Valencia – Franco Costa, one of the world’s most famous artists, is to auction a painting for Team Shosholoza to raise funds. Costa has painted a 70 by 100 cm canvas of the first South African America’s Cup challenger and he intends to donate the auction proceeds to the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital in Cape Town which is supported by Shosholoza’s patron Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

“In the past I have supported the winner of the America’s Cup seven times. This is the first time I am painting for a challenger who finished in the Louis Vuitton Cup in the 7th place”, said the 73-year-old Italian. "But it is a great honour for me to paint screens for the most popular America's Cup Challenger. Team Shosholoza has brought heart and soul to the sport and I'm happy to be back again at the America's Cup."

Franco Costa, born in Rome, has just finished his first painting of the RSA 83. “I would like to auction this painting for the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital in South Africa. When I met Archbishop Desmond Tutu a few days ago at the Shosholoza base I decided I wanted to contribute to his project”, said Costa.

Nobel peace laureate, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu visited the Shosholoza team in Valencia for the first time. "What Shosholoza has done is a superb thing for our country. It is a sport in which we never believed we had any chance at all but you have shocked the sailing world. You have demonstrated that the black community is able to integrate itself into the world of sailing and to be competitive," he told the crew. Archbishop Tutu, who was also honoured at a VIP dinner hosted by Louis Vuitton, took the opportunity to draw attention to efforts to restructure and develop the Tygerberg Children’s Hosptial in Cape Town which specialises in infectious diseases like tuberculosis as well as HIV/AIDS, cancer, nervous system disorders and respiratory diseases.

The trustees of the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital Trust together with the management and staff have a vision to transform this under-resourced facility into an internationally recognised hospital known for clinical excellence dedicated to the needs of children and newborn babies. Archbishop Tutu and his wife, Leah, share this vision and are honoured patrons.

To contribute to this fundraising drive and participate in the Costa painting auction please click on our homepage www.teamshosholoza.com. There will be a weekly update on the auction.