Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting team) take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning and nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins



Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England by the mid-eighteenth century. This game and the related rounders were brought by British and Irish immigrants to North America, where the modern version of baseball developed. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is now popular in North America, parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia. The game is sometimes referred to as hardball, in contrast to the derivative game of softball

In North America, professional Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL). Each league has three divisions: East, West, and Central. Every year, the major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. Four teams make the playoffs from each league: the three regular season division winners, plus one wild card team. Baseball is the leading team sport in both Japan and Cuba, and the top level of play is similarly split between two leagues: Japan's Central League and Pacific League; Cuba's West League and East League. In the National and Central leagues, the pitcher is required to bat, per the traditional rules. In the American, Pacific, and both Cuban leagues, there is a tenth player, a designated hitter, who bats for the pitcher. Each top-level team has a farm system of one or more minor league teams. These teams allow younger players to develop as they gain on-field experience against opponents with similar levels of skill

Eight Football Hope Centres

South Africa

Mogalakwena, Mokopane
Centre Host: South African Red Cross Society (Mokopane Branch)
Focus: Serving social service and youth development programmes, peer education, public health, volunteer counselling and testing, and first aid.

South Africa

Khayelitsha, Cape Town
Centre Host: Grassroot Soccer
Focus: Using football-based programmes to educate on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention as well as on how to lead healthy lives.

Ghana

Cape Coast
Centre Host: Play Soccer Ghana
Focus: Integrating education into health, social and football programmes to promote leadership and socio-economic development.

Namibia

Katutura, Windhoek
Centre Host: Special Olympics Namibia
Focus: Providing individuals with intellectual disabilities and special needs with adequate learning facilities, HIV/AIDS awareness and assistance in job searches.

Mali

Baguinéda, Bamako
Centre Host: Association Malienne pour la Promotion de la Jeune Fille et de la Femme (AMPJF)
Focus: Empowering girls and young women by helping to strengthen their self-esteem and social status in the community.

Kenya

Mathare, Nairobi
Centre Host: Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)
Focus: Educating on HIV/AIDS awareness, leadership and the environment, including organising clean-up groups.

Rwanda

Kimisagara, Kigali
Centre Host: Espérance – Association des Jeunes Sportifs de Kigali
Focus: Supporting young people through counselling and training to overcome ethnic divides and become peace advocates in their communities.

Lesotho

Maseru
Centre Host: Kick4Life
Focus: Teaching HIV/AIDS awareness including education and testing, essential life skills, personal development and work training.