Cape Town - Petrol attendants Aliwanga Ngcako and Lunga Gunundu from Engen Anru Motors in Robertson are hard at work – not only to deliver great service to Engen customers but also to inspire young soccer lovers in their community by starting a new football club.
The duo started the Dream Tigers Football Club, which operates 2km away from Engen Anru Motors, to uplift their community in Nkqubela, Robertson, and instil a sense of belonging through teamwork in the young boys and men who joined the club.
“We sat down and realised that there were a lot of young people who were just sitting in the location doing nothing, so we thought that if we could form a football club, we could at least give them something to do and push their careers opportunities,” Ngcako said.
When service station owner Riaan Brand heard Ngcako and Gunundu’s vision for a new football club, he immediately gave his support.
This support from Engen Anru Motors in the form of a financial contribution was then matched by Engen’s dealer community partnership programme, which encouraged Engen dealers to engage and support the local communities in which they operate.
“The aim is to teach young boys/men (between the ages of 15 and 23) about teamwork, dedication and pride.
“Aliwanga and Lunga want to help keep young boys off the street and give them a sense of belonging and purpose. I was moved by their intense passion for soccer and community and wanted to do what I could to help get this new initiative off the ground,” said Brand.
The R5 000 contribution from Engen will go towards assisting the club with soccer kits, transport costs and entry fees.
“The support we got from Engen is crucial to this project that we started. We are excited that this dream of ours has been realised,” Ngcako said.
Ngcako and Gunundu said their team slogan “Honour, Courage and Glory” was about teaching the team to have integrity in everything that they do.
“Our love of football was a big reason for the start of this club, but we want to reach young men in our community and get them active in the right activities, like soccer.
“Football is dead in our community and we felt the need to get it up and running again, especially under the youth. Many of the teams in our community also used players from surrounding towns and we wanted to invest in our own people,” the duo said.
Engen acting general manager for retail, Enoch Hermanus, encouraged all Engen dealers to get involved and play a role in supporting the community at large.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za