The Following Soccer Professionals, among others, Have Kindly Agreed to participate as Soccer Patrons of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in Cape Town:

JENS LEHMANN, goalkeeper with VfB Stuttgart, former goal keeper in the German national team and ambassador of POWER-CHILD CAMPUS

“ My task as a goalkeeper is best described with the word support. But not only on the football pitch, but everywhere in one's entire life and particularly there everybody needs support. And in particular children and even more so children who are not as well off as we used to when we were little. Therefore, I am a huge supporter of the project POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in South Africa, which Martin J. Krug founded together with his team and which is now being realised in Cape Town. In this project football provides people with important support, encourages laughter and pleasure and the football pitch is a meeting place for many people. I find the integration of the World Championship 2010 into the project particularly great, as the South Africans, who have not got the means for a visit in a stadium, are also part of this Championship and because as fans and football-enthusiasts they can be part of it in the campus viewing. The residents of the township experience even more support with the provisions of help, the help to help oneself and the actual care in the infirmary, the safe house for women and girls and the soup kitchen. As patron of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS I look forward to being able to get my personal impression on site as soon as possible.
”


OTTO REHHAGEL, Coach of the Greek National Team, the current European champions:

“I have been supporting Power-Child e.V. in Germany for years, because children are our future! I think it’s terrific that the association is now active outside the country – I have great respect for Martin J. Krug’s initiative to set up the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in Cape Town, and for the way Veronica Ferres is communicating the message of the association. This is why it is also an honor for me, as a supporter of this unique project, to promote and publicize the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS.
 If I can help with my experience in soccer, which brings people together everywhere in the world, that will make me very happy. Particularly with a view to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, all of us should now help offer the children prospects for the future and impart positive values like self-confidence, tolerance, etc. The team sport of soccer is an ideal way to do this. I’m already looking forward to the first ball I can kick on the soccer field at the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS.”


MIRKO SLOMKA, Coach of Hannover 96

“The work Power-Child e.V. does in Germany and also the new POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in Cape Town is very close to our hearts.
As father of two children, the subject of violence and abuse of the weakest is very important to me, and I follow the prevention projects of Power-Child e.V. with great interest. We are all called upon to do our part in making sure that children grow up in a carefree atmosphere, that enables them to enjoy a happy childhood. Soccer can play a decisive role in the development of the children, because as a team sport, it not only promotes team spirit, but also teaches children and young people at play such values as motivation and persistence even when the team loses, as well letting them experience the enduring positive energy that comes about after a success. And who knows? Perhaps one or two talents will be discovered along the way on the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS who might some day fortify the Schalke 04 team.
I wish you every success and I am proud to be a part of this extraordinary effort as a soccer patron.”


BERTI VOGTS

“The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is a great project all around. Especially in my coaching work in Africa, I consider the work Power-Child e.V. is doing in Cape Town really pace setting, not just for South Africa, but for the entire continent, where I have seen the consequences of abuse and AIDS on many of my travels.  The intensive collaboration between Power-Child e.V., the City of Cape Town and the ‘makers’ on the scene, the people who get directly involved to do something to combat injustice, is a unique opportunity for this project to be crowned with success. Not only because I personally regard soccer in all its forms to be a wonderful sport  and a magnificent instrument of communication, but also because ‘the language of soccer’ is understood around the world and brings together people everywhere, this soccer program and also the live telecast of the 2010 World Cup represent an outstanding component of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS.”


GERALD ASAMOAH, Schalke 04, football player in the German national team

“The project POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is impressive and in particular in view of the World Championship 2010 it is a pioneering sign, as the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS provides direct help where it is required.  My roots go back to Ghana and so I was really pleased to find out that the Football World Championship will take place on the African continent for the first time. Football is an understanding amongst nations, fosters tolerance and brings people together. I am very proud to be part of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in Cape Town as a football patron.
With the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS children, who grow up in poverty, are given a real chance for a better life. I am part of it. Kind regards and see you soon, your Gerald Asamoah."
”


LOTHAR MATTHÄUS, record football player for the German national team, captain of the German world champion team of 1990

“I think I will not surprise any of the people present here saying that football is my life and that it has given me incredibly many opportunities in my life – successes, meetings, getting to know many cultures and above all again and again the great feeling to be on the pitch or on the coaching bench.
Therefore it is also a great honour for me to be involved in the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS as a football patron. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS with its football pitches is a unique possibility and opportunity for the people of the townships of Cape Town. Through football people can learn to become active, to act. You have to learn to play your game, even if the opponent tries to weaken you with his tactics – ultimately, with discipline, fairness and a good team you can win. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS can help children, but also parents in the townships of Cape Towns to learn these values for their everyday lives and can thus provide the opportunity to win in life and to leave behind their poverty. In football everybody is equal, no matter where we come from and what we have. Football brings people together and enthuses them. Therefore, I find it great that the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS will offer campus viewing during the World Championships 2010. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS provides the fans in the townships with the opportunity to experience this tournament at first hand and to be able to celebrate a fan event. And if during the World Championships I am in South Africa I will certainly pop in on the campus, too."


BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER, FC Bayern Munich, Member of the National Soccer Team

“I was four years old when I first kicked a ball around a practice field. For us, it was quite normal that soccer was simply a part of our lives, and I find it impressive that children play soccer all over the world. Soccer is also a great way to experience motivation and fun. I found out about the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS project back at the Benefit Gala. When Martin Krug brought up the possibility of my supporting the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS as a soccer patron, I immediately agreed. Especially in view of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is a terrific meeting place for the whole family. On the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS, the children and young people can emulate their idols and get active themselves to find the way out of misery. I’m happy to be a part of it!”