#FIXSAFOOTBALL | Second cohort of female offenders graduate with Kaizer Chiefs football initiative

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS), in partnership with Kaizer Chiefs and the Fifa Foundation, hosted a graduation ceremony for the second group of female offenders participating in the Twinning Project at the Johannesburg Correctional Centre (Sun City) on Wednesday.

The programme uses football as a development tool to instil discipline and equip inmates with practical skills that support their rehabilitation. 

By drawing on the global reach and unifying power of the sport, the initiative encourages participants to envision a better future beyond their time in prison, promoting personal growth and renewed purpose.

Female offenders take part in an intensive eight-week course led by top coaches from Soweto giants Chiefs, who not only offer high-level training but also provide mentorship and emotional support. 

Their guidance helps inmates build confidence, develop life skills, and take meaningful steps towards transforming their lives once reintegrated into society.

Current Amakhosi DStv Diski Challenge coach Dillon Sheppard has been a central figure in the initiative, working closely with different groups of inmates throughout the programme. He expressed satisfaction with the progress made since the launch of the project and emphasised the importance of continued support.

“It’s important for our organisation to support such a project, with the Fifa Foundation coming in and working together with the Johannesburg Correctional Services. Sheppard said.

“We now have the opportunity to coach some of the coaches and also teach life skills to give them a second chance and the opportunity to add positivity to their communities.

“It’s a great programme and I really enjoyed my time here. This is the second cohort; we have been going for about a year now and it takes us about eight to ten weeks to complete.”

The programme also gives inmates the opportunity to leave prison as qualified coaches, providing them with a sense of purpose and a concrete pathway to employment upon release.

“This is like an entry level of the Fifa D-licence. A couple of the inmates have already asked what opportunities await them once they are out. The advice is to pursue the coaching D-licence because the material is very similar, and it will help them on their coaching path if that’s the route they want to take.”

Speaking after her graduation, inmate Lindokuhle Ndaba, from KwaZulu-Natal—who is serving a 25-year sentence for murder—praised the programme for the impact it has had on her life.

“I was arrested in 2013 for committing murder. I have served ten years and nine months of the 25 years, and I will be heading home in 2027. We used to rob in my previous life, and we shot a security guard at a bank, and the guard died.

“The project has helped me a lot, and when I go out I will be able to help young kids and teach them, as I am now a soccer coach.”

Despite losing over a decade of her life to incarceration, Ndaba is focused on the future and the positive change she hopes to make.

“I will go to different schools and help train young kids, as I have always loved soccer,” she concluded.