An aspiring Steenberg soccer star needs your help to get to Sweden to show off his footie skills and potentially score an overseas contract.
Duwayne Davids, 16, had a tough start in life but says his great-grandmother Louise Lewis, 79, took him as a six-month-old from his parents’ alleged drug den in Lavender Hill.
The ouma says Duwayne worked hard and now has the opportunity to join the LifeZone Soccer International Championship Tour in Sweden.
The tour takes place from 8 to 20 July and costs R25 000, but this excludes visas, flights and insurance.
His family has managed to raise over R10 000 so far, but is paaping as all the money has to be in by April.
“We are very proud of his achievements and the whole family is behind him,” says Louise.
“He balances his school work nicely with the soccer and he’s very mature about it.
“We have been working hard with my grandchildren making and selling food, organising mystery trips, karaokes and more to raise funds.
“We’re not rich, but we can only thank God for giving me the strength and carrying me through so that I can take care of him because it’s not easy,” the granny says.
IDOL: Davids, 16, with grandma. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
The teen, who plays for Ubuntu Academy in Steenberg, says he hopes this trip will get him scouted by a European team.
“It would be great to attend the Sweden trip. I’d get to learn about different cultures in football and gain experience.
“It would mean everything to me to play on a world stage and showcase my talent as a defender. I mostly want to go to get scouted by a European team,” Duwayne says.
He is an Orlando Pirates and Manchester United fan and says: “I love Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo and Abbubaker Mobara, but my role model is my ma because she will go out of her way to go the extra mile for me.”
If you’d like to assist Duwayne, contact his aunt Chervonne on 084 762 6481.