Soccer, safety and science: why evidence is key

The document evaluates the Eyethu Soccer League, a gender-tailored intervention for young men in Cape Town designed to reduce violence, HIV risk, and substance use. Despite being well-resourced and based on cognitive-behavioural therapy, a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 1,200 participants found few effects on risk behaviours, with no reported changes in violence perpetration or mental health. The brief concludes that social skills-based programmes are often unable to disrupt the structural factors shaping negative outcomes and recommends that public safety policies avoid 'easy wins' in favour of evidence-based, structurally integrated, and early-childhood interventions.

• The Eyethu Soccer League, which targeted young men aged 18-29 in Cape Town neighbourhoods including Khayelitsha, Ndlovini, and Mfuleni, failed to achieve its primary goals of reducing violence, substance use, and HIV risk.
• A six-month follow-up evaluation showed no significant reduction in the use of alcohol, marijuana, or tik, and no changes in mental health, risky sexual behaviours, HIV testing, or the perpetration of violence, though a very small reduction in mandrax use was noted.
• The study recorded at least 16 murders among the 1,200 enrolled participants across both the intervention and control groups by the final data collection point in 2019.
• Any short-term improvements observed during the programme were lost after the December holiday period, as participants were more likely to encounter risky situations.
• Social skills-based interventions are frequently insufficient to overcome the broader environmental and structural factors that drive negative outcomes.
• The document suggests that early childhood interventions, specifically those focusing on the first 1,000 days of life, may be more effective at addressing multiple risk factors than interventions targeting older populations.

APA

Laurenzi, C., Tomlinson, M., Skiti, Z., & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (2021). Soccer, safety and science: why evidence is key. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief159.pdf

Chicago

Laurenzi, Christina, Mark Tomlinson, Zwelibanzi Skiti, and Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus. Soccer, safety and science: why evidence is key. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief159.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laurenzi |first1=Christina |last2=Tomlinson |first2=Mark |last3=Skiti |first3=Zwelibanzi |last4=Rotheram-Borus |first4=Mary Jane |title=Soccer, safety and science: why evidence is key |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2021 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief159.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laurenzi2021soccer, author = {Laurenzi, Christina and Tomlinson, Mark and Skiti, Zwelibanzi and Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane}, title = {{Soccer, safety and science: why evidence is key}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief159.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }