Friendship is the goal for former gang members

FORMER gang members from some of Scotland's most deprived areas are flying to South Africa for a "World Cup of Friendship".

The Church of Scotland, which is backing the event, said the 16- to 21-year-olds, who have been involved in gang violence in the past, will use their experiences to help young people from other countries.

Church youth workers will accompany the nine-man group on the three-week trip, which starts today and will coincide with the World Cup being held in South Africa. Teams from Germany and South Africa will also take part.

The young men in the Scottish team had been helped to turn their lives around in a joint project between the church's Priority Areas Team and Strathclyde Police Community Initiative to Reduce Violence Project.

Priority Areas Team leader Neil Young said: "Inevitably, any event in South Africa in the summer is going to involve football but this event is much more than football. It is about bringing together almost 40 young men who are showing a clear potential to be positive community leaders and role models from the poorest areas in Scotland, Germany and South Africa.

"It is about working with them to nurture and develop that potential."

It is hoped the Youth World Cup of Friendship will become an ongoing programme. A Church of Scotland spokesman said "informal" talks were under way to host similar events next year in Germany and Scotland in 2014 as part of the Commonwealth Games.