“Not Just About Kicking A Ball”:Football and Youth Development

in Post-Apartheid South Africa

“We indeed have a crisis of monumental proportions. We don’t have a crisis of talent, we have a crisis of putting everything together.”

Fikile Mbalula

Minister of Sport and Recreation

Historical Lack of Development South African soccer’s current state “simply mirrors soccer’s

troubled historical development and present state.” (Kunene, 2005)

Until 1991, South African football at both the national and professional levels was fractured

South African soccer’s successes in early- to mid-1990s masked “transformational deficiencies” (McKinley, 2010)

Adoption of GEAR and other neoliberal economic policies effectively “privatized” the game

Poor leadership and ineffective administration 2010 World Cup promised development with few results

“Nowadays children grow up in a very contaminated environment and as adults we have to ensure that they have a brighter future by developing boys into men and top footballers into top human beings. We want to develop them so that when they are at a professional level it is not short-lived because they were not taught properly.”

Thabo DladlaFounding Director

Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal

“The program is not only about sports or soccer. It’s mostly about life. [It’s] about respecting the people you are around, and playing fair, which applies in life. You do it the right way. Don’t cheat. Don’t cheat yourself.”

Asanda

Respect (inhlonipho)

Discipline (inkuliso)

Monday to Friday Practices from 3:30-5:30

Saturday Match Day

Sunday Reserved for tournaments

Most players also participate in school athletics as well

Education Tutoring sessions after each

practice, starting at 5:30 Coaches receive regular

progress reports to track the players’ academic performance

Teachers and administrators at the boys’ schools notice a difference in their academic performance and general demeanor

Photo courtesy of Peter Alegi

Parental Involvement

“The family, the school, and the program—they are like three legs of the three legged pot. At least two legs must be strong. If two are weak, if it’s the program against a weak school and a weak family . . . you have no chance. We have no chance.”

Thabo Dladla

Outside Support Izichwe Football Club has

received virtually no support from either SAFA or the Ministry of Sport and Recreation

SAFA has also failed to provide good sporting facilities for training Izichwe plays on a humble

pitch, though the Harry Gwala Stadium, home of the Maritzburg United PSL team, sits in the distance.

“Basically, what this program means to me is that it gives me the opportunity to realize a dream that I never thought . . . it was never something I believed I’d be able to do . . . it just made me realize, if I continue working hard enough, I can be one of the best players in the world.”

Sandile

Photo courtesy of Peter Alegi

“It’s people like Sipesehle and Mhlengi’s mothers who sometimes give me lots of motivation when I see how hard they try, you know?” explained Thabo. “So then, I say: ‘Hey man! I cannot give up. I cannot let them down. So let me try and help them develop real men.’”

Thabo Dladla

In Izichwe, we can see “a generation of self-motivated, driven and successful young men who go on to enjoy playing soccer at varying levels of success and forging positive productive lives for themselves as law abiding citizens.”

Andrew GraafPrincipal, Alexandra High School

Photo courtesy of Mhlanga Madondo