As South Africa still revels in Banyana Banyana’s victory, a 15-year-old female footballer has taken one step closer to making her dreams of becoming an international footballer a reality.
Saaniyah Domingo recently received a sponsorship from Vuma to become a part of the Reial Club Deportiu (RCD) Espanyol de Barcelona Academy squad, which will compete in the IberCup, the world's biggest international youth football tournament.
Through the sponsorship, the 15-year-old’s training, kit and place in the academy will all be covered in full for a year, allowing her to pursue her passion for football and learn from the best.
“My passion is football, I’ve been in love with it since I was a little girl,” the teenager said. “My father would tell us all these amazing stories from his days playing Under-15, how he played against prominent player Frank Malouda, and it just inspired me.”
Like many other South Africans, Saaniyah’s father lost his job with the onset of Covid-19, making it tough for the Domingo family to be able to fund his Saaniyah’s way through the academy on their own.
“We weren’t in a financial position to get Saaniyah into the training and fund her to be part of the academy, so we’re happy that the bursary application came through when it did, and are grateful for the support of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona Academy chief executive, Michael Bender, and his team,” said Saaniyah’s mother, Farana Domingo.
Domingo added that from the age of 9, her daughter used to sit on the bench watching her sister play at Wits University and while they would allow her to join in at practice, she was too young to play.
“But she’s always been driven in the sport. Even at the time she taught herself to tackle and juggle, up until now she’s still doing the same thing with the ball and I just want her to do her best, follow through and pursue her dream,” added the mother.
The teenager’s sponsor, Vuma said its goal is to provide the vital investment needed to make both the RCD Espanyol de Barcelona Academy and IberCup youth football tournament accessible to countless talented children
“We are proud to be creating opportunities that have the potential to change lives for individuals and communities, and understand the difficulties faced by many of these talented children, who – while fully deserving of the opportunity – simply do not have access to funding or resources to make their dream a reality. We look forward to seeing the long-term positive impact as the journey of our ongoing partnership continues into the future,” said Taylor Kwong, CSI manager at Vuma.
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