02. Who are we?
Khayelitsha’s ‘South Africa’ street soccer team has secured the coveted Kia Street Soccer trophy and title after a nail-biting finish against Langa’s ‘Zimasa’ street soccer team during the tournament final on Thursday 21 July. ‘South Africa’ scored the match’s only goal to clinch the title.
The streets of Grassy Park were abuzz as 20 teams from communities throughout the Western Cape competed for pole position but Khayelitsha’s South Africa’, led by coach Khayulethu Bikwani, proved too strong for the opposition. The winning team also boasted top tournament scorer 11 year-old Wonga Stimela, who netted the ball 15 times in total on the day including the winning goal in the final. The winning team’s sister side from Khayelitsha – ‘England’ – also made it to the semi finals along with teams from Nyanga and Langa.
Since the beginning of the tournament, which kicked off in mid April, teams from regions throughout Cape Town including Manenberg, Athlone, Langa, Macassar, Ocean View, Grassy Park, Gugulethu and Mitchell’s Plain, have been competing each week in the lead up to the regional finals.
Sporting Chance, with the support of title sponsor KIA Motors and associate sponsors Foodzone, Dawn Wing, Supersport Let’s Play and Good Hope FM, has rolled out the national neighbourhood street soccer programme in neighbourhood streets in and around Durban, Johannesburg,Cape Town, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth for the past six weeks as part of FIFA’s Ticket Fund legacy. The KIA Street Soccer League was created as one of the tiers of the Ticket Fund initiative as a means of adding sustainability to the programme.
According to Bing, who conceptualised and co-ordinates the programme, being healthy and keeping active are additional critical life skills taught by the programme, and for the first phase of the programme, a Health Education Road Show visited all the participating communities leading up to the second phase – the start of the league.
In addition to activities designed to show and share the importance of physical activity, nutrition, personal hygiene and TB awareness, the sessions also covered key issues of sports etiquette, conflict resolution, and environmental awareness, encouraging learners to take pride in their environment and recycle.
The project has also created contractual employment for 800 coaches.
“Street Soccer not only provides a platform for children to display their football skills and sporting prowess, but also gives an opportunity to build self-esteem while at the same time learning about the importance of good health,” said Bing.