When sport works at its simple best

The ACC investigation dominating news headlines in the past week, as the bad habits some athletes in this country have taken on- drugs, alcohol, betting- finally caught up with the .

So, for a bit of a break and some fresh air, here is a great sport experience that happened while travelling, that really puts sport in some perspective.

My better half, Nicole, and I recently returned from volunteering in South Africa with a group called VESA (Volunteer Eco Students Abroad).

We were based in St. Lucia, a small town about 3hrs drive north of Durban, and our volunteer work was based in a nearby Zulu village of Khula.

Our final day of volunteering was a Saturday, and our job was to walk around the local village, picking up children and taking them to the local crèche for the day.

While walking around, we could hear a party going on somewhere, with loud techno and dance music blaring, and random cheers. It sounded like a house party you would go to as a teenager when someone’s olds where away. I was obviously curious.

We actually saw what was going through a resident fence (most properties only had a wire fence, if any). It was a soccer game at the local Silethukukhanya High School. So, being sports fans (who were tired from piggy backing kids around) we decided to walk in and have a look. We were greeted with “Sawubona!” (The Zulu greeting) by a girl as we walked through the school gates.

The first thing I noticed was the crowd. There were people dancing, chatting, sitting in the shade, relaxing and having fun. The atmosphere was really pulsing.

A bit different to sitting in your car with nothing but a tinnie and, blaring the horn when one goes between the sticks! The next thing that struck me was the playing surface. There were no lines on the ground at all, just goals and corner flags.

The closest thing to change rooms was a couple of trees in the back corner. We sat on a concrete step, which apparently was roughly one sideline.

The ground itself was a bit rough, very uneven, but still pretty green.
All the players had shoes of some kind, although there was definitely a huge gap between the gleaming white football boots and the obviously ran down cross trainers.

The teams apparently only have one net each. They take their net to put up at away games as well as at home games. While we were there, the opposition team in the next game rocked up, having walked and hitch-hiked from a nearby village.

During the game, the home team (in maroon) were dominated, but not shamed. It was really impressive to watch such skill even at a lower level.

Both teams seemed to have really positive body language, however, I don’t speak Zulu so they could have been sledging and mouthing off the whole time, but they didn’t look to be doing that. A whistle from the ref was not met with the usual howls of disapproval, and the theatrics of lying and rolling on the ground where non-existent.

The brand football was great too; we saw plenty of chances on goals, with both teams playing out of the back at high pace and without fear. The players where obviously enjoying the game as much as the crowd. The home team ended up losing 1-0.

As we left, the men in the next game where warming up by dancing and running, this was quite a sight as well. On finally making it to the crèche, many of the boys were raring for a game of football.

Where do the skills come from?

Put it this way- I learnt there are not many things more embarrassing or demoralizing then having a football dribbled under your legs, in a sandpit- especially by a six year old. Definitely two experiences I will remember for a long time.