Tembisa Gogos celebrate Women’s Day with a braai
She said they are blessed to have soccer coaches such as Kenny Sithagu among others who volunteer to coach football in the Tembisa community
Braaing is the one thing most South Africans love to do.
Woman’s Day saw the Tembisa Tsogang Basadi Football Club, a team comprising elderly women dressed in their jeans, tights and T-shirt kits, celebrating Women’s Day in style with a braai at Makhulong Square One Sports Grounds on August 9.
Led by coach and founder of Tembisa Tsogang Basadi FC, Kenny Sithagu, the gogos spent the day sharing football lessons and motivational talks while taking some time to dance and sing songs of their time as youngsters.
According to the team’s chairlady Grace Mondlane, the celebration was to thank the players for persevering and responding positively to the team’s routine training.
“Our team players are passionate about football and they are working hard to keep fit. Most of the elderly women who joined the team came with high blood pressure, sugar diabetes and other illnesses. We are really happy to see them determined and dedicated to the team. They come to training and they are disciplined,” said Mondlane.
She said they are blessed to have soccer coaches such as Kenny Sithagu among others who volunteer to coach football in the Tembisa community.
“Our coach Kenny is really making an impact on our lives by just offering us his time, talent and love. Since the team started years ago, he has never given up on us no matter the challenges that we are faced with as a team,” added Mondlane.
Nelson Mandela Foundation sponsored the elderly women and offered them free blankets on the day.
A local businessmen, Mr Maisela who is the owner of Straight line Pharmacy also donated to make the celebration a success.
“We would like to thank every individual and organisations who sponsored our team. We wish more sponsorship could come through as we are struggling to get hold of things such as football kits and training boots. We are also calling on other elderly women teams to reach out to us so that we can organise friendly games,” said Mondlane.
