Blissett's Charity Trip to South Africa

The eyes of the football world will settle on South Africa this summer when the grandest tournament of them all takes place in Africa for the first time. As fans and journalists prepare to descend on the towns of Cape Town and Johannesburg, one former England International visited for a very different reason.

Luther Blissett recently returned from South Africa, but the Watford legend was not checking out the stadiums or the facilities. He was instead part of a group of volunteers helping rebuild a school near the village of Leipoldtsville.

During his visit, Blissett witnessed first hand the excitement that is building as the World Cup gets ever closer. “In the region we stayed all the kids and teachers were really looking forward to it. I just hope the national team does well as I think it would be good for the tournament if they qualified for the knockout stages. They might not have been having the best of times but the thing about the home team is that they normally rally and produce something which surprises people. I really hope this is the case as it will be a great thing for the country.”

Thanks to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK Blissett was not only helping to rebuild the Sandeberg School but he was also able to take part in a football match against a local team. “It was great to play the kids, even though it was pretty tough for us older guys, I think the young legs made a difference as we ended up losing 2-1. It was very reminiscent of when I was growing up playing football in the streets.

“These kids will have a kick about absolutely anywhere and they will make a football out of whatever they lay their hands on. I think this desire and dedication is the reason there are so many good players coming out of Africa. You only have to look at the Premiership now and nearly every team has an African player.”

An English side with simply more than one or two black players was almost unthinkable for Blissett who regularly suffered racial abuse both in England and Italy. This type of discrimination is extremely rare in modern football and the fact that FIFA was prepared to host the World Cup in Africa shows just how much attitudes have changed. �

“I could never have imagined that the World Cup would ever be held in any African country. It is not only a proud moment for South Africa but for Africa as a whole. Everyone will be watching closely to see how the tournament goes so I just hope there is no trouble. Hopefully I will be returning to Namibia next year with the Bobby Moore Fund having watched the likes of the Ivory Coast and Nigeria perform well at the World Cup.”

Away from the football there is still plenty of work that needs to be done in South Africa and the Bobby Moore Fund is just one of a number of charities helping underprivileged children. They regularly send volunteer groups out to Africa and having previously worked with the organisation, Blissett jumped at the chance to lend a helping hand.

“The whole experience was absolutely amazing. We really bonded with all of the kids and I can tell you that emotions ran really high on a number of occasions, especially when we all gathered to sing happy birthday to one little girl. Everyone broke down in tears. I am hoping to be part of the team again next year when we visit Namibia, so I am really looking forward to that.”

Although there is plenty of work being done in South Africa, Blissett hopes that the World Cup will bring even more attention to the areas in need of help. “I found that the teachers were very motivated in what they were doing and often were spending out of their own pockets to make sure that the kids had books to further their education. The will is definitely there and with a little bit of help from the outside then their plight can be made more widely known worldwide. Hosting a global tournament will draw attention to the area and with any luck will benefit everyone as well.”

The experience has clearly had a massive impact on Blissett and he admits that he will be supporting the African teams this summer. ”I really hope they all perform well and I seriously don’t think an African side is too far away from winning the whole thing.”

Let’s just hope for England’s sake, it isn’t this year.


Luther Blissett took part in the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK’s Project South Africa to help to raise vital funds for research into bowel cancer.� For more information about the Fund’s work and how to take part in future International Projects, please visit www.bobbymoorefund.org.