Canon SA backs Players’ Fund Project

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Canon South Africa has announced it will support the Players’ Fund Project which will help former rugby players.

The aim of the project is to offer a helping hand to those rugby players whose lives have been forever changed by serious injuries on the field.

The Players’ Fund Project Hero sponsored by Canon SA is a visual documentary of five inspiring SA rugby players whose lives were changed by serious injuries on the field while playing at different levels of the game.

The company has extended funding support for the project in 2019 and will sponsor camera and video equipment for filming. Players’ stories will be captured by well-known photographer Nardus Engelbrecht and acclaimed videographer Halden Krog.

Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund has been ‘rugby’s caring hands’ in South Africa for more than 500 seriously injured players and currently actively supports 108 recipients. They ensure that injured players retain their dignity and lead fulfilled lives.

Help provides support at three levels:

• Psychological – injured players may be unable to play the game they used to, but they are encouraged to remain part of the rugby community. It takes a team to ‘pick up’ a player, the Players’ Fund joins this team and does so indefinitely.
• Physical – the Players’ Fund provides mobility equipment such as wheelchairs, and other essentials to improve the quality of the recipients’ lives.
• Emotional – Players’ Fund staff are a phone call away, offering strength and encouragement for the injured player and their family as they learn to cope with the new journey lying in front of them.

Canon SA’s corporate and marketing communications executive, Dana Eitzen said the project would help create awareness about unsung rugby heroes.

“With the Rugby World Cup dominating 2019, Canon SA believes The Players’ Fund Project Hero is an ideal opportunity to help create awareness for these unsung rugby heroes, to bring their inspiring stories into the spotlight,” said Eitzen.

“As a proud supporter of local sportsmen and women, and a champion of South African photographers and storytelling through photos and videos, The Players’ Fund Project Hero ticks all the boxes for Canon SA. We look forward to seeing the stories of these rugby players come to life using Canon equipment. It’s an exceptional project to encourage and bring hope to other rugby players who are struggling to adapt to life after a serious injury on the sports field,” she said.

Players’ Fund general manager, Gail Baerecke said people should know about the stories of these players.

“South African rugby players and supporters need to see, understand and feel these heroes’ stories.  Project Hero captures the work of the Players’ Fund in a visual narrative that tells the stories of five rugby players, from very different backgrounds, whose lives were altered by serious injury. Their stories show hope, dignity and the strength of the human spirit which will encourage other injured players and represent ‘rugby’s caring hands’ and what it stands for,” said Baerecke.

There are five rugby players who have volunteered to share their stories and were all injured during their sporting careers. Players include 16-year-old Koben Hofmeyr from Makhado (Louis Trichardt); Charles (Chicco) Oppelt (33) from Mamre; Henry Afrikaner (39) from Durbanville; Amos Mzimela (46) from East London; and Quenton Steele (50) from Fish Hoek.

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