Cape Town soccer, township style

World Cup joy lives in the townships

The newest addition to Camissa’s Township Tours, the social soccer tour is a chance to experience a cut of Diski (Township) soccer. While soccer has always been an important part of everyday township life, its popularity has soared in the light of the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa.

We started off the tour by looking over the area of Cape Town known as District Six, our knowledgeable guide giving us intense insight into the historical importance of the area - vividly describing the marginalisation of an entire society.

No boring lectures here, the info is riveting as well as eye-opening, which proved the theme for the afternoon. As a South African myself I was intrigued by the rich, albeit dark heritage of my country, and surprised by my own lack of understanding.

Langa’s styling soccer

From there we drove through to Langa – (all along the way learning some of soccer’s history in our country, including a brief history of Cape Town’s very own PSL teams, Ajax Cape Town and FC Cape Town Santos FC) the oldest yet smallest township in Cape Town after Khayelitsha, and where our guides themselves live or have lived. This fact lends a valuable authenticity to the info they provide, and also means they’re truly passionate about teaching others.

This is where the ‘soccer’ portion of the tour really started – where you have the chance to play against some local youths - if you feel up for the challenge; this is after all their favourite pastime, so don’t think they’ll go easy on you – but you can take it from me, its tremendous fun. And a quick way to meet some fantastic people from divergent backgrounds, eager to share their love of the game with you.

After half an hour of sweaty fun we left the car and started the pedestrian part of our tour, moving through the bustling streets of Langa, where our guide told us of some of the hardships the inhabitants of such townships have to endure; but also the joy and unity that is born from such adversity.

We visited homes with rooms two metres by two metres, an incredibly tight space where families of seven were forced to sleep due to poverty and lack of opportunities and skills – opportunities denied to most thanks to Apartheid and it’s legacy.  But they remain hopeful that soon the government will relocate them to better conditions.

Soul and culture

At this point in the tour you are given some time to reflect on the history you’ve been shown, as well as peruse the local market - a patchwork of creativity and craftsmanship, with all jewellery, bags and so on having been made by the same folks managing the sales. It was here that I realised how the inhabitants themselves appreciate these tours; because rather than just invading their lives, we learn from their experiences, bring in much needed commerce, and hopefully – have our eyes opened a bit.

To both the horrors of apartheid that forced these living conditions on them, and the current government that isn’t living up to its promises.

Getting back into the car and driving through to the township of Gugulethu we were shown further places of historical importance, both tragic and uplifting. The site of the Gugulethu Seven, and the street where activist Amy Biehl was murdered.

We saw firsthand how townships can hold deep suffering, and yet intense triumph. A raw example of the human experience.

A great meating place

On to Mzoli’s! A local hangout that has become rather well known in and around Cape Town, and highly spoken of by just about everyone who’s been there. And these days, that’s just about everyone – including one Jamie Oliver.

Arriving at the bustling grub house its easy to see why. Mzoli’s butchery is just one of the many places where locals come to escape their troubles, if only briefly. While liquor is not on sale, you are able to bring your own in, or buy from the bar next door. Meat is primarily the attraction – your options including lamb, beef, chicken or mutton. And Mzoli lays it on, at incredibly reasonable prices. 

While you’re filling your tummy here, you also get further chance to interact with locals, and get some insight into their lives. These are above all optimistic souls – many move to the townships because of the opportunities available, the chance for betterment. Even if often this is left unfulfilled. And even if many simply have no other option but to live in the cramped spaces; but these are their homes, and they make the best of it. Hey, lots love it. After speaking to some of them for even a short time, it’s easy to see why.

A township tour is exactly what its name implies, a tour of a township (shantytown as they are also known). But that simplicity misses what is a truly amazing experience. The chance to experience a cut of culture that is generally disregarded as ‘poorer’, people forced to live in shacks in close quarters under poor conditions because it’s all that they can afford.

And while certainly this is more often than not a part of it, Camissa showed us how much more there is to see – the spirit and living history of a people, a culture that, despite having lived in South Africa my entire life, I never knew existed. Centred on the theme of the beautiful game, showing how soccer is useful not just as escapism, but as a crosser of divides; blind to class, creed or colour.

By John Scharges

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