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| Village director Kerileng Mushi, is interviewed by local television about the 2010 FIFA World Cup |
In less than a month the world will eagerly watch as FIFA Confederations Cup starts in South Africa. The Cup is being seen as a trial run for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While adults around the world watch the matches in the stadiums or from their armchairs, four boys from SOS Children's Villages will be at the centre of all the excitement.
Two boys from SOS Children's Village Rustenburg and two from SOS Children's Village Port Elizabeth were selected to be ball boys during FIFA's Confederations Cup in June 2009.
Ipeleng (16) and Simphiwe (15) from SOS Children's Village Rustenburg will star as part of the ball crew in the Bafana Bafana (South African) match against Iraq.
The boys will receive training the day before the opening match of the Confederations Cup.
"I am extremely happy to have been chosen as a ball boy. It is an opportunity of a lifetime, which is, I think, going to mean I brush shoulders with international football stars. It is definitely going to change my life in the sense that I will be more knowledgeable about football," said an excited Simphiwe.
"Simphiwe is a good choice for a ball boy," said village director Kerileng Mushi. "He is a leader and the type of young person who will go to great lengths to help others. This experience will help him to make choices later in life," said Kerileng.
Ipeleng was the oldest child for a while in the early days of SOS Children's Village Rustenburg. He felt the pressure of being a sort of role model to the younger children. He is over the moon to have been selected. "I feel privileged and blessed to be offered this golden opportunity, which makes me feel like a celebrity. I'll be meeting people from the international arena that I only know from television. Learning new things about football and meeting new people is going to be an important experience in my life," says Ipeleng.
Sinethemba and Monde (both 14 years old) from SOS Children's Village Port Elizabeth were also among the 14 children selected from around the country to be part of the Confederations Cup.
"I'm very excited," said Sinethemba. "I hope to meet my hero Lucas Radebe."
Sinethemba and Monde both play for the under-15 football team in Port Elizabeth. Sinethemba is a defender and Monde is a striker.
"I cannot wait to meet all the South African football stars, especially Pitso Mosimane [former South African football player and currently a coach]," says Monde.