A soccer team ready to make a difference
A group of soccer players are convinced the beautiful game can be used to fight poverty, illiteracy, crime and gang violence in Dan village outside Tzaneen.
LIMPOPO – Dan Unity Club is a soccer team which aims to promote community development by raising donations for destitute families and impoverished matriculants, and to build social cohesion by organising friendly matches in order to bring back the old culture of coming together on the sports field to watch soccer games.
Public Relations Officer, Stanley Shai, said the community-based soccer team was started after violence erupted between two rival criminal gangs in the village recently, resulting in the brutal killing of two young people and prompting Premier Chupu Stanley Mathabatha to dispatch a contingent of police officers to patrol the streets of the sprawling community all hours of the day and night.
“We realised crime was rife in our community and that young people are taking part in criminal activities because they are unemployed and bored. By keeping them busy and entertained, we hope to keep them off the streets and away from the temptation of doing crime. They say an idle mind is the devil’s playground,” he said.
He added while they plan to include other sporting codes such as cricket, netball, rugby and ladies’ soccer in future, they started with soccer because it is the planet’s most popular sport.
“Soccer is called the beautiful game because it has the ability to bring people of different races, religions, tribes and criminal gang affiliations together.
“A soccer pitch is a place of peace, tranquility and seamless artistry where poverty, hatred and crime do not exist as villagers become family, teammates become brothers and after the final whistle, opponents become respected comrades exchanging handshakes, hugs and jerseys,” he said.
The club’s secretary, Bongani Thuketana, said they have hosted soccer teams from Phalaborwa, Malamulele, Giyani and many communities around Tzaneen.
“We organised and hosted the friendly games to entertain our people and also to show people from other communities it is safe to come and play soccer in our village. At first people were afraid to come to our village, but they soon realised we are just ordinary people who are fighting to build a better community for our children,” he said.
Chairperson Avon Mabunda said they have opened a bank account to raise donations for impoverished families and matriculants who are roaming the streets of the village because they have no money to go to tertiary institutions.
“We started this club as a response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for ordinary people “to lend a hand”. The majority of our soccer players are employed and they have already made donations into the bank account. We have started to deliver food parcels to some of the most impoverished families in the village.
“We make a call to others in the community, be they politicians, businesspeople or civil servants, to join us in this movement to change our community. We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who are coming forward to make donations and assist us in building a safer community to live and to grow,” he said.
People who want to make donations to the club can call Shai at 078 901 7103, Thuketana at 063 083 0081, or Mabunda at 078 385 7318. The club’s bank account number is 2011581443, Nedbank.
