By Kouthar Sambo

The official launch of Football for Humanity will kick off on Wednesday at 6 pm at the Schotsche Kloof flats in Bo-Kaap at the Palestinian Mural.

The event will see a host of speakers from various influential organisations, such as the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), just to name a few.

The Palestinian national football team confirmed their arrival in Cape Town on 8 February to commence their game on 11 February at the Athlone Stadium at 5 pm.

Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Wednesday, Local Organizing Committee President of the South African Football Association (SAFA) Cape Town and National Vice-chair of SAFA Bennett Bailey said the 11 February is also symbolic of the release of former South African Apartheid activist and president Nelson Mandela in 1990.

“One of the first statements Mandela made was we cannot be free until the people of Palestine are free. We believe sport is a microcosm of society, so what happens in society will eventually infiltrate into sport,” said Bailey.

“We then coined a team of peace, hope, and solidarity because we want to bring peace and create awareness around the plight of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We also want to highlight that nobody can play football in a situation where there is no peace,” maintained Bailey.

We want to use these games to bring hope to the people of Palestine, he explained, and this is us showing our solidarity for the Palestinians.

*Stay tuned to VOC’s DriveTime show on Wednesday as the team will be hosting a live outside broadcast to unpack the latest details on this.

Photo: Supplied