by Leon Hartwell
Political Sciences Department, University of Pretoria
Mamelodi Project Public Relations Director, South Africa
The clock is ticking its way to the 2010 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted by South Africa. Yet, most discussions about this spectacular event focus on the potential of material benefits to the country. Others speculate about the possibility that deadlines in preparation for the World Cup will be missed due to the national electricity crisis. However, not a lot of publicity exists on football approaches in support of local causes.
Jasmin Dirinpur is an intern at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) – a German government-owned company that focuses on different aspects of technical development. One programme of particularly interest is the Youth Development Through Football (YDF) which works in close partnership with South Africa’s Department of Sports and Recreation. The idea of YDF is that football can be used as a tool for educating today’s youth. Jasmin says, “the primary concern for the programme is not only football skills development, but developing the youth and the community at large.”
In Mamelodi, GTZ and its partners have established the YDF School League in which twenty-four teams from eight primary schools compete in three different leagues (11-a-side boys, 11-a-side girls, and 5-a-side mixed gender). In doing so, they empower Mamelodi youth to address many of life’s issues. One major issue identified in the township is gender inequality. In order to deal with the problem of patriarchy, educators and facilitators teach kids about the virtues of gender equality. Additionally, such education is also practically applied on the field. Some of the football teams are “mixed teams,” composed of boys and girls. Teams then nominate captains and Jasmin proudly points out that these days girls are predominantly chosen to lead the teams.
Furthermore, street football is not governed by a referee or by a formal set of rules. Players are responsible for deciding what the rules are and which decisions matter. For example, questions that the youth address include: Who will play? Should the team consist of boys, girls, or a mix? When should the first goal count? Such decisions empower the youth not only to make them team players on the football field, but also in daily situations.
Team captains get special attention and are educated in life skills that they are expected to transfer to teammates. “Change takes time,” says Jasmin, “but eventually these kids will develop into good and strong individuals.” Still, some changes are evident over a short period. Jasmin points out that one of the captains was able to go abroad and when she came back she brought with her “great confidence, she is now a very good public speaker.” She was referring to Portia Diketane, an individual that is a member of the Tswane Sport Youth Forum, which is another project in Gauteng that is supported by GTZ. Upon Portia’s return to South African after a visit to Paraguay she said that what she has gained from the project is “cooperation, respect, friendship, and most of all peace”. She also wrote, “I have learned a lot about how these community organisations have changed those people and that I would like to share it with the people of South Africa. My mission is to see myself being able to change others in my country facing the same problems”.
When Jasmin was asked about her most memorable moment during her time working in the township, she replied, “It is difficult to pinpoint one moment … Mamelodi has become a part of me, and I am taking all those memories back to Germany. There are problems and challenges [in the township], but beyond that there is a lot more.” She remarks that in a predominantly poor community, football serves as a positive form of escapism, “it makes you lost in the moment.” When team members get together they are able to share one another’s experiences. The team therefore becomes a bedrock where individuals can open up, strengthen each other, and share issues of mutual concern. Sometimes these moments can be emotionally intense and teams turn to football to lighten the mood.
As we have seen with the GTZ approach, lessons learned during and after the great game of football are transferable to many areas of everyday life. Just think of what impact the 2010 World Cup would truly have on South Africa if it were to implement the GTZ way of life.