Start of “Football4WASH”

A water project by FC Augsburg and Viva con Agua

In light of Augsburg’s water management system, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and given the significance of water for achieving global sustainability goals, FC Augsburg has anchored the resource at the centre of its sustainability strategy. Therefore, it is fitting that FC Augsburg has helped set up and support the “Football4WASH” project in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa together with Viva con Agua, not just as part of their summer training camp, but also on a long-term basis.

The educational project for children and young people links the topics of water, sanitation and hygiene with football training drills. The German Football League (DFL) and local club TS Galaxy are also supporting the project. To kick off Football4WASH, FCA and Viva con Agua South Africa led the first workshop at Cyril Clarke Secondary School (Mbombela).

A playful transfer of knowledge of the WASH themes

At “Football4WASH”, football training drills are intertwined with sharing information about the key themes of WASH, which stands for water, sanitation and hygiene. Together with a holistic approach, this triad is necessary in order to ensure clean drinking water. However, in the Mpumalanga province, access to these three components is not always guaranteed. The school workshops strive to raise awareness to children and young for the correct behavioural patterns in a playful way, which will enable them to live a healthier life and improve local living conditions in the long term.

“With our regional ties to the Augsburg world heritage site, we haven’t just centrally anchored the resource of water to our sustainability strategy, but we’re also taking the opportunity to start a water project during our training camp. ‘Football4WASH’ is a great project that utilises the unifying power of football to build bridges, in order to enable sustainable development and improve living conditions. Access to clean water is a human right and the foundation of our lives,” commented Michael Ströll, CEO of FC Augsburg.

The educational project is being co-ordinated by Viva con Agua South Africa, a partner organisation of Viva con Agua from St. Pauli, who support water projects worldwide with the motto ‘Water for all – all for water’. “Following our successful program in the Eastern Cape, we are proud to launch our Sport for Development initiative in Mpumalanga with FC Augsburg. Our universal languages approach, which underscores the human right to water, uses sports and education to create a lasting, positive impact in our communities,” explained Phumelele Muthali, Business Development & Compliance Manager at Viva con Agua South Africa.

Long-term engagement and local co-operation

FC Augsburg are planning for a partnership with Viva con Agua and other organisations for a minimum of three years. With the Mpumalanga province, a new region in South Africa is to be opened up for the project. It all got underway today (Tuesday) during an on-site visit, after which regular training sessions with children and young people will take place and an evaluation will be carried out to determine infrastructural needs such as toilets, water tanks or hand-washing facilities, in order to close any gaps in supply.