It gives me great excitement to announce the launch of our internship program soccer team, VAC FC (Volunteer Adventure Corps Football Club). We hired Andrew Ndwanya as our player/coach (see his head coach photo included in this entry in addition to a photo of our team jersey), and practices have been an absolute blast under his leadership. Andrew has given our team the Xhosa name, "Amabhubezi," which translates to the "Lions."

At VAC, we are committed to creating extracurricular opportunities for our interns that promote community interaction and cultural exposure. Our intent with VAC FC is the creation of a fun, casual soccer club that plays its matches with teams from the townships. We're not going to be training many hours a day in pursuit of a trophy; rather, our interns will have the opportunity to meet and befriend South Africans. The team is not limited to VAC interns and already has a roster makeup that is half South African and half VAC intern. Come the end of July, when University of Cape Town returns from winter recess, I expect that we'll have more South African students and even study abroad students joining the team.

As of now, we're holding practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 pm and we'll probably have one or two games per month that will take place on Saturday mornings. Andrew is going to schedule matches with teams from the Nyanga Township, so expect some very exciting and fun-filled games! You can view photos from one of our practices on our Cape Town internship photostream on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/capetowninternships/sets/72157605821564950/).

We are thrilled to be exposing VAC interns to Cape Town's vibrant soccer culture. Stay tunned for further updates and a recap of our first game, schedule to take place in mid-July.