COMETSA Research Project - Village Football Clubs
CHAPTER 1/SCENE 1
- BACKGROUND:
COMETSA
Jane Furse Sekhukhune FC (Pty) Ltd is not a typical football club that chases
after becoming a professional outfit playing in the prestigious football
leagues. We are a business organization, a company with interest in the
business of football in all its aspects.
Our organization, COMETSA, has achieved amazing
results, especially the career growth of our member players of our development
initiatives since our founding date, the 1st August 1997.
We have now transferred those development programmes
and initiatives to our non-profit development agency, COMETSA Sports
Development Agency – NPO (Registration No. 2001/005048/08).
We do however recognise the fact that football as
sport belongs to the official associations governed by the global laws of the
game, under FIFA. In South Africa, football is the responsibility of the South
African Football Association (SAFA), and at the local levels it is through SAFA
Local Football Associations (LFA) structures.
We respect and recognise these
football structures. In fact, in 2014, COMETSA Sports Development Agency – NPO
received funding from the German Development Agency, GIZ, to run a series of
Youth Development through Football (YDF) sessions. COMETSA identified the SAFA
Tshwane’s Mabopane Local Football Association (LFA) as one of the beneficiaries
of these initiatives. We conducted the YDF programme for their clubs coaches
and issued certificates on completion of the programme.
We would love to
continue such collaborations with the football associations through our COMETSA
Sports Development Agency – NPO
COMETSA Jane Furse
Sekhukhune FC (Pty) Ltd, is focusing on the commercial aspects of the business
of football. Our interest is the local town of Jane Furse and the region of
Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo Province of South Africa. Jane
Furse is one of the fastest growing peri-urban towns in South Africa. In fact
Jane Furse is officially designated to become a city of the future. The
platinum mining region of Burgersfort justifies this strategic goal for Jane
Furse. In the future we will be proudly talking about Jane Furse City in
Sekhukhune District Municipality, Limpopo Province. We hope that COMETSA Jane
Furse Sekhukhune FC (Pty) Ltd will be counted among those organizations that
would have contributed to the achievement of this vision.
PROJECT EXTENSION TO OTHER REGIONS: It is our plan to extend this project to other
regions of South Africa, once we have succeeded in building a strong base
reference in the Greater Sekhukhune Region in Limpopo Province. In fact, our
main objective is to exchange the village football clubs heritage of the
various regions in South Africa. We strongly believe that this is the most
important piece of the South African football that is rich with culture that
can be shared with the football sector globally.
This brings me to the
topic COMETSA Research
Project – Village Football Clubs (South Africa).
I grew up in this Jane Furse area, as a herd-boy, scholar, and village football
fanatic, playing for Moripane Scientists FC, a village football club at
Moripane village, Ga- Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru wa Mamone.
I grew up following some of the great village
football clubs with colourful names (brands) that mobilised the village boys.
Our first exposure to football was through these village football clubs. We are
the scholars and graduates of village football in the Greater Sekhukhune Region
before we could become supporters and fans of the now famous South African
clubs like Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Moroka Swallows, Pretoria Callies,
Benoni United, Zulu Royals, etc. In fact, we knew of these South African great
clubs and brands through radio broadcasts, i.e. ka leihlo la moya.
So, if my
local village football club was playing, and at the same time on radio there
was a broadcast of Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates, we would opt for our local
village football club game. That is how strong local village football was in
the Greater Sekhukhune Region in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
The closest we were to South African big football teams
was through the emergence of Limpopo football clubs like Seshego Stone Breakers
FC, Seshego City Carlton FC, Seshego Saints FC, Mahwelereng Real Rovers FC, and
when Boleu Negroes FC in Tafelkop hosted the first professional team in Greater
Sekhukhune Region, Kaizer Chiefs FC. This is the game which Chiefs used to introduce
their legendary Nelson “Botsotso” Dladla to its supporters. This is how Kaizer
Chiefs grew their support base in the Greater Sekhukhune Region.
The tradition of going on away game trip is
memorable. The singing as warriors of our village football clubs was to
intimidate the host club. Many of these village football clubs were known by
their trip war songs. We were very jealous of our songs being copied by rival
village football clubs.
When the games were big, like tournaments, we would
organize additional transport for our ladies supporters, who would add more power
to intimidating host clubs. And of course there was non-stop singing by the
ladies throughout the match, giving a boost to their team. They will sing,
calling the names of their team players throughout the game.
When the strategy
would not work, they would assemble behind the opposition team’s goals to
unsettle their goalkeeper with the noise; hopefully he would lose concentration
and let the ball in.
Sometimes this strategy would backfire as it would only
serve to motivate the opposition goalkeeper to work even harder, and even win
the ladies over. I remember myself as a youngest goalkeeper defying the
intimidation of the ladies of Makalaneng Smodern village football club. At the
end of the game I had won favour of one of the ladies, who wanted to come with
our team, Moripane Scientists FC. Of course, I was still very young and she was
older, and I would not know what to do with her.
This was the craziness of
village football in Greater Sekhukhune Region then. I wonder what happened to
this fanatic practice!
We were also fortunate in that the Greater
Sekhukhune Region started building a number of high schools, which attracted
players from far places like the South. High schools like Malekutu High School,
Bopedi Bapedi High School, Matsebong High School, Phatametsane High School,
Hlogo Tlou High School, etc, attracted scholars from other parts of South
Africa who contributed immensely to the regional village football. These
scholars played for the village football clubs on weekends. They became
celebrity football players in the villages.
Here are my greatest ever legendary village football
clubs in Greater Sekhukhune Region. You will notice that almost all of them
have their names starting with the name of the village where they come from.
Look at the creativity of the naming of these village clubs. Through these
names you can realise the influence from other regions of South Africa. Radio
broadcast contributed to this creativity;
CHAPTER 2/SCENE 2
- MORIPANE SCIENTISTS FC,
formerly
nick-named “Lekatika Loss My Cherrie”, based at Moripane Village: At Moripane
Scientists FC, we had visiting scholar players like, the late “Pro” Tlaka from
Tafelkop Boleu Negores FC, Alex “Sugar Ray” Matheba, Ellington “Kaizer”
Matheba, Phaphedi “Babsy” Ramushu, etc. This was despite the animosity between
village football clubs in those days. It was unheard of to live in one village,
and then play for a different village football club. In actual fact, it was
scandalous to do so. You would not even openly date a lady from another
village. That is why Moripane village club was originally called, Moripane
Lekatika Loss My Cherrie FC. Of course, we changed this name in the 80s when my
generation felt that it was not a constructive name. Other village clubs were
very scared of visiting our village club for games. We were for ever going on
away games and not getting return matches. And this is how games were organized
in those days. You had to go and play away to host returns home games. Our
games record was always out of balance. We had also started recruiting players
from other villages. The name change was proposed by Mr Obed “Sugar Ray”
Mohlala and I. Obed and I used to travel daily on foot to Malekutu High School
at Ga-Sekwati, Mamone. We would be discussing our football village club issue
all the way. One day we discussed our village club name. Of course we were the
emerging young intellectuals in the village. The name Scientists came to our
minds. We wondered how we would explain this intellectual name to the other
members of the village club. So, we translated it into Sepedi, which means
Bo-Ramahlale, The Scientists. They loved the name. The rest is history. The
club remained Moripane Scientists FC. There is no club in Greater Sekhukhune
Region calling themselves by this name. This has been creativity at its best.
We love this club. It has produced many of us. Generations after generations
have played for it, and the journey continues. We are planning to issue
certificates of recognition to all those who played for Moripane Scientists FC,
alive and those who have passed on. This would be a thank you to them for
passing on the football Heritage of this small village in Greater Sekhukhune
Region to the rest of us.
JUNIOR
FEEDER VILLAGE FOOTBALL CLUB – Moripane Mosehleng
Shining Stars FC:
I started Mosehleng Shinning Stars FC at Moripane village during my youth years.
I still remember how most of us emerged into the senior village club, Moripane
Scientists FC, with our nick names we gave ourselves at the junior village football
clubs. Such names were influenced by radio broadcasts and we would adopt some
of the great stars names, even though we had not met them before. For example,
I nick-named myself, Malombo, and I did not even know what the name meant. I
just liked Jan “Malombo” Lichaba of Pretoria Callies FC, who later joined
Kaizer Chiefs FC, and played along the great players like Patrick “Ace”
Ntsoelengoe. My cousin was nick-named “Ten Ten” after the great Petrus “Ten Ten”
Nzimande of Kaizer Chiefs FC. Until today he is just known as Dan “Ten Ten”
Patjane. At Moripane Scientists FC the names were also given by our greatest
fan number one, Mr Maruane Mphela. He was a football poet and orator of note.
He gave names to players like: Robert “China the Communist” , King-Korn
Mothwana Pelo e Nnyane, Amos “Danger” Patjane, “Sour” Rantho, Ntshirane “King
Soff” Masemola, “Matanya a Tanyolla” Lekgogola, “Banda” Kubjane, “Super 7”
Lekgogola, “Swiswaneng La Maru a Pula” Lepota, Sydney “The Horse” Mahlase,
CHAPTER 3/SCENE 3
- JANE FURSE HIGHLANDERS FC: this club was based at
Jane Furse peri-urban area and at some stage run by one of the progressive
white person who worked at Jane Furse Memorial Hospital then. For him, this was
just a social responsibility. For the people of Jane Furse, this was a serious
proud project. We were all emotionally attached to this prestigious football
club. Some of its players worked at Jane Furse Memorial Hospital. It was the
pride of Jane Furse and the region. This is the club that had a potential to
become the first professional football club from Greater Sekhukhune Region.
Unfortunately, football in South Africa had not reached the level it is at
today. And the country was fighting to be liberated from the horrible
oppressive Apartheid system of Government, which sought to crush anything that
was about advancement of black people. We are glad that one of the former and legendary
football players of Jane Furse Highlanders FC, Mr Speelman “Ace” Sekwati, is
the current President of SAFA Sekhukhune Local Football Association (LFA).
CHAPTER 4/SCENE 4
- MOKWETE MORNING STARS FC: The club from the
small village of Mokwete outside Jane Furse. This village was originally called
Doornkop, named after the area where its residents came from in Middelburg,
when under Apartheid’s forced removals policy, they were brought here. The club
was one of the weakest in the region until the entrepreneur, Mr Selala, took
over the club. He sponsored the club, and brought great players to the club.
Another community forced removed from Marble Hall was resettled in the Mokwete
village. This tended to be a benefit to Mokwete Morning Stars FC. They had some
of the great players. Mr Selala was a passionate football lover and supporter. The
Riba family that also settled in the village added more to the football growth
in the village. Their children who were studying in various colleges came over
for weekends with friends from high schools and colleges like Bopedi Bapedi
High School, Lemana College of Education, Sekhukhune College of Education,
Mamokgalake Chuene College of Education, etc. They would use their transport to
ferry the players and accommodate them at their parents’ houses at their shops.
This was a phenomenon in the region. All of the sudden Mokwete Morning Stars FC
became an admirable village football club. They had arrived in the league of the
clubs like Jane Furse Highlanders FC, Sekwati Try Again FC, Madibong Sweepers
FC, Vleischboom Linti Fast Eleven FC, Marishane United Brothers FC, Mojalefa
FC, etc. Mr Selala was an orator and entertainer of note. While his team would
be getting ready at his shop, having been picked up in his bakkie from the
field at half-time of the B-team game, as intimidation, he would be walking around
the soccer field, loudly calling his team of the day name by name. As young
followers of the beautiful game, we could not help it but to walk along him
listening to the great names of the players he was calling, some we know of,
like: DnD The General, Matwetwe Twee –Twee (Ngaka Ya Bopedi Ya Mahlo Matala),
Paulvy “Lemana College”, “Maria –Maria”, “Cha-Cha Chando”, etc. Whenever
Mokwete Morning Stars FC was playing Sekwati Try Again FC, you could be assured
that none of us would go to the field to look after cattle. We will leave the
cattle unattended just to watch a local derby football game.
CHAPTER 5/SCENE 5
- MORETSELE WANDERERS FC:
The
village of Moretsele is almost an extension of Jane Furse, the place originally
known as Mashadi, belonging to the people Kgosi Matlala, who were forced
removed to Tsimanyana, near Marble Hall. I do not have much specifics about
this village football club. I invite those who know much about this village
club’s history to come forward with the facts and share that with us.
CHAPTER 6/SCENE 6
- MORABA OCEAN SWALLOWS FC: Ga-Moraba village is
another village that is an extension of Jane Furse. Moraba Ocean Swallows FC is
one of the historical clubs in Jane Furse. One of their former players, Mr
Lwalane Moraba, is one of the directors of COMETSA Friends & Supporters
Club – NPO. He is going to be very helpful in this long-term research project
in village football.
CHAPTER 7/SCENE 7
- DITSHWEUNG FC: Ditshweung village is one of the very
small villages in Jane Furse. Ditshweung FC is one of the village clubs did not
exist for a long time. I wonder if there is much left to write about this
village club.
CHAPTER 8/SCENE 8
- MADIBONG SWEEPERS FC: The pride of Jane Furse after Jane
Furse Highlanders FC is Madibong Sweepers FC, from Madibong village in Jane
Furse. It was one of the household village football clubs in Greater Sekhukhune
Region. Of course, Madibong village is my new home, after my mother was married
by the Tsimas, and I had to relocate from Moripane village to Madibong village.
I am, however, seeing myself as belonging to both Moripane and Madibong
villages. Even my full name is Samuel Patjane Tsima. Patjane is my mother’s
maiden name, which I associate with Moripane village, the home of my
grandparents. I associate Tsima with Madibong village.
CHAPTER 9/SCENE 9
- MADIBONG DINOKO FC: The village of Madibong is one of
the biggest villages in Jane Furse. It is not surprising that over and above
Madibong Sweepers FC, we also have another village football club, Madibong
Dinoko FC. It however, never reached the level of Madibong Sweepers FC. But it
is a traditional village football club in Madibong. It certainly plays a key
role in the region. It offers alternative to those who do not have a reason to
join Madibong Sweepers FC.
CHAPTER 10/SCENE 10
- MADIBONG MAGAPUNG FC: This is the latest addition to the
village football in Madibong village. My two brothers, Mike Mabushe Tsima and
Patrick Tsima, were involved in the formation of Madibong Magapung FC. Magapung
means the place of Watermelons, since the football grounds are deep among the
fields of Madibong. This village club is still active today, especially during
holidays. They have just hosted a tournament this year, 2015, Christmas
holidays. It is a young history in village football and it is still fresh in
the minds of the villagers of Madibong.
CHAPTER 11/SCENE 11
- MANGANENG BATAU YOUNG KILLERS FC: Manganeng village
happens to be the original home of my late grandfather, Mr Jimson Phaphedi
Patjane. The village football club, Manganeng Batau Young Killers FC, is one of
the clubs that I feared most, as a player of Moripane Scientists FC. During my
time, we have never defeated them. Their players were just too athletic for our
standard. Interestingly, most of their players were my relatives. The Patjanes
are originally Mashegwanas from Ga-Kgosi Mashegwana in Schoonoord. They became
refugees in Manganeng and changed their surname from Mashegwana to Patjane. My
grandfather, his brother, Kgobise Patjane, and many others emigrated to Ga-Kgosi
Sekwati Mampuru, Mamone, as a result of tribal wars. Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru
welcomed the Patjanes and many other immigrants from Manganeng village, but did
not integrate them into his tribe. They were located at their fields (Mashemong
ka Moripane, the name of the small river), hence, the name Moripane village.
The two villages, Moripane and Manganeng, remained in contact until today. My
grand-father became the messenger between Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru and Kgosi
Nkadimeng of Manganeng village, until he passed away. I need to research about
the great former players of Manganeng Batau Young Killers FC.
CHAPTER 12/SCENE 12
- SCHOONOORD CHIEFS FC: I know very little about
Schoonoord Chiefs FC, except that it is one of the most spoken about village football
clubs that was based at Schoonoord Magistrate area in the 70s and 80s. This is
another research candidate. Schoonoord is one of the two oldest magistrates’
areas in Greater Sekhukhune Region. The other one is Nebo Magistrate Region.
They had both police stations and magistrate courts in the region for a very
long time. Schoonoord Chiefs FC was therefore based at a very important
judiciary sit of the Greater Sekhukhune Region.
CHAPTER 13/SCENE 13
- SEKWATI TRY AGAIN FC: What a legendary village football
club from Greater Sekhukhune Region! Sekwati Try Again FC was officially
allowed to use the name of Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru as their name. They were
sponsored by the tribe. They would use the famous blue truck called Pedi-Mamone
to go to the games. Every visit by Sekwati Try Again FC was like a royal visit,
as the Pedi-Mamone carried the royalty stature. Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru loved
Sekwati Try Again FC. He attended their home games. He used to be an
inspiration to the players. He was known not to take defeat lightly. Apparently
when the team was playing home, and were appearing to be losing the match, he
would leave the soccer grounds and go to his royal house. Before he leaves he
would give the team the message to come and report a win to him at the end of
the game. This would pressurise the team to work harder as they would not want
to face His Majesty after a loss. Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru was a serious and
disciplinarian leader. So, his subjects, including the players, respected and
took him very serious.
CHAPTER 14/SCENE 14
- MAOTWA KGOMO FC, pronounced as Maoto a Kgomo: This is one of
the two great rival village football clubs at Ga-Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru, Mamone
village. The other team is Sekwati Try Again FC. Maotwa Kgomo FC was based at
Ga-Mohlala village, a sub-village of Mamone village, under the chieftaincy of
Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru. Maotwa Kgomo literally translated means the Legs of a
Cow. This club was really a force in the Greater Sekhukhune Region. When Kgosi
Sekwati Mampuru built Malekutu High School at Mamone, the club became one of
the direct beneficiaries as they welcomed a lot of great scholar players from
other regions, including from the South. I would love to see a great brand like
Maotwa Kgomo FC being revived. My village football club, Moripane Scientists
FC, struggled to defeat Maotwa Kgomo FC.
CHAPTER 15/SCENE 15
- RANTHO TIP TOP FC: Ga-Rantho is a small village at
Ga-Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru. I came into contact with Rantho Tip Top FC during my
school years at Malekutu High School. Most of their players were my school
mates. It was a small village football club with big hearts. They never wanted
to be relegated to the bottom list of the village football clubs at Ga-Kgosi
Sekwati Mampuru area.
CHAPTER 16/SCENE 16
- MAGOLANENG BARAGWANA FC: Magolaneng is also a
small village at Ga-Kgosi Sekwati Mampuru. Our village football club, Moripane
Scientists FC, when was still called Moripane Lekatika Loss My Cherrie FC,
liked to visit Magolaneng Baragwana FC. My late uncle, Mr Zebra Patjane, used
to coordinate such games. I have not heard much about Magolaneng Baragwana FC
in the modern day football era. It might have been confined to the history
books. But I am not sure if the story was written. Hence, we want to include
Magolaneng Baragwana FC in this research project.
CHAPTER 17/SCENE 17
- MAMONE BEREA FC: Ga-Kgosi Sekwati, Mamone village
is big and had so many active village football clubs to can run its own local
football league. One such late addition was Mamone Berea FC, which was based in
the new section of Maroteng Ga-Sekwati. It is called Mamone Berea FC. I
remember their legendary player called Shuffle, who was my school mate at
Malekutu High School. My friend and also school mate, Mr Tjabadi, could not
stop talking about Mamone Berea FC, at school. This was until Moripane
Scientists FC visited them and defeated them terribly to Mr Tjabadi’s big
surprise.
CHAPTER 18/SCENE 18
- MAMONE DINOKO FC: Another latest addition to
Ga-Sekwati, Mamone, village football clubs. This community was forced removed from
Ga-Mmela, Jane Furse, to this section of Ga-Sekwati, Mamone. The Apartheid
government gave the reason that they were situated on top of the mine deposits
that they were going to mine at some future stage. Today their original area is
re-occupied by other residents and no mining ever took place. So many families
were broken down during the forced removal. Nevertheless, those who moved to
Ga-Sekwati, Mamone, reorganized themselves, and the village football club,
Mamone Dinoko FC, was one of the symbols of their new life.
CHAPTER 19/SCENE 19
- MANYAKA YOUNG CHIEFS FC: Ga-Manyaka is one of the
small and yet oldest villages of Ga-Sekwati, Mamone, village. Today the village
is surrounded by the fastest growing villages toward Jane Furse and Ga-
Mohlala. We are proud to mention that Manyaka Young Chiefs FC is one of those
village football clubs that participates in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater
Sekhukhune Region Development Football Exchange Programme.
CHAPTER 20/SCENE 20
- APEL-CROSS HUNGRY LIONS FC: The new section of the
great village of Ga-Masemola is Apel-Cross village at Lepelle. Once again, we
are proud to mention that Apel-Cross Hungry Lions FC is one of those village
football clubs that participates in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune
Region Development Football Exchange Programme. We know this young village
football club very well. It cannot claim to have contributed much to the
history of village football in Greater Sekhukhune Region, but their
participation in our development football exchange programme makes them crucial
for continuity. They are really a 90s club rather. But Ga-Masemola village’s
history in village football cannot be ignored. We will broaden our research
work in this great Batau village.
CHAPTER 21/SCENE 21
- PHOTO ROMAN RANGERS FC: Another legendary
village football club based at Ga-Moloi wa Madihlaba village, outside the
Glen-Cowie Roman Missionary in Greater Sekhukhune Region, hence the name Photo
Roman Rangers FC. The team was sponsored by the Romans at Glen-Cowie Missionary,
and was named as such. The Roman Missionary did a lot of community development
programmes in the area, until they were disrupted by the Apartheid government’s
hate for black advancement. They build the famous Guardian Girls School,
Glen-Cowie Memorial Hospital, Glen-Cowie Mill, and did a lot of farming in the
area. All these great things, including the sponsorship of the village football
club at Ga-Moloi wa Madihlaba were stopped by Apartheid government. What a
pity! This is the same story as Jane Furse Highlanders FC and Jane Furse
Memorial Hospital. I am fortunate that I was able to see the last years of the
great Photo Roman Rangers FC, including playing along one of their late great
players called Kaizer Komane. In his late years, Kaizer Komane, joined Moripane
Scientists FC. It was an honour for us to welcome him at Moripane Scientists
FC. We will forever honour him for what he did for our village football club.
Before joining us he also played for the famous Molepane Blue Jaguars FC.
CHAPTER 22/SCENE 22
- MARISHANE UNITED BROTHERS FC: This great intellectual
football club due to development brought by Bopedi Bapedi High School was
famously known as MUBS (for Marishane United Brothers FC). I regard this
village football club as an intellectual village football club since most of
its players were teachers and high school scholars from Bopedi Bapedi High
School, known as BB, which was a boarding school. This was the advantage as it
had scholars from many parts of South Africa, and they had time to dedicate to
playing football and doing their studies. Their players would speak English in
the field as they would be having players from other parts of the country who
would not communicate fluently in Sepedi, or sometimes it was just natural as
teachers to speak in English. I guess that this was also a strategy to use big
terms to confuse the opposition. But, for sure, MUBS was a mean-machine of
village football in Greater Sekhukhune Region. I wonder what happened to this
great team.
CHAPTER 23/SCENE 23
- MASHABELA DIPHIRI FC: The Ga-Mashabela village along the
Ngwaritsi River is a famous village football club. “Ke diphiri tsa mmakakola
sebata. Diphiri tsa fihla bosigo manamane a timela”. That is how they call
themselves. Mashabela Diphiri FC is one of the clubs that have participated in
COMETSA football exchange programmes between Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune
Region. We would like to see this relationship continuing. We will certainly
identify a research counterpart at Ga-Mashabela to capture the story of
Mashabela Diphiri FC.
CHAPTER 24/SCENE 24
- STRYDKRAAL HIGHLANDERS FC: Strydkraal is a
village outside Apel cross. Strydkraal Highlanders FC like Mashabela Diphiri FC
participated in COMETSA football exchange programmes between Gauteng and
Greater Sekhukhune Region. One of their leaders, Mr Mokwana is a keen supporter
of COMETSA football development programmes. We are glad that he is now a
teacher in Jane Furse. He will remain a link in this research project as we
want to know more about the history of Strydkraal Highlanders FC.
CHAPTER 25/SCENE 25
- MARULANENG HAPPY BOYS FC: This village football
club remains the historical milestone of the village of Marulaneng. I got to know more about Marulaneng Happy
Boys FC during my attending of the traditional “mountain school” – circumcision
ritual, at Ga-Kgosi Phetedi. I interacted with many of the players of
Marulaneng Happy Boys FC, like their famous player, Benji. The passion and fire
in their eyes, when they spoke about their village football club, caught my
attention. It is certainly a historical village club we would like to research
more and add to the Greater Sekhukhune Region village football write up and
documentary. South Africa has not done enough to learn about the tradition of
village football movement. Greater Sekhukhune Region should become the
beginning of this initiative to learn the true basis of the South African
football.
CHAPTER 26/SCENE 26
- PHAAHLA TIGERS FC: Another village football club to
have participated in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune Region
development football exchange programme. Phaahla Tigers FC is from Ga-Phaahla,
a village along Ngwaritsi River, neighbour to Ga-Marishane and Ga-Mashabela
villages. We are still to uncover the history of Phaahla Tigers FC. But we know
that this village football club has been around for a very long time. Those in
the know will definitely come forward with historical facts.
CHAPTER 27/SCENE 27
- MOGORWANE OCEAN SWALLOWS FC: The village of
Mogorwane has grown from few households to one of the fastest growing villages
in the Greater Sekhukhune Region. It is actually becoming an integral part of
Greater Jane Furse City, in the making. Their team used to be the whipping boys
of the region. Today with the village grown so big, I cannot imagine that the
situation is still the same. They remained traditional friends of Moripane
Scientists FC. The two villages share a lot in common. We expect Mogorwane
Ocean Swallows FC to continue growing into one of the strategic village
football clubs in Greater Sekhukhune Region. I am looking forward to talking
closely to the team and the legends of the village.
CHAPTER 28/SCENE 28
- DITSHWENENG FC: The name Ditshweneng is self
explanatory. This village is one of the very few villages that are deeply
embedded in the mountain range of Molapo wa Pula between Ga-Moloi wa Madihlaba
and Ga-Marishane field villages. The word Ditshweneng means the Place of the
Baboons. Indeed, there is a lot of baboons in this mountain range. This is
where most of us grew going to fetch wild fruits. We would always found
ourselves tussling for these wild fruits with the baboons. If you are not
careful and you wander alone, they would mock attack you. Ditshweneng FC is one
of the youngest teams in the region. Today the village has grown bigger and has
gone out of the mountain valley into the open. The Ditshweneng and Mogorwane
villages are growing toward each other, geographically.
CHAPTER 29/SCENE 29
- RIVERSIDE BLACK LIONS FC, later Riverside General Stars FC:
The name Riverside is common in South Africa and globally. The river that is
the source of this Riverside name, here, in Jane Furse is Ngwaritsi River. So
we are talking of Riverside village of Jane Furse. This is a very young village.
It is the first village in Jane Furse that was build according to a plan. The
stands were cut and people had to apply for stands, which became their address.
Today, this is the common practice in establishing new villages in Greater
Sekhukhune Region. It became the preferred settlement village for the young and
new couples. It has the status of being
progressive and advanced as most educated and successful people settled here.
Obviously, this has changed today. Every new settlements in Greater Sekhukhune
Region are properly planned. Riverside Black Lions FC was started by the
entrepreneur, Mr Moropane, who ran a well liked shop at Riverside village. His
shop became famous for fresh fat cakes it was selling. He assembled very
talented players in this young village. We at Moripane Scientists FC used to
underestimate them; thinking that we were the oldest and therefore they would
not defeat us. When they defeated us, it was always very painful. When my
visiting scholar uncle, Mr Alex “Sugar Ray” Matheba, became friends with his
fellow school mates at Riverside Black Lions FC and joined their team, a “war”
erupted at Moripane village. We felt betrayed. He stayed at Moripane village
but played for Riverside Black Lions FC. The worst was that then Moripane
Lekatika Loss My Cherrie FC (later Moripane Scientists FC) was led by my late
uncle, Mr Zebra Patjane. My uncle, Mr Alex “Sugar Ray” Matheba, stayed with us
at my grandparents’ house at Moripane village. This was the most confusing era
for me, and this is when I started understanding this is just a game, not a
war. This is something that I could not do when I moved to stay with my other
late uncle at Riverside, Mr Nathaniel Phashamakgwale Patjane. I stayed at
Riverside village but continued to play for Moripane Scientists FC. Riverside players
tried to recruit me, but I could not leave Moripane Scientists FC. Riverside
Black Lions FC changed the name to Riverside General Stars FC, named after
their new leader, Delux DnD “General” Mabe. Riverside General Stars FC has its
own history that must be researched to establish their contribution to village football
in Greater Sekhukhune Region. What we know is that the great entrepreneur of
Riverside village, Mr Rob Riba, took over responsibilities of the club. He
sponsored the club for a long period. He has certainly contributed to its
growth as a village football club. The team is still based at his shop, which
is until today the most common meeting point of the people of Riverside village.
We would like to engage with Mr Rob Riba about this club and find out what role,
according to him, the club played in Greater Sekhukhune Region.
CHAPTER 30/SCENE 30
- RIVERSIDE NTOTOMENG FC: This is another
village football club at Riverside village that did not exist for a long time.
But Riverside Ntotomeng FC made a quick great impact on village football in
Riverside and at Greater Sekhukhune Region. It was named after a pile of soil
as a result of road construction in the area. That is what the name Ntotomeng
means. They were seen as spoilers as they introduced competition to Riverside
General Stars FC when everybody in Riverside village thought they could have
consolidated and built one strong club in the village. The two clubs were
separated by the main road to Jane Furse. So, it was easy to build two separate
identities between the two village football clubs. I do not remember the two
clubs playing regularly against each other.
CHAPTER 31/SCENE 31
- RIVERSIDE YOUNG KILLERS FC: When my cousin, Dan
“Ten Ten” Patjane settled down at Riverside village, he joined Riverside
General Stars FC as a coach. He later left them to establish a new village
football club called Riverside Young Killers FC. This is just a confirmation of
appetite for new village football at Riverside village. This is definitely not
the last time we saw new village football clubs emerging from Riverside
village. We are proud to mention that Riverside Young Killers FC is one of
those village football clubs that participates in the COMETSA Gauteng and
Greater Sekhukhune Region Development Football Exchange Programme. This is not
a village club of the 70s and 80s but a product of that movement of village
football clubs.
CHAPTER 32/SCENE 32
- MAKALANENG SMODERN FC: This is another of the
late entrance in the Greater Sekhukhune Region. The people of Makalaneng are
part of the community that was forced removed from Marble Hall region to
Greater Sekhukhune Region, and they settled at Makalaneng outside Jane Furse.
They were very wealthy with livestock when they arrived. But due to poor
gracing fields they lost their livestock. They had a very strong village
football club that continued without disruption. They immediately introduced
their village football club, Makalaneng Smodern FC, to Greater Sekhukhune
Region. They contributed immensely to the competitiveness of village football
in the region.
CHAPTER 33/SCENE 33
- VLEISCHBOOM LINTI FAST ELEVEN FC: This village football
club is one of the very few clubs that had corporate sponsorship. Almost all
their players worked for the biggest bakery in Greater Sekhukhune Region, Linti
Bakery in Vleischboom, hence the name Vleischboom Linti Fast Eleven FC.
Travelling was not a problem for them, since the bakery had bakkies. This
bakery supplied the whole of Greater Sekhukhune Region with bread. So, it was a
very famous and most known village football club in the region. They were a
marvel to watch when playing. It is a disappointment for the region that this
team could not continue in its original form.
CHAPTER 34/SCENE 34
- MALAKA ELEVEN EXPERIENCE FC: Ga-Malaka is one of
the big villages in the mountainous region in the southern part of Jane Furse
at the top of Ngwaritsi River. It is neighbouring Thoto and Eensaam villages.
These three villages are located in one of the fertile land that used to be
farming land by some white farmers. Actually, my grandfather, Mr Nchwape Tsima,
lived and died in this area. We recently visited his grave. He, apparently
married seven wives, hence the Tsima clan is big, diverse, and complex. Malaka
Eleven Experience FC is one name of a village football club that always
intrigued me. I could not reconcile with the name Malaka Eleven Experience FC.
The brand of football they played is what won me over, especially considering
that it took us, Moripane Scientists FC, forever before we could defeat them.
When our time came and we defeated them, during our football tournament at
Moripane village, they could not accept it, and they walked out of the field.
That is how bitter the rivalry between Malaka Eleven Experience FC and Moripane
Scientists FC was. Surprisingly most of their players and our players played
for the same mining football clubs in the Witbank mining region. But when they
came home during the Christmas times for the traditional annual soccer
tournaments they were the worst enemies.
CHAPTER 35/SCENE 35
- THOTO SHINNING STARS FC: This is another big
village football club in the southern part of Jane Furse, at the top of
Ngwaritsi River. Thoto is the actual home place of my grandfather, Mr Nchwape
Tsima. I have never experienced a game
between Moripane Scientists FC and Thoto Shinning Stars FC. It is however, one
of the famous village clubs in the region. I only heard about them from my
uncles. But on visiting this village to reconnect with my grandfather’s place,
I felt in love with the area. It is a beautiful village on the bottom of a
beautiful mountain range. Even from the distance, as you travel from
Groblersdal to Jane Furse, you cannot help wishing to be driving toward there
as either a short-left tourist or just a guest. The people are just so friendly.
We are looking forward to learning more about this legendary village football
club and their great footballers of yesteryear.
CHAPTER 36/SCENE 36
- NTWANE FC: Unlike Ga-Malaka and Thoto villages,
this neighbouring village is extremely small. Yet Ntwane FC is the village
football club I have played against a number of times. They had particular
talented footballer who could carry the whole team. It was always a great
experience to visit Ntwane village and be welcomed by their small village
crowd. Ntwane FC will always have a special place in my heart. I had great
experience playing against them as a member and player of Moripane Scientists
FC.
CHAPTER 37/SCENE 37
- MOLEPANE BLUE JAGAURS FC: Ga-Molepane is a
mountainous village, south-east of Jane Furse. It is a home to my mother’s aunt
who is married to the Maelane. I have never feared a village football club like
Molepane Blue Jaguars FC. I always wished that Moripane Scientists FC never
played against Molepane Blue Jaguars FC. They were just too good for us,
according to me. When I learned that Molepane Blue Jaguars FC were visiting us
at Moripane Scientists FC, and I knew that my cousin, Dan “Ten Ten” Patjane,
and I were the only reserve players, I had the worst week of my life. I prayed
that none of our players got injured. I was not keen to play against Molepane
Blue Jaguars FC. I was just too scared of them. Our top eleven players were
very good. Our team was a combination of talent and hard working players. The
day arrived, and indeed the team in blue, Molopane Blue Jaguars FC, arrived. As
expected my cousin and I were on the reserve bench. At half time the score was
0-0. One of our players had to be replaced. Our team leadership decided to
bring my cousin in, instead of me. My heart started beating even faster. To the
surprise of everyone, in the first 20 minutes of the second half my cousin made
a historical contact with the ball and scored the only goal of the day. It was
not a great goal, but it remains a historical milestone. Molepane Blue Jaguars
FC had been defeated by Moripane Scientists FC. And I was saved. I never played
against Molepane Blue Jaguars FC. I however, played alongside one of their former
greatest players, the late Kaizer Komane, at Moripane Scientists FC.
CHAPTER 38/SCENE 38
- DITLOU YOUNG ANGELS FC: The current club that
is active at Ga-Molepane village is Ditlou Young Angels FC, under the
leadership of Mr Mogoru. It is one of the village football clubs in Greater
Sekhukhune Region that participated in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater
Sekhukhune Region development exchange programme.
CHAPTER 39/SCENE 39
- PHOKWANE THOSOLENG FC: The community of
Phokwane is under the chieftaincy of the Maserumules. They are originally
Ba-Matlala wa Phokwane. There are three Matlala villages in Limpopo that must
always be distinguished from each other, namely Matlala wa Phokwane, Matlala wa
Mohwelere in Tsimanyane, and Matlala wa Thaaba in the northwest of Polokwane
City. The village football club, Phokwane Thosoleng FC, just like Molepane Blue
Jaguars FC, was one of those village clubs we were very scared of. It is also
one of the clubs that Moripane Scientists FC played against ones and defeated
them never to play them again. I clearly remember the game we played against
them in a soaking rain. My brother (son to my aunt), Clive “Babsy” Ramushu,
from Manganeng Batau Young Killers FC, at Manganeng village, had visited
Moripane village, for a number of weeks. He played for us in those weeks. He
was our secret weapon for the game against Phokwane Thosoleng FC. Unlike the
game against Molepane Blue Jaguars FC, I was looking forward to play against
Phokwane Thosoleng FC. I had matured in my game and then motivated to play
against the so called big village football clubs. And, in this case my brother,
Clive “Babsy” Ramushu was like Jairzinho arriving for Kaizer Chiefs. We played
against Phokwane Thosoleng FC at their home, in Phokwane. Indeed, my brother,
Clive, lived up to his reputation. He inflicted damage on Phokwane Thosoleng
FC. Moripane Scientists FC emerged victorious. We were happy. In those days a
win was all what we wanted, nothing more. We played for the pride of our
villages and village football clubs.
CHAPTER 40/SCENE 40
- MGABABA RESTEN FC: One of the youngest villages
outside Phokwane is called Brooklyn Mgababa. This is the home of the village
football club, Mgababa Resten FC. My aunt, Ms Ramokwena Ramphisa, is married
into Ramphisas at Brooklyn, Mgababa village. It is also one of the village
football clubs in Greater Sekhukhune Region that participated in the COMETSA
Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune Region development exchange programme. We will
need to obtain more data about Mgababa Resten FC during the research work.
CHAPTER 41/SCENE 41
- BAROKA BA NKOANA HOT BEANS FC: Ga-Nkoana is one of the
biggest villages in the Greater Sekhukhune Region. The pride of this village in
the 70s and 80s was their then village football club, Baroka Ba Nkoana Hot
Beans FC, alias “Dinawa Tsa Go Fisha”. They were ruthless at home games. I
would always love to listen to the Radio Lebowa announcer during Tsa Dipapadi
Programme on Friday evenings, or Dipoelo tsa Dipapadi on Monday evenings, when
he announces about Baroka Ba Nkoana Hot Beans FC. He would only say Dinawa Tsa
Go Fisha, and we will know which team he was talking about.
CHAPTER 42/SCENE 42
- ATOK THE BROOMS FC: This is one of the few corporate
owned football clubs in Greater Sekhukhune Regions. It belonged to the Atok
Mining Company. Of course, it had unfair advantage to other village football
clubs in the region due to the financial support it received from the mine. My
question is why didn’t the mining company take Atok The Brooms FC to the
highest level of football in South Africa? This would have done well to Greater
Sekhukhune Region and South African football. It is never late, though. The
company is still there. We hope that this research project will inspire the
mining industry in Greater Sekhukhune Region to invest in local village football
development in the region. I recall very well that Penge Mine also had a
football club.
CHAPTER 43/SCENE 43
- MAILA CHIEFS FC:
Ga-Maila
Segolo is a big village outside Schoonoord in Greater Sekhukhune Region. Their
flagship village football club is called Maila Chiefs FC. I am not sure if it
still exists. I remember one game we, Moripane Scientists FC, played against
them at a tournament at Ga-Moretsele village. That game was washed away by rain
in the morning and had to be replayed in the afternoon. We lost dismally. I am
mindful that there are two Ga-Mailas in Greater Sekhukhune Region, namely
Ga-Maila Segolo and Ga-Maila Mapitsane. They both have strong village football
clubs with great reputation in the Greater Sekhukhune Region. We will unpack
this during the research project.
CHAPTER 44/SCENE 44
– MARETLWANENG FLYING STARS FC:
Maretlwaneng
is a small village after Ga-Phaahla, next to Lobethal Missionary, on the
riverbanks of Nwgaritsi River. It is also one of the village football clubs in
Greater Sekhukhune Region that participated in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater
Sekhukhune Region development exchange programme. We will need to obtain more
data about Maretlwaneng Flying Stars FC during the research work. The
relationship between COMETSA and this village football club was facilitated by
Mr Isaac Mphela, who is the resident Maretlwaneng village and a member of
COMETSA.
CHAPTER 45/SCENE 45
– KGARI OCEAN SWALLOWS FC:
Kgari
village is one of the villages in the Mashabela area, on the Ngwaritsi River
banks.It is also one of the village football clubs in Greater Sekhukhune Region
that participated in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune Region
development exchange programme. We will need to obtain more data about Kgari
Ocean Swallows FC during the research work. COMETSA was introduced to Kgari
Ocean Swallows FC by Mr Mike Selepe of Mashabela Diphiri FC.
CHAPTER 46/SCENE 46
– MOLEBELEDI CITY ROCKS FC:
Molebeledi
village is one of the small villages at Ga-Mashabela. It is actually located in
the mountainous part, which could easily be left out of any development programme.
We are glad that COMETSA football development exchange programme could reach
Molebeledi City Rocks FC. They are therefore recognised as one of the village
football clubs in Greater Sekhukhune Region that participated in the COMETSA
Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune Region development exchange programme. We will
need to obtain more data about Molebeledi City Rocks FC during the research
work.
CHAPTER 47/SCENE 47
– MASEMOLA JUNIOR BUCS FC:
The
Masemola village is one of the biggest villages in the Greater Sekhukhune
Region, and has a strong history in village football. We are glad to have both
Masemola Junior Bucs FC and Apel-Cross Hungry Lions FC as two of the many
village footballs in the region that have participated in our development
football exchange programme. It is also one of the village football clubs in
Greater Sekhukhune Region that participated in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater
Sekhukhune Region development exchange programme. We will need to obtain more
data about Mgababa Resten FC during the research work.
CHAPTER 48/SCENE 48
– TSWAING GATAS FC:
Another
small village in the Apel area, whose village football club, Tswaing Gatas FC
has participated in the COMETSA Gauteng and Greater Sekhukhune Region
development exchange programme. We will need to obtain more data about Tswaing
Gatas FC during the research work.
NB:
If you are a citizen of Greater Sekhukhune Region, i.e. Sekhukhune District
Municipality, and you remember other legendary village football clubs, players,
administrators, owners, and sponsors, I have not covered in this write-up,
please let us know. We want to hear about those legends and acknowledge them. We
also welcome input from any other region in the country that has a very rich
history of village football clubs. We will add such inputs to this project.
PROJECT
FACEBOOK PAGE: visit
the Facebook page of the Project directly, like the page and participate in the
discussion on this project, https://www.facebook.com/Cometsa-Research-Project-Village-Football-Clubs-SA-1714091952156685/
COMPANY
FACEBOOK PAGE: Visit the Facebook page of COMETSA Jane Furse Sekhukhune FC (Pty) Ltd,
like the page and participate in the discussion on this project and other
projects of our company. Click this link to access the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Cometsa-Jane-Furse-Sekhukhune-FC-Pty-Ltd-1687742398138949/
or
RESEARCH
PROJECT FOLLOW UP: We would like to continue with this
project of capturing great village football memories of Greater Sekhukhune
Region, and hopefully inspire these villages to resuscitate their football
heritage, and grow football in the region. This will inspire us and other regions to grow village football. It is sad that we have not been able
to produce professional footballers from this region. This will have to change,
and we hope to contribute to this change.
Contact the following officials of
COMETSA Jane Furse Sekhukhune FC (Pty) Ltd, who are based at Jane Furse:
- Mr Dominic Kgobise “Touch” Patjane; Cell 076 784 6362 or 076 665 2713
- Mr Mike Mabushe Tsima; Cell 076 190 4754 or 082 504 4556
- Mr Simon Manamelane Mphela; Cell 078 751 9299
You are also welcome to write to me directly at:
Mr Sam Tsima, President & Chairman, COMETSA GoC
International (Pty) Ltd,
P.O. Box 1126 Isando 1600;
Comments
Post a Comment