Khune, Bartlett new Samsung brand ambassadors

The Next Hero was launched on Tuesday, 26 August 2008, at the Inanda Club in Sandton, Johannesburg. During September, Samsung will be hard at work, encouraging South Africans to purchase the J700 phone - Samsung will donate a portion of the sales to Play Soccer South Africa, a non-profit organisation aimed at educating and empowering disadvantaged youth soccer.

Samsung has created an in-store competition where J700 buyers stand the chance to win a trip to London to see Samsung's greatest soccer hero, Didier Drogba, play a match for Chelsea against arch rivals Arsenal on 30 November.

“In South Africa, some of our greatest heroes are soccer players,” explained Samsung Electronics South Africa's Daniel Lamberti. “They can and often do come from the most humble backgrounds to take on the toughest international players, watched by millions of spectators and inspiring generations of future heroes.

“As an opportunity to entrench the Samsung brand into Africa where a large proportion of our growing market is based, the NextHero campaign is designed to get everyone involved in the future of their youth.”

With the NextHero campaign, Samsung and Play Soccer want to inspire the next generation of soccer heroes to take on the world with their skills. Play Soccer South Africa's programme director, Sibulele Sibaca, said: “It is strange that the amount of money globally going into soccer tapers off so sharply at the grassroots level where so many children can be taught many important social and life skills through soccer and in this way become important future heroes on and off the pitch. We rely heavily on corporate sponsorship and the NextHero campaign is really putting their money where their mouth is with real support through a project that has longevity and interaction.”

Bartlett and Khune will be coaching children from Play Soccer South Africa at two soccer events held in Gauteng during September and October this year.

“I'm delighted to be selected to represent Samsung and be a part of the NextHero campaign; it's great to use soccer to support a campaign that helps kids realise their dreams, as well as training and recognising new soccer talent in South Africa,” said Khune.