Wow, time flies! We've come through another year together with you and it's time for your Soccer Laduma staff to put their pens down, close their laptops and take a couple of days off to recharge the batteries in order to come back raring to go in the new year.
This will be the last edition of 2015, so hopefully if you have travelled home for the holidays there is a store near you that stocks us on their shelves. The first edition of 2016 will be out on the 6th of January, so be sure to get your first copy of the new year on the first Wednesday of 2016. Usually there is a two-week break for the paper, but this year there are just too many big games and stories to cover, so for just one week your favourite soccer read will take a rest. Remember your daily news will still be on www.snl24.com/soccerladuma right through the holidays.
2015 has been a massive year for Soccer Laduma! Thanks to your support and passion for the publication we were named the Top Weekly Newspaper in the country at the Sunday Times awards. We have officially become the biggest paid-for single-sale weekly newspaper in the country in terms of paid-for circulation. So thank you for your continued support!
We also launched the Soccer Laduma Supporters Club and now boast over 300 active branches around the country as well as 66 000 members when our online members and our physical branch members are combined. It's hugely exciting for us to have been able to give this unique platform to you, the soccer supporters in this county, in order to present a unified voice on soccer issues affecting you. If you have not yet become a Supporters Club member, please call our offices to enquire about signing up, or simply go to our mobi-site or website and sign up online at www.snl24.com/soccerladuma Remember, it doesn't matter what club you support. Like our unique soccer culture in this country, which allows rival fans to sit next to each other in a stadium even on derby day with not even a hint of violence or aggression, the Soccer Laduma Supporters Club allows fans from all over the country, across all divisions, to come together as a combined voice that is then amplified by Soccer Laduma. If you have not yet joined, you truly are missing out!
Then, just last week, we launched a very exciting platform that could quite possibly change the South African landscape with regards to the up-skilling of our population and the provision of learning material and job opportunities. Soccer Laduma's LadumaConnect aims to provide a website that is a centralized, multi-functional, up-skilling platform, which will allow members the unique opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in a personalized, active learning environment. This will equip them with the skills and confidence to catapult their careers forward. This platform is completely free to the user and signed-up members will have access to weekly, curated content from industry experts, an opportunity to upload their CVs, be able to conduct vocational interest test, which will give them insight into their aptitudes and abilities, and will be provided with entrepreneurship resources. They will also be alerted to all the latest job listings. On top of that LadumaConnect will provide free as well as low cost courses from South Africa's top learning institutions and lecturers. It's a massively exciting initiative!
I told Stanton Fredericks about it the other day and his response was, "Clint, before becoming a professional soccer player, I faced the challenge of financial constraints with regards to further studies. LadumaConnect would have been the perfect solution for me if I had the opportunity back then." So for those of you in the job market at the moment, or those of you looking to improve your knowledge in your chosen field, make sure you check out www.ladumaconnect.co.za and start up-skilling yourself. I'm on there and loving it!
Before saying goodbye, a huge congratulations to Pitso Mosimane and the Mamelodi Sundowns organisation for lifting the Telkom Knockout trophy! Pitso, it was a true masterclass on the day and, truth be told, there was really only ever one team in it. Congrats guys!
As always, please be safe if you are travelling. The roads are incredibly dangerous at this time of year and we want each and every one of you back safe and sound in 2016. Once again, thank you for your continued support of Soccer Laduma. Next year we will reach an amazing milestone – our 1000th edition! It's been an incredible journey because of you guys and together we are just going to get bigger and better. From the entire Soccer Laduma team, merry Christmas and here's to a massively happy and prosperous New Year!
Shappa
Clint
