Soccer coach on target for South Africa

Hayley Roach has temporarily left her role as marketing officer at Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA to take on a voluntary post with African community development organisation SCORE.

She has now flown out and will spend six weeks with the project with aims to use football to train and educate young people - with a particular focus on girls - in HIV and Aids awareness and prevention, life and leadership skills, sexual abuse and gender equality.

Hayley is now part of the squad delivering football coaching clinics and hopes to work at one of the national parks or help with animal conservation.

"I am lucky to be offered a placement on a project that I care about and using football as the vehicle to deliver vital health messages and engage local women is terrific," she said.

"South Africa is a such a diverse country that I fell in love with when I went there on holiday four years ago - to be able to return and help make a difference to some peoples lives is a great opportunity."

n Donations can be made through www.score.org.za or by sending cheques made payable to Hayley Roach South Africa Fund to 69 Cornish Place, Cornish Street, Sheffield, S6 3AF.

Click here for Hayley's blog on her work in South Africa through her exclusive blog.

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