Gary Kirsten Foundation enables underprivileged cricketers to head to the Cricket World Cup

With thanks to Kirsten’s Foundation, this year, players, coaches and administrators are set for an all expenses paid trip to the UK.

Many of the people going to the ICC Cricket World Cup have never left the Western Cape, let alone been on an aeroplane.

Kirsten is delighted to be able to offer the children who show so much promise, the opportunity to experience the magic of the event in England.

“We want to create an opportunity of a lifetime for kids who love and play the sport with so much of passion,” says Kirsten.

The cricket tour

The tour will be filled with activities, including the opportunity to play against UK schools, to meet the Proteas and to watch South Africa play cricket live.

Kirsten wants the attendees to become aware of what a difference cricket can make in their lives if they decide to pursue a future in the sport.

“It is a really exciting opportunity. There is going to be a big buzz in the UK during the World Cup and it will be great for the kids to soak it all in,” Kirsten says.

“I believe an international trip of this magnitude will also show youngsters what is possible in life and sport,” he added.

Kirsten will accompany a full squad of under-13 players from the Gary Kirsten Foundation as well as three coaches on the trip. The tour will include attending three Protea games against Afghanistan in Cardiff, New Zealand in Birmingham and the highly anticipated Pakistan clash at the home of cricket, Lord’s.

The Gary Kirsten Foundation

The Foundation was established in 2014 and develops resources and opportunities for cricket in rural communities.

It focuses on providing free coaching to hundreds of youngsters, building much needed infrastructure as well as upskilling coaches.

To date, the foundation has supplied five Khayelitsha schools with newly constructed artificial cricket nets, complete kit bags with cricket equipment and a full-time cricket coach, under the guidance of Gary Kirsten Cricket.

The coaches have been hand-picked from the region and have been trained and employed by the Foundation. These coaches have become the heroes of these programmes as they commit daily to township cricket development. Now the Foundation is set to reward them and their players with a trip to the World Cup.

“In turn, I want to share the story of the GK Foundation to the international cricketing community, on a platform that could potentially reach millions across the world,” Kirsten says.

The BackaBuddy campaign

To make this possible, The GK Foundation is embarking on a fundraising drive in collaboration with donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy to appeal to South Africans to support this cause.

“When I was their age I just had so many great opportunities to become better at cricket. Travelling around the world is just what cricket gave me. To provide an opportunity for these young players to go overseas and experience cricket in another county and to play and to go watch the World Cup, it’s one of the most awesome stories,” says Kirsten.

Support this cause on BackaBuddy: www.backabuddy.co.za/GKFWorldCupTour