The World Cup has put the spotlight on Bafana Bafana's captain but, as he launches his Foundation in the UK, South Africa's football champion Aaron Mokoena shows how he is giving back.

With footballers recently in the news for all the wrong reasons, the recent launch in the UK of the Aaron Mokoena Foundation was an opportune time to demonstrate how some soccer stars are proving to be true role models.

Aaron Mokoena is a man with plenty on his mind. As Captain of South Africa's national team, the mighty Bafana Bafana, the leader of the host nation's football team is in the spotlight as never before. But, for the first South African player to reach 100 caps, the real legacy of this momentous year will be the opportunity to contribute to giving young South Africans the kind of chances he has experienced.

The Aaron Mokoena Foundation was launched as a not for profit organisation in South Africa and in the UK in 2009, with the official UK launch taking place in January 2010 at South Africa House in London.

The inspiration for the Foundation is Aaron's desire to increase and improve opportunities for children and young people across South Africa using the power of football to impact on education, health and life opportunities. Underpinning the Foundation's ethos is an understanding of the role football can play, not only in creating and improving the skills and performance of young players, but also the key role football can play in a uniquely broader role in society by bringing communities together.

Opening the launch, the South African High Commissioner, HE Dr. Zola Skweyiya congratulated Mokoena, currently playing for England FA Premier League Club Portsmouth FC, for harnessing the popularity of sport to the development of South Africa's youth.

"This time you are not playing for yourself, but for also for the youth of South Africa. We all admire your courage and stand here to encourage you," he said.

The Foundation, says Aaron Mokoena, shows his commitment to ensuring that the young people of South Africa benefit in real terms from the experience of hosting Africa's first World Cup.

"In June and July, for a few weeks, we will make football's home in the land of the vuvuzela," he said.

"South Africa is and will be ready to face the challenges and will deliver a world-class event. South Africa has led the world in many sports and until now, football hasn't been the sport associated with South Africa. 2010 is the opportunity to change all that."

However, the impact that "the biggest international sporting event in our nation's history" will have on the country and on the continent cannot be overestimated, said Mokoena.

"The World Cup is far more than just a footballing opportunity for South Africa. This is our opportunity to shine and as a representative of the African continent. It is an opportunity to show the world a different face of Africa: diverse, vibrant and brimming with possibilities. An Africa with its head held high."

In launching his Foundation, 29 year-old Mokoena is only too aware of the scale of the challenge involved in fulfilling its aims to improve the lives of the young in his country.

"Too many households in the poorest areas of South Africa are headed by children and young people who should be playing, laughing, learning and growing," he said. "Instead they are caring for entire families; grandmothers acting as mothers and children acting as parents. A whole generation out of step with nature."

Mokoena is determined that his Foundation will succeed in effecting change and knows from personal experience how football can make a difference.

"I believe football can transform lives it has transformed mine. But only a small percentage can reach the top so we need to look at how football can improve the lives of young people beyond participation, and teach young people important life skills, such as the value of team work, determination and discipline."

Inspired by his mother to always remember where he came from, Mokoena has pledged to help those whose opportunities in life are blighted by poverty.

"I've been extremely lucky," he said. "I've been able to travel the world and get paid for doing what I love. I want to share my good fortune with people in my country who have not been so fortunate."

The long-term aim of the Aaron Mokoena Foundation is to develop, design and manage a range of projects in South Africa. The long-term vision of Mokoena and his Foundation's Trustees is to use football as a powerful tool to engage with children and to focus on the importance of education, health and building strong and cohesive communities.

The Foundation has already worked with thousands of young children, delivering a range of programmes in conjunction with schools. These include an after schools and holiday programme, a coach education programme to enable local coaches to access specialist training, and working with schools in Boipatong. The Trustees now intend to extend these programmes to other provinces in South Africa. The Foundation is also planning a series of events in the run-up to and during the World Cup.

His Foundation, says Mokoena, is "a charity determined to deliver excellence and to develop sustainable programmes." To date, the Foundation has attracted support from key individuals and partners, including SAB Miller, Portsmouth Football Club, the Emerald Foundation and the South Africa Tourist Board.

Mokoena is determined that his organisation is integrated within the communities that it is trying to support and that it earns the trust of young people.

"Since apartheid ended, millions of homes and 1600 new hospitals have been built and investment in education has tripled in South Africa." However, he acknowledges, the country is still facing the tragedy of HIV/AIDS with millions suffering and dying from the disease.

The youth are the future for South Africa, he says, and using his fame and influence for good is Mokoena's way of responding to his country's challenges. A celebrity advocate for UNICEF, he describes himself as "the hook upon which others can hang their hat."

"I am not a politician, I am a footballer", he says. "The biggest contribution I can make is in terms of my profile, access, contacts and resources all for the benefit of the young people of South Africa."

"Football has a role to develop young people," Mokoena said, addressing the guests at the Foundation launch, "and this is what I hope my Foundation will achieve. Our Foundation has embarked on an ambitious journey. A journey which many young people in South Africa need you to be part of. Come and help!"