In these handout photos released by the English Football Association, England soccer player David Beckham plays soccer with a group of children involved with the ‘Coaching For Hope’ project at Ikhusi Primary School near Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009.

more images and info on the “Coaches for Hope” project after the jump…

Beckham said in a press release: “It is amazing to visit a project like this and see the effect football has on young people. Football has the power to change lives and these youngsters are able to learn valuable lessons through their love of the game.

“I feel privileged to have met these children and despite the fact we come from different backgrounds we share a love for the game of football.”

England’s David Beckham (C), England’s World Cup 2018 bid ambassador Lucas Radebe (R) and England’s Football Association Chairman David Triesman (L) meet children and volunteers from the “Coaching For Hope” project

CfH not only teaches football skills, but also promotes social awareness for issues such as AIDS and substance abuse. Access to sport is limited in some areas, and so a CfH tournament aims to boost self-esteem, confidence and build life skills for those who participate.

“Aids is a very real problem in places like Khaylitsha and football must ensure it does whatever it can to help educate young people of its dangers and make a difference,” Beckham concluded.

David Triesman, the FA chairman, added: “It has been inspiring visiting this Coaching for Hope session. Watching the boundless energy and promise of these young people has been an amazing experience.

“Football has a power to inspire change. I am in awe of the coaches here who have the ability to make a difference to the future of these children. “Schemes such as Coaching for Hope make me proud of the work of The FA’s International Development Programme. It is a fantastic example of a project using the universal language of football to help promote positive change in people’s lives.”

source, images via daylife/EFA

The Story
The story begins in 1975. The then 35-year-old manager Blatter is the first European to organize a football tournament in Africa. For Coca Cola he invites young Africans to the event. One year later hundreds of thousands of Black people demonstrate for their rights on the streets of Soweto near Johannesburg. The uprising is brutally crushed. It marks the beginning of the end of the apartheid era. 35 years later a Black president is heading the country and former ANC activists are organizing the biggest sports event in the world…an event that Sepp Blatter brought for them to South Africa.

The Concept
African Dream tells the story of Sepp Blatter’s dream of organizing the first football world championship in Africa. And the dream of the Black population in South Africa to finally receive recognition through the 2010 World Cup. The film begins with the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup – Blatter inaugurates the event and fulfils his long-awaited dream. We interview Blatter shortly before he retires to sleep on that day; it is this interview that holds the film together. We go back to Sepp Blatter’s roots, to where he grew up. We accompany Blatter to the Sepp Blatter Tournament in the Swiss canton of Valais (with statements from Platini & Beckenbauer) and to a celebration with his old friends. We show where this man comes from. We’re at the FIFA Palace in Zürich where Blatter painstakingly plans the gigantic event and where he receives African heads of state. We show Blatter on a journey to Africa a year before the championship – here we speak to adults and children from the townships about football. And we accompany Blatter on the final days leading up to the World Cup.The Filming
For this documentary a Dutch-Swiss film team researched the partly controversial career of Sepp Blatter, accompanied the FIFA president over the course of two years, spoke with South African president Jacob Zuma and for several weeks questioned eye-witnesses in Soweto on the past and present.

The Post Production
The HD produced film has a length of 53 minutes and can be converted into all television formats.
The film will be ready for broadcast directly after the opening ceremony in South Africa. The World Cup matches themselves are not part of the film.

source

Watch…Listen…Hear

THE L.A.S.E.R.S. MANIFESTO

To Every Man, Woman & Child…

1. We Want An End To The Glamorization Of Negativity In The Media.

2. We Want An End To Status Symbols Dictating Our Worth As Individuals.

3. We Want A Meaningful And Universal Education System.

4. We Want Substance In The Place Of Popularity.

5. We Will Not Compromise Who We Are To Be Accepted By The Crowd.

6. We Want The Invisible Walls That Separate By Wealth, Race & Class To Be Torn Down.

7. We Want To Think Our Own Thoughts.

8. We Will Be Responsible For Our Environment.

9. We Want Clarity & Truth From Our Elected Officials Or They Should Move Aside.

10. We Want Love Not Lies.

11. We Want An End To All Wars. Foreign & Domestic (Violence).

12. We Want An End To The Processed Culture Of Exploitation, Over-Consumption & Waste.

13. We Want Knowledge, Understanding & Peace.

14. WE WILL NOT LOSE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOSERS, WE ARE LASERS!!!

Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.
Lasers Are The Future.

We’re Not Losers…We Are L.A.S.E.R.S.!!!

Love Always Shines Every-time Remember 2 Smile!

-LF

Singer Bono (R) and footballer Didier Drogba pose for photographers after a news conference to launch a partnership between Nike and (RED) in London, November 30, 2009. The two groups will unite to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS through the sale of red colored laces and other products in the run-up to the soccer World Cup.

The laces will drop December 1st (World AIDS Day) at Nike stores.

Closeup of the boot after the jump…

images via daylife

With the consent and support of AM’s family, MTV will begin airing the eight-episode documentary series on Monday, October 12. The one-hour show will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT and chronicle the lives of young addicts, ages 20-25, who are offered a chance at recovery.

Each episode features AM meeting with the addicts, their friends and families to discuss their willingness to change. The show was part of AM’s long struggle to overcome substance abuse, and it follows his mission to help as many people as he could, using interviews and self-shot video from the addicts and their friends and families that expose the severity of their addiction and its devastating impact on their lives.

“After careful consideration we have decided to air the show,” Goldstein’s family said in a statement. “Adam felt strongly that by doing this series, he could help other addicts who were at a crisis point to get sober. Adam was fully aware that if it were not for his own sobriety, he never would have achieved the level of success and happiness he had found. Helping people in their recovery was a huge part of Adam’s life. It is our hope through airing this show that people will get to see the side of Adam that we knew and loved, not just the celebrity DJ, but the honest and caring person who gave so much of himself to help others. The decision to air the show has been difficult, but we do this with the profound belief that it will inspire others to seek help.”

During the course of filming segments for the show, AM often uncovered new information about the addicts that even those close to them were unaware of. He made time to check in during the course of their rehabilitation and provide a raw and honest look at their new sobriety.

“Recovery can be extremely difficult and requires constant attention,” said Sean Clarkin, executive vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. “But it’s important to know that it is in fact possible to present examples of people who are recognizing the need for treatment and beginning that journey.”

source

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, right, kicks the ball next to Barcelona’s Carles Puyol, center, during the launching of the “1 Goal Education For All” international campaign in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. In the background are former players of the Spanish national soccer team who posed for a family photo at the 100-year anniversary of the Spanish Soccer Federation.

75 million children are out of schoool, and millions more struggle to stay in school. This is a battle we can win – with the right political will and resources Education for All is possible.

A short film was produced for the Education for All: Class of 2015 that was launched at the UN in September 2008. The class brings together celebrities, world leaders and activists to ensure that Education for All becomes a reality. See the video after the jump…

image via daylife