NIKE GIVES CAPE TOWN’S FOOTBALL HOPEFULS ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET NOTICED
Nike gives Cape Town’s football hopefuls another opportunity with ‘The Chance’
Nike returns to Cape Town in search of the best young footballers to represent South Africa at the Nike Academy trials in the United Kingdom
Nike’s youth football programme, The Chance, is a global search for talented footballers to get an opportunity to join the Nike Academy, a high performance training programme, supported by the English Premier League, in the United Kingdom.
Locally, Nike set out its search for South Africa’s top young guns in August, with trials already conducted in Johannesburg, and Cape Town. However, the interest from youngsters in Cape Town has increased, and Nike will host a second round of trials for those players who did not get a chance to register in August.
Already more than 300 hopefuls aged 16 and 17 years joined The Chance South Africa trials with football legends-turned-pro-coaches Shaun Bartlett, Eric Tinkler and Tebogo Moloi heading up the scouting.
Nike will be rolling out their final leg of the trials in Durban at the end of September. The player’s who make the grade and get noticed during the regional trials, will be called back for the final trial in Johannesburg. Only four South African players have the chance to slot into the best 100 players from across 40 countries, to join Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger at the UK trials in January 2011, to compete for one of eight international places in the Nike Academy. These eight will have all their expenses paid to live in the UK for a year starting in July 2011 and be a full time member of the Nike Academy.
As members of the Nike Academy, players become full-time participants at a residential training centre in England with access to elite coaches, nutritionists, psychologists and fitness conditioners, along with world class facilities to perform at the highest level.
Date: Sunday, 12 September 2010
Time: 8am until 4pm
Venue: Old Mutual Academy, Mutual Park, Jan Smuts Drive, Pinelands
NIKE THE CHANCE – SOUTH AFRICA NOTICED 3
At the Chance trials, South Africa, hundreds of aspiring footballers had the opportunity to prove their ability to the watching scouts. (We have already had a look at Phathi Sacolo and Simanga Mthembu.)
Bongani Mthembu’s strength, tackling ability and willingness to run down the line makes him a tough defensive opponent and an attacking threat from the back.
To find out more about The Chance check out the feature TRW did here: or visit: http://go.nike.com/TheNoticed
NIKE THE CHANCE – SOUTH AFRICA NOTICED 2
At the Chance trials, South Africa, hundreds of aspiring footballers had the opportunity to prove their ability to the watching scouts. (We have already had a look at Phathi Sacolo here:)
When the competition is relentless as it was at the trials, it’s vital to keep a cool head to perform. Simanga Mthembu’s football brain and close control ensured he kept his.
To find out more about The Chance check out the feature TRW did here: or visit: http://go.nike.com/TheNoticed
NIKE THE CHANCE – SOUTH AFRICA NOTICED
At the Chance trials, South Africa, hundreds of aspiring footballers had the opportunity to prove their ability to the watching scouts.
Phathi Sacolo’s creativity and clever positional play consistently impressed and earned him the right to play at the final trial.
To find out more about The Chance check out the feature TRW did here: or visit: http://go.nike.com/TheNoticed
NEW AJAX ADIDAS HOME AND AWAY KIT
Adidas has given Ajax Cape Town a new look home and away kit for the 2010/2011 season. The new kit –which the team will use for the first time next weekend in a MTN8 Cup match –was unveiled at a function in Canal Walk, Cape Town.
The most significant features of the new Ajax Cape Town jersey is the Andreas cross on the chest, a round collar instead of V-collar and the red band on the shirt is now split by white planes on the shoulders.
“The Ajax Cape Town jersey is a continuation of the proud tradition at Ajax Amsterdam which has seen us produce a unique, world class home jersey every season without deviating from the traditions of the club. However, the away jersey at Ajax is always different and this season we have come up with the bold blue and electricity colorway,” says Kevin Jooste, the Football Category Manager at adidas South Africa.
Both jerseys feature climacool technology- a combination of performance fabrics, open mesh and ventilation channels which keep cool air flowing in and heat and sweat flowing out. Climacool works by considering how and where the body produces heat and sweat, and focus’s specific fabric and garment features in those zones. The effect is that athletes stay dry, comfortable and perform at their peak in even the most heated competitions.
George Comitis the Ajax Cape Town CEO said, “We are proud and honoured and to be associated with adidas. They are a premium sports brand and as a football club we always strive to be the best therefore the association with adidas enables Ajax Cape Town to look the part. The kit for the new season is immaculate and when we go onto the field, from our PSL team down to our juniors, the community scheme coaches as well as all our staff, we will be proud to wear the new adidas kit which is world class.”
The jerseys are now available in retail stores.
TELKOM CHARITY CUP
After hosting a hugely successful World Cup, South African soccer fans now turn their attention to local football. As with most, if not all the leagues around the world, the PSL (Premier Soccer League) has an annual curtain raiser to kick off the new season. In South Africa it comes in the form of the Telkom Charity Cup. The TCC is a single day tournament made up of two ‘semi-finals’ played one after the other with the two winning teams then playing each other in a final later that evening.
Fans vote for their favorite team and the four clubs with the most votes qualify for the tournament. The aim of the tournament is to raise money for charity through the votes and gate fees.
This year the competition will see Kazier Chiefs, who received the fourth most votes take on vote winners Mamelodi Sundowns before second placed Amazulu take on Orlando Pirates, who have won the Charity Cup the past two years.
All four teams, especially Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates will be looking to send out a strong warning to current PSL Champions SuperSport United. SSU have won the league three years running and Downs, Chiefs and Pirates will be looking to wrestle the title off ‘Matsatsantsa’. The Charity Cup provides a great opportunity for managers to make some final adjustments to their team before the season kicks off on 27th August.
The matches will be played in Soccer City. This is the first time the Telkom Charity Cup will be played at Soccer City in four years because of the World Cup upgrades.
NEW ADIDAS AMAZULU KIT
Adidas have unveiled Durban based football club, AmaZulu’s new home and away jerseys which the club will wear during the 2010/11 Premier Soccer League season.
‘Usuthu’ as they are called, finished 8th in the PSL (Premier Soccer League) last season.
Adidas officially presented the jerseys to AmaZulu chairman Patrick Sokhela at the club’s 2010 Awards evening in Durban on Friday.
GIANT ADIDAS BAFANA BAFANA JERSEY
adidas unveils Giant Bafana Bafana jersey to mark the last Football Friday
Unite Mzansi Unite
adidas, official sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, have unveiled the giant Bafana Bafana jersey which bears signatures and messages of support from hundreds of thousands Bafana Bafana fans. The giant jersey –which is 60 metres by 48 metres big was unveiled at the Cape Town Stadium to mark the last Football Friday -a concept that saw South Africans wearing the colours of their national team every Friday in the days leading to the 2010 FIFA World Cup ™.
The giant jersey was the central tool in adidas’ Unite Mzansi Unite campaign whose aim was to unite South Africans behind the World Cup and the National team – Bafana Bafana. The massive yellow jersey toured the rest of South Africa over seven months:
- covering a distance of 27, 000 kilometres,
- visiting more than 300 towns & villages and
- passing through all 9 provinces South Africa and
- all the host cities receiving an overwhelming welcome along the way.
“We decided to unveil the giant jersey in one of the World Cup venues in order to mark the last Football Friday and to say thank you to all South Africans for uniting behind the World Cup and Bafana Bafana. We have certainly showed the World how united we are in our purpose to deliver a spectacular event and the final on Sunday will be a real cherry on top,” says Zobuzwe Ngobese, the Public Relations Manager at adidas South Africa.
The UMU campaign has not only touched South Africans as it had a very big global arm to it. Football fans from around the world were introduced to the yellow headband –known as the UMU a month before the tournament. This item has been sold globally at retail stores and all proceeds from the sales will go towards the 46664 –a Nelson Mandela charity organisation. Fans from South Africa and rest of the world have been wearing these yellow headbands at World Cup matches –something which created a sea of yellow at the stadiums –particularly when South Africa was playing. Some players also wore the UMUs on the field of play to show their support for charity.
“We are pleased that during all the three Bafana Bafana matches –the stadium was painted in yellow and more pleasing is the fact that the enthusiasm of South Africans continues all the way irrespective of whether our team is still there or not. That is what our campaign was all about –to unite South Africans behind the event,” adds Ngobese.
Some prominent people who have been part of the campaign include President of the Republic of South Africa Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Danny Jordaan and Lucas Radebe. Musicians, actors and South African sports personalities also embraced the campaign.
Ordinary South Africans on the streets were equally touched by the campaign when the giant jersey reached their towns and villages while other locals offered to support UMU by showcasing their talents through song, dance and performances during truck stops in their areas.
With the jersey revealed, adidas has plans to leave a legacy long after the World Cup has gone. Certain high profile people and personalities who signed the jersey will have their signatures cut from the replica jersey, framed and auctioned on eBay. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Nelson Mandela 46664 charity organizations.
“As the world’s leading football brand, it was very important for us to leave a legacy after the campaign had finished. We have decided to select 11 signatures from prominent South Africans who signed the jersey and we will have pieces of their signatures framed for people to purchase on ebay -in order to raise funds and awareness for the great work the Nelson Mandela charity is doing,” adds Ngobese.
All South Africans that signed on the jersey will be able to say they were part of this historic event which was held on the African continent for the first time. It is expected that the spirit of unity will linger on after the World Cup and this is good news for the South African national team –which now enjoys unprecedented support following their brave at the tournament.
WRITE THE HEADLINE. LIGHT UP JOHANNESBURG
Nike Football delivers the largest interactive LED installation in Africa
Towering high above downtown Johannesburg stands one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the Life Center. At 30 stories and 138 meters high this imposing building, the fourth tallest in Johannesburg, is the site of Nike’s latest interactive digital communications experience.
Flanked by 90m tall images of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho, is an interactive LED screen almost half a football pitch in size that allows sports fans around the world to write their own headlines and light up the Johannesburg skyline.
The ambitious interactive installation allows fans to submit personal messages to inspire their favorite players, and then see their headline transformed into a huge player animation that will tower over the city of Johannesburg.
The experience forms part of Nike’s hugely successful summer that has seen it deliver it’s best on field product through the recycled National Team Kits and the Elite Series footwear, combined with ongoing communications that continue to build Nike’s position as the world’s leading football brand.
“We are excited to deliver yet another compelling way to engage and inspire fans around the world and bring them even closer to their heroes” said NIKE Inc. President and CEO Mark Parker. “It’s another great example of how we continue to connect with fans to drive separation and growth for the Nike brand.”
Fans can submit a 57 character personal message through Facebook.com/nikefootball.com, Twitter, Facebook, Mxit (South Africa) and QQ (China) to over 50 of Nike’s athletes from around the world. Up to 100 headlines are then selected each night and transformed into digital player animations that are projected across Johannesburg. When a fan’s message is used they receive a personalized notification showing them a picture of the headline and the animation created from it.
This is just one way fans can engage with Nike’s highly successful Write The Future campaign that has had over 32 million views digitally since its launch less than a month ago.
To Create Your Headline:
Tweet #NikeFuture
See it on a giant JoBurg skyscraper:
http://go.nike.com/nikefuture
http://facebook.com/nikefootball
http://nikefootball.com
Life Center Live Facts:
- Supporting12 languages across the world (Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish & Turkish)
- Operational from 6pm to 6am daily
- Displaying over 100 individual headlines per night
- Largest Interactive LED screen in Africa
- 44 meters high by 42 meters wide
- 207,520 individual LED’s making up a linear distance of 2.5km
- 15km of galvanized steel cable make up the frame, 3km more than the distance Wayne Rooney runs on average per game
- Two 90m high player images
- Total size of the wrap is 8,400 square meters big enough to cover an entire full size regulation football pitch
- Headlines submitted directly by consumers over Facebook, Twitter, QQ (China only), and Mxit (South Africa only)
- Upload time of between 20 minutes – 24hrs for headlines
EX-BAFANA BAFANA SKIPPER ENJOYS ADIDAS EXPERIENCE
Lucas Radebe took some time out to enjoy the ‘vibes’ in Cape Town and stopped over at the V&A Waterfront to experience some of the entertaining activities Adidas have set up.
Radebe tests out the ‘old legs’ at the shot speed measuring goal.
Radebe performing on the greenscreen before being inserted into an Adidas advert with Lional Messi.
Could the ex-skipper have kept the Argentine quiet in real life?
Radebe shows his support for Bafana and Mandela’s 46664 campaign by wearing his UMU.
One of Bafana Bafana’s most popular players ever interacts with the fans.
