Restored Hope for Young Female Soccer Players

The Lesedi Strikers at a training session, taking place three times per week in Mabopane

Rays of Hope, a foundation based in Germany which has supported the work of Lesedi la Batho for several years, have brought new life and revival to the Lesedi Strikers Ladies Football Team in Mabopane, South Africa. The semi-professional team, coached by Nhlanhla Maseko - CAF A licensed coach and former Banyana Banyana centre forward, was founded in 2011 to improve the soccer skills of talented young black female soccer players while proactively teaching them essential life skills. In recent years, the program slowed due to a lack of funding, however in January 2020, Rays of Hope revived this story of hope and a future for young black female soccer players in Mabopane by generously sponsoring the program, and our ladies would like to say THANK YOU! 

We, the Lesedi Striker’s ladies football team, would like to thank Rays of Hope for sponsoring our team. We are incredibly grateful for your support and generosity! Your support will open many new opportunities for us as a team, it will help us develop our skills and grow as individuals. Furthermore, your moral support is a great motivational tool for us as a team! Now we are enabled to participate in highly distinguished tournaments with confidence. We intend to use this opportunity to our full potential and become the best we can, we will represent with pride the name of our centre Lesedi La Batho and our sponsor Rays of Hope who have given us this opportunity to have hope and dreams again. We thank you!
- Nhlanhla Maseko A.K.A. Coach Fire, Lesedi Strikers Coach

From us Lesedi Strikers we would like to thank you, Rays of Hope, for making it possible for us to fulfill our desires and dreams as a team. Your help and intervention has brought a huge change to our team, we can now be seen as a properly functioning team in Mabopane and even register ourselves at SAFA House to play League games. I am the striker for the Lesedi Strikers, and every single goal I shoot is dedicated to Rays of Hope who have brought me and the team a lot of hope in our football future and career. 
​A very huge thank you to you RAYS OF HOPE - we as Lesedi Strikers appreciate everything you have done for us!
- Tebogo Mokoena, Lesedi Strikers Striker

Dear Rays of Hope, I hereby express my gratitude to you, for sponsoring our team Lesedi Strikers FC! It’s a great honour as we were experiencing financial difficulties over the past years and the team was slowly starting to fall apart. The good news of your sponsorship has brought us all back together as a team and has given us hope and a fresh new start. Being part of the Lesedi Strikers keeps us away from bad company and things we could have become involved in due to peer pressure, such as drugs and alcohol abuse - which is a major problem amongst the youth in Mabopane. We really appreciate your sponsorship and the support you have offered our team. 
​I thank you, Rays of Hope!
- Tshepang Thibidi, Lesedi Strikers Left Wing

Thank you for sponsoring our football club! Your support has opened many opportunities for us as young black South African women in football. Young women who previously didn’t have a proper platform to shine and show case their skills because of the many social ills we face in our community, including teenage pregnancy and high drug and alcohol usage, can now aspire for more. Our team can participate in tournaments that are highly respected in the soccer world, broadening our discipline and characteristics on and off the field. Without your support, we wouldn’t have been able to reach our goals. 
​Thank you RAYS OF HOPE for your generous support towards our team!
- Oamogetswe Makgopela, Lesedi Strikers Team Member