The Chosen Few Lesbian Women's Football Club
The only 100% Black Lesbian women’s football club in South Africa
About You
Contact Information
Title
Ms
First name
Mpumi
Last name
Mathabela
Your job title
Media and Communication Coordinator
Name of your organization
Forum for the Empowerment of Women
Organization type
NGO
Annual budget/currency
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Location
Project Street Address
Street 1 Kotze Street, Constitution Hill
Project City
Johannesburg
Project Province/State
Gauteng
Project Postal/Zip Code
2001
Project Country
South Africa
Your idea
Choose your sport: (check all that apply)
Soccer/Football
If you chose "other" for Sport, please define in 1-2 words below
What approach does your initiative incorporate?
Advocacy
Year the initiative began (yyyy)
2002
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If your project has a website, paste the web address here:
Plot your innovation within the discovery framework:
Barrier
Social stigmas and prohibitions
Insight
Let girls lead
This field has not been completed.
Name Your Project
The Chosen Few Lesbian Women's Football Club
Describe Your Idea
The only 100% Black Lesbian women’s football club in South Africa
Innovation
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
The only 100% Black Lesbian women’s football club in South Africa
How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit?
Chosen FEW currently has 25 players and we’ve already received show of interest from more women for this year (2009). Black lesbian women benefit from this project because some of them cannot further their studies because of financial constraints. Some find solace in playing for the team because they’re not comfortable in other women’s teams. We plan to serve more women over the years because every year we get new members and some leave as they get full time jobs.
Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe.
Yes. we work with different women's rights orgnisations in South Africa and outside, especially organisations working in the area of sexual rights and defending the rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender people.
In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)
Citizen sector (non profits, NGOs) .
How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
As part of the broader Lesbian Feminist Leadership Programme, the Chosen FEW team is a part of a one year process to intensify the learning, participation and leadership of the players as activists and defenders of human rights. A series of camps, think tanks and workshops are planned to ensure that this happens in a proactive and strategic way.
An important aspect of the process is to strengthen the ability of the team to speak publicly and through the media, on the rights of women with a focus on young black lesbian women in South Africa. The team is currently being developed to understand, analyse and articulate the key issues in terms of addressing hate crimes.
PHASE ONE: PREPARATION - in country
1. Engage the players in an analysis of the problem of hate crimes against black lesbian women in South Africa;
2. Develop through participatory processes, tailored messages for the trip linking soccer with intersectionality, including race, class, gender and sexual orientation;
3. Prepare print media, such as brochures, t shirts, sweatbands and water bottles to popularize the advocacy messages developed
4. Train players in public speaking and in communicating with media
5. Prepare a data base of media which will be or are likely to be present at the Championships
6. Identify and establish communications with partner organizations and set up appointments for bi lateral and collective meetings
7. Plan and host a series of local events to popularize the team, the trip and the rights of black lesbian women
8. Prepare press packages for national and international
9. Plan and host a series of media moments to expose the players to media and to popularize the team, the trip and the rights of black lesbian women
Impact
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact
To strengthen sports activism amongst young black lesbian women in South Africa so that we are able to defend and advance the rights of all women.
What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measures of the impact of your innovation
• Building a group of women that can articulate issues of black lesbian women in South Africa.
• strengthening the ability of the team to speak publicly and through the media
• Understanding, analysis and articulating key issues in terms of addressing hate crimes.
• More wins than losses
• Building a strong, fast and deadly team of soccer players
• Building confidence and leadership in the team.
The team has participated in regional and international games with very outstanding results.
Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within an institution or government)?
Definitely. One of the aims of the team is to be able to get into the women’s league, hopefully bring in funding for the league and create more media attention for women’s teams and get airplay on soccer programmes and channels. Make soccer a paying sport for women, equal to their male counterparts. The overall objective is to fight patriarchy and for gender equality to be recognized.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?
We want to work in other provinces. We have started a leadership programme in these areas and hope to kick start a movement of black lesbian women leaders whether they do this by starting soccer teams, support groups or working within existing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex organisations.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
Because Chosen FEW is a project of FEW and is also incorporated in other projects like the Lesbian Leadership programme, some of the funding is received from our core donor and other donor organizations like HIVOS, Sigrid Rausing Trust, and The Women’s Development Fund and from individual people who love the team and support the work of the organisation (FEW).for example. We do not have a specific donor that funds the team, its management, materials, media etc.
Financing source
Annual budget
It is difficult to say given that it is linked to other initiatives in the organisation.
Annual revenue generated
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Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)
Chosen FEW has 25 players, a vice-captain, captain, coach and team manager.
There are 5 staff members at FEW.
What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how do you plan to address these barriers?
We still need to raise money that supports the immediate needs of players that is not covered within donor funding for example. Many need to go back to school, need support in terms of food, transport-very basic needs that many of us take for granted.
What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships?
At times, challenges facing young lesbian women from the townships do not make it to the agenda of national women's rights groups. Hence the bulk of our work is focused on advocacy and lobbying other partners. Sport is always a good platform.
The Story
What stage is your project?
Ongoing project .
What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create this innovation? Tell us the story.
The project was initiated within the organisation FEW, and such the innovator is not an individual but a collective within the organisation. More information is on www.few.org.za
Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative
This field has not been completed. (500 characters or less)
(Optional) To be eligible for an additional prize, please select age range
22 – 26
 | 166 weeks agoHeather Cameron said: Hi Mpumi Congratulations on your great project. We also do a lot of work around queer and transgender issues at our project Boxgirls ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 166 weeks agoMpumi Mathabela said: Hi RowNewYork, (i like the name) it's shocking how the world still views homosexuality and for FEW it's very important to make sure ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 169 weeks agoAmanda Kraus said: Hi Mpumi, I just wanted to add my voice to the other comments here in saying that your project sounds amazing, and I wish you best of ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 169 weeks agoMpumi Mathabela said: Hi 3 Tin, i would disagree with the fact that gay men are less vulnerable because the more effeminate men are usually targeted as ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 169 weeks agoMpumi Mathabela said: Thank you Liz, we have had contact with Astraea as they funded a lot of our smaller projects years back before we restructured into the ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 169 weeks agoNonhlanhla Zungu said: Hi Mpumi I think your project is doing a great deal in terms of raising awareness about sexuality, I don't know if you would agree ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 169 weeks agoNompumelelo (Mpumi) Mathabela said: Hi Renata, thank you for the invitation to join the group, i will definitely do ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 170 weeks agoRenata Affonso said: Hello Mbumbi, I would like to invite you to join the Women Win group at http://sportforchange.changemakers.net/en-us/group/womenwin. ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 170 weeks agoNompumelelo (Mpumi) Mathabela said: Hi Dominique, The media image in terms of homosexuality hasn't changed much, though quite a few of journalists are starting to ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 170 weeks agoLiz Abzug said: Mbumbi: you have a great program and comprehensive program here with many wonderful and strong components to empower black lesbian ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
