The Inaugural Betway 12th Man Programme officially came to an end on Wednesday evening with a graduation ceremony that celebrated the 10 participants’ journey over the past 6 months.
The Betway 12th Man Programme is a continuation of the company’s commitment to meaningful upliftment in football in their African markets and Forwardzone is proud to once again to play a behind-the-scenes role in facilitating another life-changing initiative spearheaded by Betway.
Forwardzone CEO, Ashley Kotzin, recognized the impact of companies like Betway can have and the need for more companies to follow their lead.
“As a company, we pride ourselves in the impact that our clients play in communities in South Africa. Betway has proven to be a market leader in community upliftment, on and off the sporting fields and I encourage other South African companies to look at Betway’s drive in CSI initiatives as a source of inspiration,” said Kotzin.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Betway’s Marketing Manager, David Rachidi said the inaugural edition exceeded all expectations, saying that Betway takes pride in community upliftment initiatives.
“When planning the Betway 12th Man programme, the ultimate goal was to produce legends with an improved self-esteem and most importantly, equipped to give back to their communities. As part of our many CSI initiatives, Betway constantly seeks to stimulate community development through innovative means that bring lasting solutions. We believe more lives in our communities will be touched as a result of empowering our former football heroes,” said Rachidi.
The Betway 12th Man Programme covered a range of topics, including Social Media & Broadcasting Training, Financial Management, Project Management, Club administration and coaching, with the 5th workshop covering Brand Me which discussed the power of the personal brand.
The Programme also saw a variety of industry experts brought in to share industry insights and current football trends to the participants, most notably, Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter, Bidvest Wits’ head of development Glen Salmon, as well as Highlands Park Co-Director Brad Kaftel.
Betway 12th Man Ambassador, Lucas Radebe, played a key throughout the programme, from the selection process to mentoring the football legends selected to participate in the programme, and praised Betway and the participants on the successful programme.
“Thanks to this amazing initiative by Betway, the past six months have been an exciting journey of learning and upliftment for our former heroes. It’s great to see that some of the legends have already put their newly found skills into practice. We hope this programme has left them with a stronger sense of self-belief and confidence which will have a great impact in the growth of our local football,” said Radebe.
While the graduation celebration symbolically marked the end of the programme, it also marks the start of the next chapter in each of the participants lives that will hopefully see them pursue success while empowering their communities.
To mark the occasion, all participants received a Betway 12th Man Certificate and participation certificates from all the workshops. The participants also received a personalised brand pack.
Betway 12th Man Inaugural Graduating Participants:
Andries Mpondo
Edward Motale
Fikile Sithole
Gloria Hlalele
Khabo Zitha
Maimane Alfred Phiri
Portia Modise
Sibongile Khumalo
Steve Lekoelea
Steve Sekano