Matthews gave up his summers every year between 1953 and 1978 to coach poor children in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania.[153] In South Africa in 1975, he ignored apartheid to form a team of black schoolboys in Soweto called "Stan's Men".[154] The members of his team told him that it was their dream to play in Brazil, so Matthews organised a trip there; they were the first black team ever to tour outside of South Africa.[155] He did not have the money to fund the trip himself, though used his connections (for the only time other than when he used them to save Port Vale in 1968) to arrange sponsorship from Coca-Cola and the Johannesburg Sunday Times newspaper.[155] The South African authorities did not want to cause an international incident, so did not prevent Stan's Men from getting on the plane to Rio de Janeiro, where they would meet legendary player Zico.[155] It was on this trip that Matthews met Ronnie Biggs.[155] On the way back from the trip, the Stan's Men captain Gilbert Moiloa called Matthews "black man with the white face".[155] In the 2017 documentary film on his life Matthews, the film crew travel to Soweto to interview Stan's Men about their memories with Matthews.[156]