Bongani Tshabalala

When it comes to sniffing out new business ideas in rural South Africa, 28 year old Bongani Tshabalala and Mokoni Paile are ahead of the game.

They’ve identified an opportunity to kick-start a nationwide five-a-side soccer league for both male and female players. To make this happen, the former football coach and management accountant are bringing together their passion for the beautiful game to create a network of world-class five-a-side sports facilities. They will also nurture a series of youth programmes that not only give children (and adults) the chance to develop their ball skills, but also improve their fitness and learn crucial life skills. Result!

The 2010 World Cup, hosted by South Africa, highlighted the fact that the country needs to invest more in the development and training of young players. The appetite to develop youth football is there, but the facilities and the infrastructure are not.

Step forward Bongani and Mokoni. They come from Nelspruit, a city of 200,000 people in South Africa’s rural Mpumalanga province, where there’s a significant lack of adequate facilities for young people.

They’ve identified the fact that many professional players start out with five-a-side soccer to build fundamental skills. What’s more, five-a-side soccer requires less space, so setting up facilities is ultimately more affordable.

B&M Football5’s goal is to set up a nationwide fivea- side football league, build and provide worldclass five-a-side football facilities and set up youth development programmes in conjunction with the government and the private sector.

It all starts here. Their plan is to build their first fivea- side soccer facility in Nelspruit. After that, they plan to build a second facility in Pretoria, which is one of South Africa’s three capital cities. Following that, they hope to take the concept nationwide.

"I’m a big dreamer, always wanting to achieve more than what is expected. Passion is what drives me and I believe that nothing is impossible because impossible is nothing" - Bongani Tshabalala

Not every child will grow up to be a Ronaldo, but all will benefit from the chance to lead a healthy happy life, develop their fitness, learn to thrive as part of a team and have positive role models to inspire and shape them.

Describing their Eureka moment to create the business, Bongani and Mokoni said, as they drove along the streets of their country, they often saw the youth either playing in public parks with no appropriate infrastructure or sitting on corners drinking or smoking. They believe this is one way to get young people off the streets.

More than that, their programme aims to reach out to people of all cultures, ages and both genders. Different leagues will be established where both male and female, young and old can compete.

Beyond youth development programmes, there’s also a chance for adults to get involved. Free training workshops will be offered to local coaches as well as up-and-coming referees. Proving this is a truly holistic communityenhancing plan.

Bongani and Mokoni would appreciate advice on a number of topics:

- Accessing the capital required to set up the business

- Attracting enough members to achieve their sales target

- Recruiting and employing staff

- Maintenance of the premises

- Keeping their fixed costs as low as possible

Have some tips? Then emai them to: advice.southafrica@thebransoncentre.org

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