By Ziaan Siems
South Africa is a football-loving country. Yet, when it comes to developing there still seems to be hurdles to overcome. Why else is Bafana still ranked outside the top 50 – even top 60?
Supporting Bafana has been a tough ask. One always hopes for the best, just to be let down. Still, Football is the clear favourite sport in the country but fails to deliver when it comes to generating excitement at the school level. That’s if you compare it to Rugby.
Football agent, Rui Alves and former PSL manager Craig Rosslee, who joined City Kings FC as a recently joined me on The Honest Truth with Benito Vergotine and had a few theories.
“It’s funny,” Says Rui without cracking a smile.
“When you look at the Northern Suburbs (in Cape Town) schools are playing rugby. But, when you drive past the same school at break time, the boys are playing Soccer. Yet the schools… they don’t play Soccer, it’s unbelievable.”
So, how do we get the ball rolling?
“We need to look at the Rugby model and put that into the schools, and sort of force them because that’s where proper development starts,” says Rui.
“We should be streets ahead of Rugby, but we’re not.”
Craig Rosslee jumps in, exclaiming his love for Rugby, Rassie and the boys, and shines the light on the culture that Rugby has in South Africa.
“They create a culture at School level and we don’t have that in football.
“It actually boils down to the leaders in football. We have to come on board and change the dynamics on how we develop in those School areas. The fact that they (Springboks) are number 1 in the world… it doesn’t just happen, it’s because there’s a growth through the sport for years. We need to start that, and that’s where City Kings FC comes in. We want to engage with Schools, we want to engage with partners in and around the community, and start that culture.”
Rui confirms that there is huge potential in those areas.
“It’s just a case of someone actually coming forward and doing it.
“Everyone talks about it, but no one does it. So I think it’s a case of us coming forward and putting the plan in place.”
The plan?
We’ll it starts this weekend with the City Kings Football Tournament at Northink College in Panorama. Young footballers in the Western Cape will have the opportunity to showcase their talent. The age groups run from U8 through U10, U12, U14 and U16, with a couple still available.
Proceeds of the tournament will go towards CSI programs that involve support for the A&A Development feeding scheme in Freedom Park, Tafelsig, Mitchell’s Plain. It will also go toward the development of the surrounding communities by providing football coaching, education opportunities & supplying disadvantaged youth with equipment & kits.
To get involved in the tournament tomorrow, or to join the City Kings football fraternity give Rui a call on 072 680 8725.
Listen to the full interview below:
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