Ncedo Koyana’s pitch has astonishing appeal. South Africa is the most unequal country in the world.
Sport can change this.
Ncedo uses sports to activate generosity, build bridges, and allow people to play sport for a higher purpose.
Sport For Lives is a non-profit organisation that connects communities and fosters generosity through sports.
It is making South Africa a better place every day by crossing racial, cultural, religious, language, class, and geographic barriers. Ncedo and his team have devised a way to tap into kindness and scale good deeds but with a huge heart.
A schoolboy rugby star, Ncedo has channelled his passion into a mission beyond the playing field.
Now resident in Durban, he grew up in the Eastern Cape, where he attended Selborne College.
Chris Kingsley, who is now Head of Community Partnerships at Hilton College, mentored him.
Known affectionately as “Chester” by his classmates, after the legendary Springbok rugby player Chester Williams, Ncedo’s prowess on the fi eld looked set to define his career path.
But, his character off the field changed the course of his life. Sport was an unlikely route, considering he was raised by his grandfather, Professor Digby Sqhelo Koyana, a pioneering academic. Ncedo’s rugby career saw him play centre for SA Schools, the Junior Springboks, and the Sharks under-20 team.
A sports injury changed his path, but Ncedo’s career was always going to be influenced by his faith as a committed Christian. After Chris started Sport For Lives, he turned to Ncedo.
After 20 years of friendship, he knew Ncedo could run it. Ncedo had an excellent pedigree for the job. When his rugby career ended, he worked at LIV Village (a charity started by cricket legend Tich Smith) for eight years, including a stint as CEO.
Next, he was part of the Kolisi Foundation, started by Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi and his wife Rachel.
Sport For Lives is a smart framework to promote sportsmanship and encourage heartfelt connections.
The organisation’s impact is best illustrated through personal stories. Take Chris ‘Bone’ Oldnall, who swam 8km from Robben Island to Big Bay in Cape Town to raise funds for Calling Academy, an education non-profit helping low-income communities.
Another campaign saw a rugby team partner with the Johannesburg Children’s Home to raise money to expand the vegetable garden, which supplies 90% of the home’s food. Then, there was a partnership between a school for disabled children in Pietermaritzburg and boys at Hilton College. While the project resulted in a new roof for the children’s home and a desperately needed wheelchair for a boy, it transcended fundraising.
It fostered transformative relationships between the children from both schools. Every time the 15-year-old Hilton boys took to the rugby field, they ensured everyone knew that the Pietermaritzburg home got money for every try they scored.
The Durban Preparatory High School rugby and hockey community raised R300 000 to establish a library at Eqinisweni Primary School in Inanda.
In total, Sport For Lives has helped raise R5 million for various NGOs and under resourced schools, but more importantly, it has created a platform for heartfelt connection and an ongoing commitment by participants to “play it forward”.
The organisation supports existing charities, NGOs, schools, and sports clubs that want to foster community spirit, offering them a platform to extend their reach. It helps screen projects, set up campaigns, audit fundraising, and ensure maximum impact.
Sport For Lives has attracted big names to its cause. Springbok sponsor Thirsti is a partner, and in addition to Chris, Ncedo has the support of Ingrid Hatton, Abonga Nkwelo, Matthew Fitzsimons, Rebecca Jansch and Jacques Botes. “We encourage and understand one another through sport,” says Ncedo.
“It fosters connections. Donating is easy enough, but meaningful, lasting relationships emerge from positive change. It creates friendships that can heal and inspire us to classmates, after the legendary Springbok rugby player Chester Williams, Ncedo’s prowess on the fi eld looked set to define his career path. But, his character off the field changed the course of his life.
Sport was an unlikely route, considering he was raised by his grandfather, Professor Digby Sqhelo Koyana, a pioneering academic. Ncedo’s rugby career saw him play centre for SA Schools, the Junior Springboks, and the Sharks under-20 team.
A sports injury changed his path, but Ncedo’s career was always going to be influenced by his faith as a committed Christian. After Chris started Sport For Lives, he turned to Ncedo. After 20 years of friendship, he knew Ncedo could run it. Ncedo had an excellent pedigree for the job. When his rugby career ended, he worked at LIV Village (a charity started by cricket legend Tich Smith) for eight years, including a stint as CEO.
Next, he was part of the Kolisi Foundation, started by Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi and his wife Rachel. Sport For Lives is a smart framework to promote sportsmanship and encourage heartfelt connections.
The organisation’s impact is best illustrated through personal stories. Take Chris ‘Bone’ Oldnall, who swam 8km from Robben Island to Big Bay in Cape Town to raise funds for Calling Academy, an education non-profit helping low-income communities.
Another campaign saw a rugby team partner with the Johannesburg Children’s Home to raise money to expand the vegetable garden, which supplies 90% of the home’s food. Then, there was a partnership between a school for disabled children in Pietermaritzburg and boys at Hilton College. While the project resulted in a new roof for the children’s home and a desperately needed wheelchair for a boy, it transcended fundraising. It fostered transformative relationships between the children from both schools.
Every time the 15-year-old Hilton boys took to the rugby field, they ensured everyone knew that the Pietermaritzburg home got money for every try they scored.
The Durban Preparatory High School rugby and hockey community raised R300 000 to establish a library at Eqinisweni Primary School in Inanda. In total, Sport For Lives has helped raise R5 million for various NGOs and under resourced schools, but more importantly, it has created a platform for heartfelt connection and an ongoing commitment by participants to “play it forward”.
The organisation supports existing charities, NGOs, schools, and sports clubs that want to foster community spirit, offering them a platform to extend their reach. It helps screen projects, set up campaigns, audit fundraising, and ensure maximum impact.
Sport For Lives has attracted big names to its cause. Springbok sponsor Thirsti is a partner, and in addition to Chris, Ncedo has the support of Ingrid Hatton, Abonga Nkwelo, Matthew Fitzsimons, Rebecca Jansch and Jacques Botes.
“We encourage and understand one another through sport,” says Ncedo.
“It fosters connections. Donating is easy enough, but meaningful, lasting relationships emerge from positive change. It creates friendships that can heal and inspire us to be our best selves.”be our best selves.”
