CAPE TOWN – Former Santos midfielder Tyren Arendse has praised the work MTN8 has done in giving back to the community using former players.
He is one of the former South African legends who partnered with the MTN8 competition to make a difference by giving back to the community.
He says former football players could do more in ploughing back.
“No, for us it’s a privileged position to be involved with the MTN8 competition. I think if you see the work that they’re doing, just a month ago I went to MTN and we did a handover with the Goals for Charity campaign,” said Arendse.
“And you know, if you saw how those people received the equipment and how much it means to them, I think sometimes, you know, those are the things that matter.
“So for our legends and ambassadors of MTN8, if we can make a difference through MTN8 in organisations and communities’ lives, I think, I’m quite happy and honoured to be a part of that process.”
Arendse, 42, is currently working with Cape Town Spurs youth academy as a coach.
“Obviously we’re not doing much in terms of ploughing back as former players. With MTN8 what it’s doing, attracting everyone in terms of former footballers we are in the right direction,” he said.
“I mean this week alone we handed out many sets of kit and as a youngster all you want is if you’ve got uniformity as a team or you’ve got the kit, you feel good about yourself.
“I mean, how many times you go watch local football, then you see this one has got the blue socks, that one has got red socks, so there’s no uniformity, but if you as a youngster, if everybody is wearing the same kit, that feel-good factor which is important to young boys and girls, I think that’s fantastic for me.”