ball
Merryman Kunene
Bafana Ngonzwane, a Standard 7 pupil at Malvern High, hails from Dobsonville in Soweto. He and his friends, Gift Sibeko and Vuyo Mrali, have long abandoned playing football in the township using balls made of plastic, bricks for poles and the occasional R5 bet that comes with it. All three have enrolled with the Wits Youth Soccer Academy and are playing for Wits University’s under-16 side.
These boys believe playing soccer in the township streets reduces their chances of impressing professional sides – and worse, when they get injured, nobody takes care of them. Hence the change to urban training and exposure to professional coaching. However, many experts believe it is this early exposure to professional coaching methods that has led to the deterioration of skill levels among young people.
South African soccer has for many years relied on the townships to provide new talent, honed by the rigours of street life. Indications are that the supply seems to be drying up, says Steve Khompela, the new Bafana Bafana coach.
“South Africa lack superstars,” says Khompela. At Kaizer Chiefs, where Khompela is assistant coach, the emergence of Jabu Pule was hailed as the best thing to happen to the team since the introduction of Doctor Khumalo more than 10 years ago. For a top team like Chiefs to produce only two top- class players in 15 years is a clear indication that our development programmes are not delivering the results.
At the core of the problem is the dearth of interest in playing football among kids, who find other activities like computer games and other sports codes more interesting. This is not just a problem for South Africa: countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe find themselves looking for ways to keep the kids on the ball.
“When I was growing up in Nkana, my team had a development structure from the under- 12s to under-18s, which helped to develop many players in Zambia,” says Orlando Pirates’ striker Denis Lota. Lota says bad management and lack of incentives are discouraging kids from taking the game very seriously.
In an effort to put the fun back into the game for kids, sportswear company Puma – in partnership with various stars like Lota, Khumalo and former Bafana coach Clive Barker – have launched street soccer competitions in strategic areas like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Barker emphasised the importance of the programme: “It is unique. Players learn to play competitively using skills like passing, control and tackling.”
He believes skill levels in football have not deteriorated; he says it is the fitness level that has improved a great deal. “In the past talented players did not take training very seriously, but now the introduction of physiotherapists, dieticians and professional trainers has changed the conduct and outlook of players.”
He validates his argument by pointing out that in a competitive match, the skill factor becomes evident towards the end of the match as all the stamina begins to fizzle out.
As yet it is not clear whether Puma’s street soccer will have the same impact or produce the kind of talent as its conventional version. The major drawback is that this competition is geared for under-16s, quite old for developing stars. Players like Cameroon’s Rigobert Song, at 24, has been to two World Cups and captained his country to the African championships.
A similar competition for 12-year-olds is more likely to encourage kids. That is not to say that 16-year-olds like Ngonzwane have a problem with this programme. “I would like to make the final team that will compete in Durban [July 15 to 16] and perhaps get a chance to represent the country in the world championships in Kuala Lumpur in August,” he said.
The South African under-16 team were winners of last year’s Puma Street Soccer World Final at London’s Wembley stadium last year. Street soccer is becoming a major urban sport worldwide and has great opportunities to develop young soccer talent in the country.
The South African Football Association, on the other hand, has an elaborate proposal to revive soccer interest among the youth through its integrated framework for football development. However, that plan is yet to be implemented and is running at least one year behind schedule.