„The thumb rule was that for every 10 paying children, Young Bafana would give a scholarship to a non-paying child. Having realised the positive impact these scholarships had on the children, the programme expanded rapidly.”
An idea became a project – a project became a dream.
#ChangingLives
2010 was the year Bernd Steinhage established Young Bafana. The vision for this organization grew when Bernd, a native South African – son of a German father and a Namibian mother – decided at the age of 18, to take an extended stay abroad.
For seven years, Bernd lived in Germany, Spain and Nicaragua. On his journey, he was a professional footballer and active as a social worker. He also completed a business administration degree in Berlin.
After seven years, he returned to his homeland South Africa and decided to follow his passion, developing others by means of education and soccer.
„There were just eight children at the school where everything started. Today we have over 180 – and the cooperation with the schools still exist.“ – Bernd Steinhage
As a result of South Africa hosting the Soccer World Cup in 2010, interest for soccer increased immensely. However, the majority of children could not afford to pay fees for a private club or their transport to practices and matches. All they wanted was to play soccer in a safe and productive learning environment.
„The thumb rule was that for every 10 paying children, Young Bafana would give a scholarship to a non-paying child. Having realised the positive impact these scholarships had on the children, the programme expanded rapidly.”
In 2012 the first performance team was established. Township children from the surrounding Lwandle and Nomzamo areas played together with children from socially stable backgrounds. The Soccer Scholarship of Young Bafana (registered as NGO since 2014) covers the provision of the entire necessary equipment, transport for the township players, nutrition after every session, training and matches as well as life skill events.
„In the first year children were forced to practice barefoot. For one simple reason: they had to earn their shoes! Mutual respect and appreciation play a major role at Young Bafana. For many of the children being taught the correct values is not a given due to the daily confrontation with drugs and violence.“
Due to the poor learning conditions, lack of English proficiency and various other daily challenges the children are faced with, Young Bafana inaugurated a compulsory educational programme in January 2014.
Nowadays, YB has four Performance Teams (U12, U14, U16, U18) – all players have to participate in the education programme. This consists of extra lessons in English and Maths as well as life skill workshops. On top of that, Young Bafana offers an individual career consulting for players that are at least 16 years of age.
“Due to the obvious deterioration of the South African education system, an additional education system was initiated in 2014. If a teacher has 50 pupils – all from the local township – crammed into a 25 sqm classroom, very little progress can be expected. Education is the key and the English language is the most important element.”
Since 2013 Young Bafana receives extensive support from interns from around the world, especially USA, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Already more than 130 motivated internationals were voluntarily engaged as coach, teacher or general project support here in South Africa.
„Young Bafana could simply not operate without the support received, both from abroad and within South Africa. In addition to these financial and material donations, we rely on an internship programme to be a vital and important part of our operations.“
Since 2018 Young Bafana is also an officially registered NGO in Germany. The organization mainly consists of former interns who want to continue supporting YB even after their time in South Africa.
In terms of soccer, Young Bafana can look back on a lot of success in the recent years.
After being promoted in the league for three successive years, the U18 team finished fourth in the super league in 2017. Currently, two players of this team are playing for professional soccer clubs in Cape Town. Two other players are participating in a soccar scholarship at a college in the USA (see our success story page). Equally remarkable was the so far biggest success of our U14 team, which became undefeated league champions in their first season on the big pitch (11 vs 11).
„The sporting success story emphasizes the quality of the internal structures as well as the passion shown by coaches and players, both on and off the field. However Young Bafana’s motto of ‘changing lives’ goes further than just soccer – it focusses on the individual development of every player and we strive to achieve this through soccer, education and social development. We want to offer them a better life without drugs and violence.“
15 January 2026 – 20 March 2026.
My role was set up roughly 50/50. In the mornings I was involved in the developmental and operational side of the academy, helping out with all kinds of administrative tasks. The afternoons were dedicated to football, either coaching the youngsters or training and playing with the senior team myself.
From the very first day, the experience felt incredibly positive on every level. Everyone was open, kind, and welcoming, happy to chat and engage. There was no real hierarchy; everything simply flowed. Within the first week I was already coaching, playing, and engaging with other volunteers, and after only one or two days I knew the time ahead was going to be amazing. All in all, this was one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long, long time, arguably unparalleled for me, and it is an experience I will carry with me for a lifetime.
Two things struck me on a personal level. The first was the vulnerability of the surroundings, particularly for the children coming in from Lwandle Township to play football. It is a reality completely different from how I grew up in Germany, and one that is genuinely difficult to witness. At the same time, I have enormous respect for the effort these kids put in just to be in a safe environment and play the game. The second was the locals I worked and coached alongside: despite financial hardship, everyone was incredibly welcoming, open, and positive throughout my entire time there. That contrast with what I’m used to in Germany, where people tend to be wealthier but not necessarily warmer, is something I will carry with me for many years to come.
It is not official yet, but the biggest lesson is that in Europe there really is no such thing as material risk. People in South Africa live under such different conditions that I find it hard to see meaningful risk in things like changing cities, changing jobs, or changing my hobbies. In my mind, the internship has opened up a few new corridors and given me extra flexibility in how I think about life in general, because in a privileged European environment the limits and the supposed risks are far smaller than they look. That is something incredibly valuable for the career to come.
My biggest learning is that being happy, and allowing yourself to be happy, has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with the people around you and what you do throughout the day. It might sound like a platitude, something everyone says, but I have seen it up close. That deeply impressed me and will stick with me for a very long time. The other thing, less a new learning than a confirmation, is just how enormous the power of football is to bring people together and to serve as a foundational building block in the lives of so many people who have very little. Football really is one of the greatest things this earth has to offer.
What comes to mind is one of the happiest stretches of days I’ve had in a long time. Pure freedom. The weather was great, the days were filled with football, football, football, and the people around me lived and breathed the game. It was a chance to dive deep into a complex but incredibly warm and welcoming culture, with people who are extra kind precisely because they are born and raised with football. For me, it was the great freedom period in the middle of my sabbatical from work in Germany.
Yes. I’m still in contact with one or two coaches who are currently with the academy, as well as a number of volunteers who were there during my time. I’m also lucky enough to be taking part in another charity cup with Young Bafana in the coming month, which will give me the chance to see people I came across in South Africa and meet some new faces from the Young Bafana universe.