (SPF) was established in 2013 as a non-profit organization. Steve Pila who is the pioneer of the Transnet School of Excellence, the first structured Football Academy in South Africa that introduced holistic youth development integrating football and education. The Foundation is steered by board of committed Directors coming from various professional backgrounds. RAISON D’
ETRE (REASON FOR EXISTENCE)
The Steve Pila Foundation was established to initiate, facilitate and drive development in sport and education through multifarious approaches. We are propelled by the need to take the level of sports and education for needy and deserving kids to greater heights. South Africa became the first host country of the FIFA World Cup to be knocked out in the preliminary stages of the tournament in spite of the millions spent in the preparation of the National Team. This prompted an unprecedented public debate about the level of football development in our country. Many football pundits questioned the country’s capacity and ability to achieve the ambitious goal of becoming a formidable football nation. There are other examples in various sporting codes with similar disappointing outcomes, pointing to the fact that, well-structured youth development programmes and stable sport organizations are quintessential to producing quality world-class athletes. To this end, the SPF board members wanted to tap into it’s founding members’ wealth of experience in sport and education to add value to the development of sport and the advancement of better education opportunities. It is through these that we pledge our contribution towards making South Africa a formidable sporting nation and towards the betterment of the rainbow nation through some of our community advancement programmes.
