Community Initiative | 26 September 2026
Emi FC lent their voice to a cause that matters far beyond the touchline on Saturday, standing behind the Empowered Men Ministry from EMI as it took to the streets in a march against gender-based violence. The initiative, organised under the Empowerment Ministries International banner that gives the football club its name, called on all men to gather at Nkoane from 11am on 26 September 2026 and march to the Thabong police station, where a memorandum was handed over to authorities. It is the kind of off-field stand that speaks to the identity of a club rooted in its community.
Men marching for change
The message of the day was deliberately pointed: this was a call for men to lead from the front on an issue that scars South African communities. Marchers assembled at Nkoane and walked together to the Thabong police station, where the handover of a memorandum turned a show of solidarity into a concrete demand for action. Gender-based violence is among the gravest social challenges the country faces, and the sight of men organising, marching and speaking up against it carries a weight that statistics alone cannot.
Football as a platform
For a club like Emi FC, sharing a name and a home with the ministry behind the march, association with a day like this is more than symbolic. Football clubs occupy a rare place in their communities — they command attention, loyalty and the ear of young men in particular. Putting that reach behind an anti-GBV message is exactly the sort of responsibility a community club can carry, using the pull of the game to amplify a cause that needs every voice it can find.
More than a march
Organisers framed the day as one of togetherness as well as protest, with marchers invited to gather at fun park ward 30 for lunch once the memorandum had been submitted. Those seeking more information were pointed to Ps Sentiwe on +27 67 427 5306. The blend of serious intent and community fellowship captured the spirit of the initiative — a stand taken firmly, but in the shared, neighbourly way that lasting change tends to grow from.
Final word
Results and league tables are the currency a football club is usually judged by, but days like this are a reminder that a club’s worth is measured in its community too. By backing the Empowered Men Ministry’s march against gender-based violence, Emi FC aligned themselves with a cause that reaches into every home and street they represent. It is a stand worth taking, worth repeating, and worth being remembered for long after the final whistle of any match.
