The boys compete and make new friends, while the organisers battle efforts to stop the tournament. Julia Grey reports
Opportunities for youngsters mad about soccer may be cut down because of a political wrangle between rival organisers.
At stake is the future of a 30-year-old football tournament, the Bill Stewart Invitation Tournament. This interprovincial tournament goes ahead each year, organised by an independent group of teachers based in Gauteng, despite the fact that the United Schools Sport Association of South Africa (Ussasa) is fiercely opposed to it.
Shoes Mazibuko, president of soccer for Ussasa, is adamant that there is no room for such a “rebel structure”. He believes those who organise it – mainly white educators – are “perpetrating the old order”, mainly because they access a limited number of schools and compound this exclusivity by “charging an exorbitant fee” for those selected to participate in the tournament.
The talent shown on the field also goes unrecognised by Ussasa, which does not use the event to select boys for national squads. Says Mazibuko, “We are tired of people using our children for their own ends.”
In Mazibuko’s view, the rift has its origins in the fact that these “rebel” educators are disgruntled because they weren’t chosen in the last elections to serve on the Ussasa soccer executive.
But Frank von Pappen, organiser of the Bill Stewart Invitation Tournament, has a different version of events. “I was elected to Ussasa structures in 1995 and put in charge of primary school soccer,” says Von Pappen. “But I was never informed about what was happening after that.”
This lack of communication is, in Von Pappen’s view, an example of the disorganisation that characterises Ussasa primary school soccer. This is the key reason why Von Pappen and those who work with him are determined to keep the Bill Stewart Tournament going: “I will not sit and be part of a group that will break down existing structures and not put anything else in place.”
Von Pappen also challenges the perception of the tournament as being exclusive. Participants come from an array of cultures and classes, and merit is the sole basis of selection. Fundraising makes sure that all chosen will be able to participate.
But while the adults struggle to find solutions to their differences, the youngsters have a ball. This year, 15 teams chosen from about 500 schools were fielded from six provinces, and a total of 295 boys got to exhibit their talents – and have a jol together afterwards (if they managed to stay awake, having played an average of three games of soccer a day).
As competitive as the teams are, it’s not all about winning. Tiro van Rooyen (12), whose team from Nelspruit lost all their games, still loved the experience: “It was exciting for us to come and play for our area. The soccer was very good, and I learnt a lot: never play alone with the ball, and never give up.”
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, August 2001.