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Ubuntu Football: Embracing the Dream
20-year-old Alex van Schalkwyk’s incredible journey has taken him from being a 12-year-old soccer-crazed boy in South Africa to pursuing his soccer and educational dreams in the US at Dartmouth College.
Sixty percent of South African children are growing up without a father in their household. Ubuntu Football is a non-profit soccer academy with a focus on mentoring and educating the next generation of leaders in South Africa. Starting with boys at 11-years-old and investing in them for the next 7+ years of their life, Ubuntu provides elite soccer training, a quality education through their own independent school, mentorship and leadership training, and a loving home at the academy residence. While it would be amazing if one of the Ubuntu players became the next great soccer star, the real hope is that through their mentorship and education, they will become great fathers, community leaders, and role models for the future of South Africa.
This series is dedicated to sharing their stories.
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Alex van Schalkwyk described the moment he found out he had been accepted to study in the United States as “absolutely crazy.”
