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Tembisa, South Africa —The Lay’s RePlay Programme, launched over a year ago with its inaugural pitch in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, continues to bring enormous joy and freedom to play to the community. The global initiative by PepsiCo snack brand, Lay’s, to transform empty chip bags into sustainable artificial  football pitches has benefited close to four thousand young people in Tembisa, thus far.

With its RePlay concept, the Lay’s brand uses the power of play and football to address social issues impacting local communities through long-term educational sporting programmes. In Tembisa, Lay’s RePlay  has partnered  with AMANDLA Social Enterprises, an international organisation with a mission to create “Safe-Hubs” that harness the power of sport and holistic education to enable young people and their communities to realise their full potential.

The Lay’s RePlay pitch was officially handed to the community in Tembisa in June 2021, but due to Covid, programming could not begin until October. Initial recruitment for programming on the pitch exceeded targets by 97 percent. Initial calculations were to see approximately 500 participants in RePlay programmes per month, but the average is actually over 1000 per month. With this huge growth in demand, not everyone could be accommodated by the initial limited sessions on offer. 

The Safe-Hub team adapted to allow more Replay programme sessions to be available to more of the community, thus allowing more community members to benefit from in-depth educational EduFootball programmes.

AMANDLA’s Safe-Hub programmes are designed to disrupt the inter-generational cycle of poverty, inequality and unemployment by creating an environment that supports the development of healthy, educated, gender inclusive and productive young citizens who are fit for the future. The sports-based  EduFootball programme plays  a critical role to convey essential life-skills and basic education to all young people.

Gift Makwinda, a female participant, recounts how she and her peers did not have proper facilities for playing soccer before the construction of the pitch. Adding that, “Lay’s RePlay has given us a safe space where we can occupy our time and in addition to playing soccer, the programmes offered at the Safe-Hub have helped keep young people off the streets, and from engaging in substance abuse and other harmful activities.”

Gift also believes that the programme has enhanced social cohesion. She also encourages other girls who are interested in soccer to participate in the game and to take advantage of the opportunities available at the Safe-Hub.

 “We are proud of our partnership with PepsiCo which shares our vision for creating a sustainable future, not only for people but for the environment. Young people’s participation at Safe-Hub Tembisa has exceeded our expectations and highlights the dire need for such programmes in communities like Tembisa,” comments Florian Zech, Founder and Joint-Managing Director of AMANDLA.

AMANDLA also offers courses for young unemployed people in the community. Through focused training for those aged 18-25, are enrolled in education, accredited training and employment opportunities. They learn valuable skills and become coaches for the Safe-Hub, offering them the chance to support themselves in future while allowing access to activities in which they contribute and take ownership and pride in.

Since the launch of the Lay’s RePlay pitch in Tembisa, three other pitches have been built in Leicester, UK; San Paulo, Brazil; and Turin in Italy. Across these four pitches, 15000 community members are regularly using the pitches, 1800 community members are attending regular Edufootball programmes, and over 2100 hours of programming has been delivered. There are 4 more pitches currently under construction with another three planned for 2023.

Corporate Affairs Director, Nico Moloto says, “Tembisa which is one of the largest and vibrant townships in the City of Ekurhuleni is at the centre of our business operations. It is an honour to partner with the community in our efforts to embrace initiatives that advance our PepsiCo Positive goals to leverage our key brands to amplify positive outcomes for the planet and people.”

 Moloto adds, “We believe that the development of this community, especially the youth will ensure a successful future. Our investments in the Lay`s RePlay pitch and the Safe Hub programme provide a world-class environment where the youth and communities can thrive in sport and economic participation.”

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About Lay’s RePlay

In partnership with the UEFA Foundation for children and NGO streetfootballworld, PepsiCo has launched a global initiative to transform empty chip bags into sustainable artificial turf fields (aka football pitches). The first to be unveiled this year in Tembisa, South Africa is now open for matches and community programs. In addition to Tembisa, Lay’s RePlay has reached the United Kingdom, Brazil and Italy. With the company  planning to launch programmes around the globe in 2022.

Each field is created with a shock-absorbing layer called Ecocept™, which is formed when reclaimed chip packs are converted into rubberized pellets. (For South Africa, more than three million chip packages were used to create the pitch.) Both the turf and the Ecocept™ layer are 100% recyclable, with each pitch producing up to 128 tons fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a standard synthetic pitch. That’s equivalent to taking up to 27 cars off the road for one whole year.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream.

PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. In South Africa, the company’s brands include Weet-Bix, Simba, Liqui Fruit, Lay’s, SASKO and White Star.               

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive. PepsiCo Positive is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the centre of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit https://www.ssa.pepsico.africa/.

 

About AMANDLA Social Enterprises

AMANDLA is a proudly South African social enterprise with operations in 9 communities across the country, and additional projects in Germany and the United States. The organisation is the founder and developer of Safe-Hub and is driven by the vision of a world where all young people access equal opportunities, strive to realise their full potential and dare to dream. Today, AMANDLA employs more than 200 people and has positively impacted the lives of thousands of young people and their communities over the last 13 years.