Mass Participation Programme in South Africa

The Mass Participation Programme (MPP) is aimed at giving as many children as possible the opportunity to participate in regular sports activities and life skills through sports programs!

The MPP has two main focuses:

1) Using direct sports coaching – for its health benefits, improved emotional well being and increased life skills (teamwork, leadership, decision making, communication).

2) Using sport to discuss critical issues – by delivering curriculums on topics such as HIV / AIDS awareness in a fun and interactive manner on the sports field.

The programme uses structured coaching as the foundation to provide a holistic education that is otherwise not provided by the schools (physical education is not on the national curriculum in South Africa). The programme currently reaches 83 different primary schools in the townships and northern areas of the Nelson Mandela Bay and Cacadu district, positively effecting some 18,000 children annually.

We are always looking for hardworking, enthusiastic volunteers to help coach and organise sports activities on The Mass Participation Programme. Although volunteer sports coaches require a good grounding in the sport they want to coach, you do not need be a qualified or vastly experienced coach. To find out how to volunteer with United Through Sport in South Africa, click on the link below.

Click here to get involved as a volunteer sports coach in South Africa

The MPP uses mainstream sports like Football (Soccer), Rugby, Cricket, Netball, Hockey, Basketball, Swimming and others as a way of connecting with disadvantaged and vulnerable youth. Although the programme uses sport as a tool, its main objective is to develop the ‘child within’, focusing on improving self image and self esteem and using the positive effects of sport to teach essential life skills such as leadership, team work, fair-play, conflict resolution, self respect, self evaluation and decision making.

We try to use sport to make a positive difference to each young person we meet. By focusing their goals, dreams and outlook on life, sport can be used to develop individual skills such as building leadership, coping with pressure, making decisions, dealing with feedback, self-criticism, responsibility, conformity, persistence, risk taking, courage, self motivation and self-control. Sport really can be used to empower young people and empower them to choose their own life path and become better members of society.

"On the sports field everyone is equal and through successful team play and partnership anyone can make a difference"
Qondakele Sompondo, Chairman of United Through Sport South Africa.

Associated Projects: