Dumisani Chauke, assistant coach for the South African National Netball Team, has been announced as the latest Laureus Sport for Good Foundation ambassador. Dumisani joins a prestigious group of South African sporting icons including Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis and star Amanda Dlamini, Olympian Wayde van Niekerk and Springbok legends Jean De Villiers, Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana.
Born in Limpopo, Dumisani played basketball and soccer before getting involved in netball around the age of 10. She completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and went on to play for the Spar Proteas for several years.
She retired from international netball in 2014 to focus on her coaching at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), where she was a player-coach before being made head coach. In 2016, she was appointed assistant coach for the baby Proteas and is currently the SPAR Proteas assistant coach.
Dumisani has made a tremendous impact both on and off the court. She launched her Netball Foundation at Mangangeni Primary School in Malamulele. The foundation aims to empower young girls through netball coaching, life skills training, as well as various community-based programs. She decided to give back to her community by establishing the foundation at her alma mater, where she nurtured her talent. The foundation has been a great success, reaching more than 500 girls across Limpopo and Gauteng province.
Chairperson of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation SA, Morné du Plessis, “Dumisani has made such an incredible contribution to netball in South Africa both on and off the court. We are extremely excited to be working with her in our quest to uplift young kids in communities across SA. We are thrilled to welcome her to the Laureus family”.
I am absolutely thrilled and humbled by this amazing gesture. This is a remarkable opportunity and I understand the power of sport and the immense impact it has on uplifting our communities. It is an honour to be part of this amazing organisation, that continues to do incredible work using sport as a tool for change to help those in need.”, explains newly appointed Laureus ambassador Dumisani Chauke.
Laureus Ambassadors are a select group of both current and retired sportsmen and women who have achieved sporting greatness or made significant contributions to the sporting community during their careers. They are recognised as role models and icons of success and volunteer their services to support the work of Laureus Sport for Good. Ambassadors volunteer their time supporting the Foundation in it’s mission to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today – these include juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, lack of education, landmine awareness and health problems such as obesity. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €150m for projects which have helped to improve the lives of millions of young people across the world.
