Cape Town — You've seen him on television, now he is in the country to educate South African youngsters about HIV/Aids through sport.

US winner of and co-founder of Grassroots Soccer, Ethan Zohn, has arrived in Cape Town and is on a mission.

After his first encounter with Africa, when playing for Highlanders football team in Zimbabwe, he said: "I immediately fell in love with Africa."

Zohn told the Cape Argus it was in Zimbabwe where he witnessed first-hand the hardships Africans faced, especially with HIV and Aids.

"While participating in Survivor I won an award, I had the opportunity to play soccer with kids of a nearby village. Only later I learned they were all HIV-positive."

When Zohn was announced winner of Survivor Africa he realised this was his chance to make a difference, and he did.

Using his prize money, he, along with a few other people, started Grassroots Soccer.

Grassroots trains professional soccer players on how to educate children about HIV/Aids.

"We try to spread the message about the pandemic by educating youth without them even realising. We want to change their behaviour, their way of life," he said.

Zohn's 10-day trip to South Africa was sponsored by the US Embassy.

Mark Canning, assistant public affairs officer for the US Consulate, said HIV/Aids was one of the biggest issues the country faced.