Puma donates to constable's Cosmos city clinic

"It is fantastic to be able to support the programme which Constable Ntaolang has put in place with the youngsters of Cosmos City and surrounds. He is doing amazing work with the players who seem to be growing from strength to strength," said Brett Bellinger, marketing director of Puma SA.

Ntaolang started the soccer clinic with little more than his enthusiasm and a commitment and quickly attracted over a hundred boys. They train twice a week at the Nooitgedacht 88 Primary School and play as the Ikage ("build yourself") team in the Rand Central League. The long term aim is to obtain their own land to build a formal clinic which includes quality education facilities for the players.

Third kit is official

Explaining the significance of the Africa Unity Kit donation, Bellinger said the kit is sanctioned by FIFA as the official third kit of Puma-sponsored African teams including continental champions Egypt and World Cup qualifiers Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Algeria. "In fact the kit we have donated is the actual playing kit that these teams would have worn had they been required to use the third kit during the World Cup," he said.

The kit features an Africa Unity badge depicting two hands locked in a solidarity handshake, and the brown colour on the shirt was created by mixing African soil samples. A percentage of the profits from the sales of the kit and related products support the brand's Play for Life campaign which is run in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - to fund wildlife and habitat conservation in Africa.

"The brand's unity collection was launched earlier this year in support of UNEP and the International Year of Biodiversity, which is 2010. So with this donation, the company is not only providing the Ikage team with the highest level technical playing kit there is available, but also raising awareness of the importance of conservation in 2010," Bellinger concluded.