GMng her aH:
football is
the best form
of exercise. say
South Afrlcan
football granniesGummisandalen oder Fußballschuhe, Küchenschürze oder Fußballdress? NOUNOU SITHOLE berichtet von
einem erstaunlichen Fußballteam aus Südafrika. dem Schauplatz der WM 2010. miilhi'orld Cup fcver ha s sp read ro Souch African
I;rannies, wich hundreds of poor, .cld.W
womcn in iU![Q.!lS. and skirrs fighting for the
ball in township games. Twice a week, they
srop thelr domcsric chores, puuing on soccer boots in-
stead of their usual rubber sandals ro play in local
matches. Thc 35 women on th e Vakhegula Vakhegula
tcam - meaning "gran nies" in ehc loeal Xitsonga lan-
guage - range from 40 - ro ovcr 80-years-old. They live
in a township near Tzaneen, in nonhcrn South Africa.
Competitjoo is strang among thc eight teams in the
region, and the women say socccr is the beSt exercise-
much beuer than their usual hard work ar horne and in
the fields. "We were siek, but now our tempera tures and
o ur blood pressures have gone down. Our doctors are
surprised when we go for a check-up," says 47-year-old
Nari Baloyi, o ne of the youngest on th e team.
Nora Makhubela ha s suffered six s.t.r2W, and yCt the
83-year-old ~reat -"raodmother says kicking a ball
around has given her srrength she did not rhink she seil I
had. " My life has really changed - if I were co run wirh
you, I would beat you even though I'm much o lder," she
says, smiling. Makhubela hopes ro be fit enougb co
watch all the games of ehe World Cup.
Comrnuniry worker Beka Ntsanwisi says she started
the soccer team three years ago co help older women ex-
ercise, and to give them a new pumose in life. "Some
of them couldn'r eveo walk properly - aod if they d id
something in their free time, they would be knittioe or
~ aod sitting all the time. Here, thcy run, shour,
fight wirh you. Ir keeps them young," she says.
~ David Maake says workiog with the women
ha s given hirn greater satisfacrion than any orher ~
i.n& job. " With young boys, you need more money tO
achieve many things. H ere, I may come with my stress,
bur I laugh so mueh, I forger everyrhing," he says.
34 Busj"", Spotlight
Thc tcam lacks a sponsor, so each woman pays
arouod $ 1 a monch for soccer balls, their kiI and tmv-
eHing to the eompctitions with teams from othcr re-
gions, whieh take place nvice a )'ear. Ntsanwisi, who
uses her own mone)' ro help pay tbe team's expcnses,
hopes one day to anract sponsors.
Dozcos of local fans support the gran nies' games,
checrin~ and blowiog vtlvuzclas. These are the 110isy,"If I were to run with
you, I would beat you
even though I'm old"
plastic trumpets that create th e cacophony of noise typ-
iea l of Somh Africao soccer.
" I feel good whcn the granoies play soccer; it makes
thern fit and strong," says ooe fan, 13-year-old
Chamelius Bayani. Winning seems secondary co the
grannies. Some of rhem look as though they a re strug-
gliog to mn dllring a game after a lang day of house-
work.
Most COOle to pracrice straight from cleaning their
houses and cooking meals, or after selling food a long
the rownship's streets. Tbey would oever dream of.m..ia:
~ practice, howcver, thcy say.
" I was roo (at. Now I can run and tcaeh my &rililll:
children how tO kick. And the result is that I feel gfCat,"
Baloyi says. [J
C Thomson Reuters 2009. Alt rights reserved.NDUNDU SITHOLE is a JOurnalist and television pro-
ducer based in Johannesburg. South Afnca. She re-
porls on events in the Southern Affica region for
Reulers Television.4/2010