“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
“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