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The community of Libode in the Eastern Cape has begun to see great success in the establishment of girls football as a result of the Leading the Game project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, through UKSport IDS and implemented by SCORE.

Libode is located about 30kms from Mthatha and about 50kms from the coastal town of Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Libode forms part of the Nyandeni Local Municipality, which is largely rural with 79% of its households residing in traditional or village type settlements while only 20% reside in urban informal. Among the 55,760 households of Nyandeni the majority (36%) of the population do not have access to regular monthly incomes and another 41% have incomes of less than R800 per month. For more information visit http://www.nyandenilm.gov.za.

In March 2008, Mr Xolile Joja, a young man from the community, was one of the participants trained in SCORE’s schools programme called Youth Leads, a learner to learner leadership development programme, where older learners are trained (by teachers and community youth) to organise events and activities for younger learners in the school. After training, the learner leaders organise inter-class football competitions and festivals integrating key HIV/AIDS and health messages through Kicking AIDS Out activities, and involve the majority of other learners from all classes – thereby putting their newly learned skills into practice.

In June 2008, the South African Football Association (SAFA), a key stakeholder in the project, conducted a beginners’ coaching course in the Eastern Cape for teachers and community youth involved with the project. Mr Joja and Nophiwe Ndyi, a school teacher and SCORE’s Contact Person in Libode, were two of the people trained.

After attending the training courses, Mr Joja saw that the girls in Libode were interested in playing football and he decided to help them. He began coaching a team of girls under the age of 16 and they began to practice as a team, training together regularly at least two or three times a week. When asked why he became involved in coaching the girls, Mr Joja responded: “The girls are very interested in sports and I wanted to show them why sport is important to keep their bodies healthy and to keep them away from drugs.”

Two years later, Mr Joja is still involved in coaching the under 16 girls’ team, and this year also began coaching a team of 12 and 13 year old girls after the younger girls had seen them practising on the football field each week, and also wanted to play and be coached as a team. He had to appoint an assistant coach, as he didn’t have time to coach both teams fully for all practices. Both of Mr Joja’s girls’ football teams play in a league of 8 teams, with regular weekly games. In May 2009, the U12 team from Libode won the Provincial Girls’ Football tournament held in East London, organised by SCORE.

SCORE’s provincial staff trained the teachers and community volunteers and have continued to play a role in mentoring and support, through regular site visits and quarterly provincial contact person forums. SCORE has also enabled the community to participate in SCORE’s other programmes, like the Cup of Heroes. In 2008, the under 16 girls’ team linked up with some boys in Libode to form a team to compete in the Cup of Heroes competition. The team played football and netball, and mixed teams in both sport codes, showed off their Xhosa culture and community service project. Through the efforts of the girls on the team, the Libode community team won their Regional competition in the Eastern Cape to qualify for the Cup of Heroes International Competition in Johannesburg in September 2008. Geoff Arbourne, SCORE’s former Provincial Co-ordinator in the Eastern Cape commented: “There was not only a positive experience - with a stronger feeling of bonding and togetherness within the team, but the meeting, cooperation and networking with participants from other communities also contributed to building social capital.”

Nophiwe Ndyi added that being part of the team has created a safe place for the girls to talk about other issues, like teen pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and alcohol abuse at home. She said “Sport is everything for the kids and they want to go forward in sport”, despite the challenges of playing on improvised football grounds and sometimes with limited equipment. She is hoping that some of the girls will go on to choose football as a career.

As the girls continue to be enthusiastic about the sport, developing their football skills and playing in a league, the next step is to assist them in establishing a football club in the community. Additional training will also be given to the girls to strengthen their football and leadership skills, as well as further addressing issues of health and sexuality and self awareness.

In 2010 South Africa will host the FIFA World Cup, and SCORE will use this significant moment to demonstrate the progress and successes of the project – and to bring the excitement of the World Cup to community level. This example shows how the Leading the Game project is already achieving results in communities, meeting very real needs and changing lives through sport.

Leading the Game Project Newsletter [PDF, 850k]

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