PEACEPLAYERS SOUTH AFRICA

The award-winning PeacePlayers SA is on a mission to unite, educate, and inspire youth from divided communities through sport, establish new community connections, and unify the South African youth through the power of sport.

Established in 2001, PeacePlayers SA use basketball coaching in 25 primary and high schools as a catalyst to facilitate life skills and create more shared spaces amongst the youth of different races, socioeconomic backgrounds and communities.

As youth progress through the PP-SA programmes, they participate in transformational dialogue and grow to become advocates for peers of different races, genders, and communities. In addition to these weekly sessions, they also conduct five major events per year – all used as a platform to address social issues that arise within our communities they serve.

The PeacePlayers SA programmes take place in Umlazi, Lamontville, Wentworth, Durban City, and Molweni. They also have partnerships in Cottonlands, Hillcrest, and Pietermaritzburg YMCA, and further partnerships with organisations throughout the country with whom they share their unique methodology through capacity building to enhance the skills that these local entities are in need of.

Since their inception, PP-SA have increased their geographic impact from across the country to throughout the world, and their global network now addresses social issues in the United States Cyprus, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East.

In 2021 PeacePlayers SA won the KZN Recreation Body of the Year award from the Department of Sport & Recreation, the KZN Youth in Sport award at the First Annual KZN Youth Business Awards, and was a finalist for the 2021 Hollard Sport Industry Active & Well-being award.