Village Square Shopping Centre is committed to upliftment in the St Francis community and in partnership with a local resident, Matt Davis, is making a difference in the lives of youth in the Sea Vista community.
Matt grew up in Cape St Francis, where he still resides today and works for Wooden Logic, a local furniture and cabinetry company. Matt has always been involved in sport and is a passionate surfer and soccer player.
Matt recognised the need for sporting programmes in the local community and in September 2019 started a soccer programme for children in the Sea Vista community. “My main motivation to start the programme was to give back to the community and offer proper structure and soccer coaching for the youth. It also keeps them busy and off the streets, having soccer practice to look forward to three times a week and matches on the weekends” says Matt.
Village Square Shopping Centre sponsors the management costs and provides all the necessary equipment and soccer kit for the programme. “When we heard about the programme and the work that Matt was doing in the community, we wanted to see how we could financially and logistically assist him as well as involve our anchor tenant SUPERSPAR” says William Brooks, owner of Village Square Shopping Centre. Village Square SUPERSPAR provides catering and refreshments for the players after each soccer practice. It is in the SPAR Group’s philosophy to give back to the community. “It is our responsibility to help the community when and where we can. You can’t just take out of a community without giving back” says Richard Moolman, owner of Village Square SUPERSPAR.
The soccer practice takes place at the main sports field in Sea Vista, just off Steenbras Street. The programme started off with 16 players and has since grown to over 40 players who make up a boys U13 Team, a boys U15 Team and a girls U15 Team. Gento Qekema, a Pastor from the Kingdom Shaker’s Ministries Church in Sea Vista, has recently started assisting Matt with the coaching sessions due to the high demand and consistent attendance levels from the children in the community. The league matches take place on Saturdays against teams from Humansdorp, Jeffrey’s Bay and Oyster Bay.