CAPE TOWN, March 24, 2010 – British Olympic track star Kelly Holmes and South African rugby legend Morné du Plessis have teamed up for an emotional visit to the Future Champs Youth Programme in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Morné, Laureus World Sports Academy Member and Chairman of the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation South Africa, guided Kelly, a former winner of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award and now a Laureus Friend & Ambassador, around the project in the sprawling township to the east of the city.
With Cape Town and South Africa about to become the centre of sporting attention as the World Cup takes place there later this year, Laureus is working energetically to enhance the opportunities for youngsters, who might otherwise be drawn into a world of crime and drug abuse, to realise their full potential. By helping youngsters to help themselves, the programme, through sports like rugby and netball, reading clubs, life skills and study groups, offers an alternative to the negative influences of the area.
Kelly said: “It is wonderful to be here in Khayelitsha today and to see the enthusiasm that these young girls and boys have for sport. I think it is great the way Laureus comes in and supports local projects and communities, by having positive influences in their lives and teaching skills that inspire the young people to be the best they can be. Everything links together and this project proves that sport can be the catalyst that helps change young people's lives. This is an important time for sport in South Africa and it is right that Laureus is able to use sport to make a difference in disadvantaged areas like Khayelitsha.”
Future Champs was established in Khayelitsha in January 2007. Young people between the ages of 11 to 21 are encouraged, through their schools, to take part in the programme, which runs twice weekly sessions throughout the year. During the visit, project leaders and participants gave a display of their activities to Kelly and Morné.
Morné du Plessis said: “We are delighted that Kelly was able to joins us in Khayelitsha. As one of the greatest sportswomen, we really valued the great input and advice she offered us.”
Photo by Carl Fourie, Getty Images for Laureus
Old News:
GWYNETH PALTROW TO ATTEND LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS
ABU DHABI, March 9, 2010 – Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow is to attend the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards on Wednesday (March 10) in Abu Dhabi.
She won an Oscar for her performance in Shakespeare in Love, and also starred in A Perfect Murder, The Talented Mr Ripley and more recently Iron Man.
Fellow Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey is to host the Awards Ceremony, which will also be attended by popular British film stars Hugh Grant and Clive Owen. Also among the special guests at the Awards will be Kyle MacLachlan, star of Desperate Housewives, and Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Trudy Chacon in Avatar and was Ana Lucia Cortez in the TV series Lost.
Old News: HOLLYWOOD STAR KEVIN SPACEY TO HOST LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS
• Hugh Grant, Clive Owen, Kyle MacLachlan and Michelle Rodriguez also among stars of entertainment attending Awards Ceremony in Abu Dhabi
• Laureus World Sports Awards to be held on March 9-10
• Apply for media accreditation on www.laureus.com/accreditation/info
ABU DHABI, March 7, 2010 – Hollywood film star Kevin Spacey is to host the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards, to be staged on Wednesday (March 10) in Abu Dhabi.
Kevin Spacey won Oscars for his roles in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, and among his many other starring roles have been Seven, L A Confidential, Pay It Forward and Superman Returns. Since 2003, he has been artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.
Hugely popular British film stars Hugh Grant and Clive Owen are also among the special guests at the Awards, along with American actors Kyle MacLachlan, star of Desperate Housewives, and Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Trudy Chacon in Avatar and was Ana Lucia Cortez in the TV series Lost.
The 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during the period January 1 - December 31, 2009, are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time. The living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today. Among the sporting celebrities attending the Awards Ceremony in Abu Dhabi are:
Giacomo Agostini
Antoine Albeau
Marcus Allen
Therese Alshammar
Brahim Asloum
Mansour Bahrami
Layne Beachley
Franz Beckenbauer
Boris Becker
Bakkies Botha
B J Botha
Ian Botham
Sergey Bubka
Jenson Button
Fabio Capello
Chris Cole
Nadia Comaneci
David Coulthard
Tom Daley
Kapil Dev
Deshun Deysel
Daniel Dias
Aly El Hamamsy
Abdel Zaher El-Saka
Julius Erving
Justin Eveson
Mick Fanning
Kurt Fearnley
Allyson Felix
Mark Fish
Emerson Fittipaldi
Sean Fitzpatrick
Andrew Flintoff
Dawn Fraser
Frankie Fredericks
Cathy Freeman
Jan Frodeno
Stephanie Gilmore
Gizem Girismen
Mika Hakkinen
Alan Hansen
Tony Hawk
Kelly Holmes
Mike Horn
Edith Hunkeler
Butch James
Kip Keino
Amir Khan
Taig Khris
Franz Klammer
Vitali Klitschko
Shingo Kunieda
Brian Lara
Michael Lynagh
Danny MacAskill
Barry McGuigan
Henry Maske
Edwin Moses
Nawal El Moutawakel
Dikembe Mutombo
Robbie Naish
Silvia Neid
Alexey Nemov
Christine Ohuruogu
Francois Pienaar
Oscar Pistorius
Morné du Plessis
Shaun Pollock
Hugo Porta
Steve Redgrave
Sanya Richards
Aaron Ross
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario
Emilio Sanchez
Manuel de los Santos
Monica Seles
Yao Junior Senaya
Emma Snowsill
Britta Steffen
Michael Teuber
Pablo Thiam
Daley Thompson
Natalie du Toit
Alberto Tomba
Libby Trickett
Evonne Van Gennip
Michael Vaughan
Esther Vergeer
Jean de Villiers
Peter de Villiers
Steve Waugh
The names of the winners will be announced at a televised Awards Ceremony staged at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, which will also celebrate the first ten years in the life of Laureus.
The 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards will be supported by Host Partner Aabar Investments PJSC. Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, offers a fascinating combination of the old and the new; a blend of Arabian hospitality and mystique where a mixture of culture and tradition come together against a backdrop of the most modern world-class infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is developing a reputation as a leading international sporting venue. The Laureus World Sports Awards is the latest high profile sports event to be staged in Abu Dhabi. Last year Abu Dhabi was chosen to stage football’s FIFA Club World Cup, and the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship are now highlights of the sporting calendar in the city.