Clarets football shirts inspiring South African teenagers to build a better life

Disadvantaged teenagers in South Africa are being steered away from a life of crime thanks to donations of Burnley Football Club kits.
By Dominic Collis
Published 3rd Jun 2019, 17:32 BST
Teenagers from the Ottery Project wearing their new Burnley FC shirts and Anthony CordleTeenagers from the Ottery Project wearing their new Burnley FC shirts and Anthony Cordle
Teenagers from the Ottery Project wearing their new Burnley FC shirts and Anthony Cordle

Supporters group the Clarets Trust has just sent out its latest shipment of Clarets shirts to the Ottery Project in Cape Town.

Former Burnley MP Peter Pike, chairman of the Clarets Trust, forged a number of links with South Africa during the 1980s when he visited the country several times in a bid to bring an end to Apartheid.

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Peter said: "The Ottery Project, which was visited last year by Prince Harry, exists to help teenagers who are in danger of falling into a life of crime or on the streets. An ex-pat named Anthony Cordle, who I know from those years, now acts as an intermediary for us to deliver the football kits.

"I've visited several times the project over the years and it's great to see a love of Burnley Football Club blossoming in this corner of South Africa. The local team has even named their ground Turf Moor.

"I know that a lot of the young people involved in the prjoect watch the Burnley matches on television and it's great to see them wear the claret and blue shirts so proudly."

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