Soccer Field of Violent History, Soccer in South Africa
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on January 24th, 2010
Soccer coach Gino Williams was just a boy of about 10 when he ran through chaos from this soccer field as police fired on the community gathered there in Paballelo, a township of Upington in 1985.
The historical soccer field in Paballelo
The Paballelo community used the soccer field for town meetings at the time, as they were forbidden to use any building, since gatherings of 5 black people or more were banned by the Apartheid government of the time, for fear that they were conspiring against the government.
During this meeting, Gino tells us, Police arrived and warned them that they had 5 minutes to disperse. According to Gino they were not given these 5 minutes before police began firing tear gas into them. Many residents were injured. A very scared little boy, Gino ran with the others, then remembered his mother was barefoot and ran back to look for her.
Some time later a fight broke out just behind the soccer field, between residents and a local policeman. There was much anger over the shooting and as the anger and frustration grew, the policeman ended up being killed by necklacing; the term used for when a tyre is placed over someone’s head so it sits around the neck and is set alight.
26 men were charged for the murder. The Upington 26 was the name given to the case and the men held in prison during the long trial:
“The Upington 26 story details the events of the killing of a policeman in Paballelo and the dramatic trial that followed. In 1985, at a soccer field near the entrance of Paballelo, the Paballelo community gathered to discuss rental problems they were experiencing. The events that followed entail tear gas being thrown by the police, the crowd panicking, an 11 year old boy being shot and paralysed by the police and a policeman being killed. Fifty-four people were held after the riot, 26 were charged and 14 people were sentenced to death, including a 60-year-old woman and her husband, for the so-called ‘common purpose’ killing of the policeman. They were all eventually released.” (http://www.openafrica.org/route/kalahari-oasis-route)
Soccer training, carry them accross the field
Now in his early 30’s, Gino works for the Upington council and started this soccer club as his own initiative five years ago. He believes the youths need to be kept busy in this positive way. He tells us that many of his players live in depressing situations, in very poor circumstances, but that you wouldn’t know it to see them on the field. He believes being part of a soccer team keeps them out of crime and away from local gangs and he points out several boys as specific examples, saying that he has seen real change in them.
He points out some difficulties although there is no need. We can see the state of their training field, it is littered with glass and other rubbish and one of the goal posts has been sold for its metal. The local stadium is far too expensive for them to hire, he explains. Perhaps the most worrying, and yet what would seem the most basic, is transport between venues for games.
Games are often in different towns around Upington and taxis and buses are far too expensive. So the teams have to travel on the back of bakkies (utes) at the mercy of the driver. In this way accidents have happened, Gino shows us his hand that it seems has had massive skin grafting and he calls over a player to show us the huge scar across his head. It seems they were lucky, 3 of his players are no longer able to play.
Soccer training, musical footwork
We photograph their soccer training, which, in keeping with South African initiative that we have encountered, is entertaining and inventive. Footwork drills are carried out energetically and musically – I marvel when I hear their counting in unison change to song.
This weekend the games are at their local stadium, walking distance.
Keturah de Klerk - Photography Life
Kalahari Cameras - Soccer in South Africa
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on January 20th, 2010
Spectators tries to hide from the hot kalahari sun
We weren’t going to photograph. We were tired, so we were just going to approach the soccer coach and check when they would train during the week.
Of course, once out on the red dirt of this Kalahari soccer field in the Northern Cape of South Africa, speaking to the coach and spectators of the game with their fold-up chairs and umbrellas for the brutal sun, it didn’t take long for Morne to say he was going to get a camera from the car, I just nodded.
It’s a fantastic location, to us it epitomises South African soccer. The dirt is a fine grain of red-brown coloured Kalahari sand, that is kicked up easily by the feet and settles again as a fine layer of red dust on your legs. The field boundary has been drawn in this iconic dirt with a stick and holes in the goal net have been fixed with black plastic bags.
Action on the red sand
The field separates the township and the highway and motorists honk their horn in support of the game as they drive the last leg into Upington from Cape Town, 800km away.
Despite being the first game of the year, the action is gripping as bodies soar into the air and slide along in the dirt.
Morne had not been out long with his camera when he had a small following of children checking out his shots. This had been common at all soccer games we have photographed around South Africa, but this time a new interest was shown. Rather than jumping in front of the lens to get in the pictures, one boy found a long reed stick, threw its length over his shoulder, picked up the shorter end and copied Morne in holding it like a camera, shooting the game!
This was too much for me, I grabbed the car keys and went to get the other camera from the car, I had to photograph this!
Two photographers shooting the action
Slowly more and more boys were finding cameras in all sorts of props; a section of water hose could actually be looked through, plastic drinking bottles and cans made the clicking noise of the shutter and they would take my photo with it, then show me the image on the back!
Finally the original little photographer regained his status at the top, sticking the bamboo stick (now appropriately shortened) through the shorter hose pipe and into the top of a Powerade lid, thus creating his lens with focusing ring and all!
No doubt we will see them again as we plan to return to this great spot for some soccer training.
Cheers
Keturah de Klerk - Photography Life
Hope in the Ghetto
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on January 18th, 2010
A big part of our soccer project has been driving around and finding people through sheer luck. Actually, it has not been that hard, as people play the beautiful game absolutely everywhere around South Africa. Today we made our own luck and met up with some people from Oasis, an organisation that teaches underprivileged children life skills through soccer.
Boys wait for their turn in the skills drill
We met up with them about a twenty minute drive from Cape Town, halfway to the suburb of Ottery, in the southern suburbs. Thomas, from Oasis, drove a small white bakkie (ute) with a canopy on the back and as we followed behind, we could see the ten or so faces squashed in the back. They had music playing and the bakkie hopped and swayed as they danced away while seated. The back door was open for air as the temperature soared into the high 30’s.
As we drove deeper into the suburbs, the landscape changed from manicured gardens to dustbowls. The streets had quite a bit of litter and the security fences grew higher and thicker. Finally we rounded a last bend and we could see an open field, with more sand than grass, the types of sports grounds that we had become accustomed to through our journey.
Piled into the back of the bakkie (ute)
On the one side there were bulky cement housing blocks, about 6 stories high. They were spaced apart at regular intervals and their walls were graffitied as high as one could comfortably reach. It had a real ghetto feel. The area looked poor but cheerful as the dreary cement was decorated in colourful patches where washing had been hung out to dry.
On another side of the field, sat an impressive mosque, which later on made the scene even more interesting as the call to prayer came over the loud speakers. In the distance you could see the back view of Table Mountain, not particularly clear at this time of day due to the haze, but still impressive nonetheless.
The children started off by dividing into two groups and warmed up with a selection of drills and skill exercises. The boys were all the same age group, 12 or 13 years old, and as they started their warm up, more people arrived from the neighbouring blocks of flats either to cheer or join in. The boys were really good, their ball control was great and they showed off their skills to the camera on more than one occasion.
After the warm-up it was game time. The goal areas were marked by small piles of clothing and shoes. The two teams had different coloured bibs and most boys played in bare feet. I noticed at least two boys with miss-matched shoes. One had a sneaker on one foot and a soccer boot on the other, while the other boy wore mismatched sandals. Many boys played in jeans or tracksuit pants even though the heat was almost unbearable.
The boys take the camera and turn the tables
Neither team had a full quota of players, but once again the skills were on show and we got many good pictures. As the game wore on, some spectators lost interest but found what we were doing irresistible. They posed and laughed, ran away and sprinted back again to have a look at their pictures on the back of the camera. One boy, after posing for many photos asked if he could use the camera to take a picture, I gave it to him and posed with a soccer ball. It gave him great enjoyment and his picture was not half bad. He walked forwards and backwards to get the focus right and clicked away merrily.
Some tricks on show
With the game finished, it was time to go. We could see without a doubt that this organisation made a difference to these boys. The game brought them together, giving them an opportunity that they might not have otherwise. They want to fulfil the same dream as so many of the South African youngsters we have encountered, to play soccer on the big stage. They want to be the next David Beckham’s or Christiano Ronaldo’s, however hard they must work to get there.
Cheers
Morne de Klerk – Photography Life
Soccer in The Township, South Africa
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on January 16th, 2010
Khayelitsha, Cape Town
Karate style is the way to pose for a photo
I’d heard that it was Cape Town’s Soweto, only these days, more dangerous. This was the information fresh in my head as we approached Khayelitsha, the infamous township of Cape Town, with our tour guide on a Sunday, ready to find more Soccer in South Africa photographs.
As usual I was taking the advice of the South African locals with a grain of salt and felt ok about our tour. We had told our tour guide Jenny or ‘Nomvoyu’ as she had been unofficially named by a Xhosa friend, that we were specifically looking to photograph people playing soccer in Khayelitsha, which she had assured us was fine. However as we approached the township she casually mentioned that as it was a Sunday, she wasn’t sure how we’d go with the men doing the Sunday drinking thing, she then launched into telling various stories of close encounters she’d had while doing tours.
It was the first time our friend’s stories were starting to feel like they might ring true and I felt quite nervous as we drove through the informal settlements within the township.
There are approx 2 million people living in Khayelitsha, a township or location set in and behind the sandhills of the southern beach of Cape Town. It consists of formal and informal living areas, formal and informal business districts. The formal side has everything residents need from banks, shops and supermarkets. The informal CBD sells ready to assemble shacks and anything that can be sold, Jenny tells us that the shipping containers make great shops because there are no windows, owners can just lock up the front entrance and it’s totally secure.
Get the soccer ball in the crate!
Unfortunately the soccer fields were empty, it was still holiday time, residents explained. Finally though, as we’d hoped, we spotted some boys kicking round a soccer ball in the middle of a dirt side-street. In a semi-circle the game was to get the ball into the up-turned crate – all the better if it could be done via a trick. Walking over we asked the boys if we could take some photos, which they were happy for us to do and the interest of onlookers was sparked and friendly greetings exchanged. Still wary buy my nerves now quelled, we ensured we could get copies of the photos back to the boys via our tour guide and moved on.
Not far along we came across some younger boys playing on a small sandy field, the top of the soccer goal posts formed by small thin planks nailed together. Again we asked to take photos and we were warmly welcomed. Suddenly the unofficial game came to penalty shoot-out before group photos ensued. I think these children would have been happy to be photographed all day! But our tour time was coming to an end and we said our goodbyes.
Wooden plank goals and a sandy field
Soccer in the sandhills
In a side street
Again photographing soccer in South Africa had been successful, it again seemed to break down barriers and unite us all! (or was that the cameras and promise of photographs?)
cheers
Keturah de klerk - Photography Life
Game with a view
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on January 11th, 2010
Cape Town has been fairly frustrating for us as far as getting photos are concerned. At the moment it is still school holidays, or rather Christmas holidays, everyone is away!
The team trains at the foot of Table Mountain
In our quest for soccer photos in South Africa, we have often ventured into the poorer communities, I have not yet seen children play soccer on the street in a affluent leafy suburb, thus the areas where poverty is more visible is also where you get the beautiful African scenery. Children play barefoot, unworried by the thorns and bits of broken glass that sometimes litter the field. But in South African cities, this is also unfortunately where crime and seedy characters are often present.
So with 40 degree heatwave, Christmas Holidays and dodgy areas all against us, we started the 150 km drive to different areas around Cape Town’s outlying areas where we thought we might find some soccer.
The field looks down on Cape Town City
We started by driving to The Strand, around 10 km’s of beachside haven about half an hour east of Cape Town city. With white sandy beaches and warm ocean water (up to 21 degrees I am assured by a local diver) we were sure we would find a game of beach soccer somewhere. We were not disappointed, at least not at first. It turns out that one of the Cape Town areas most popular beaches was so packed we could not find a park anywhere nearby where we saw soccer. So we decided to head for another location.
We followed the road that hugs the coast all the way to Muizenberg, part of the greater Cape Town area and a popular surfing spot. Along the way fishermen were periodically dotted along the coast, a few kitesurfers enjoyed the windy afternoon and an ocean of seagulls, looking for an easy feed, took turns to hover in the air above the road and beach. Again we were disappointed as there was no real soccer happening, there were a few kids walking along the beach kicking a ball, but nothing worthy of pictures.
One of the team shows off his skill with Cape Town as a backdrop
Our last chance was a deserted area around Cape Town CBD, a picturesque soccer field that we had seen on a scouting drive a few days ago. It was getting late, and we decided to just do a drive-by before heading home. We were in luck, as we drove up we saw 4 guys in some soccer gear with a ball!
We approached the men hesitantly, but as with all the previous occasions, they greeted us with open arms and big smiles. They were happy for us to take pictures of their training session. Because of holidays, the others from their team could not be there.
The boys get together for a group photo
The field itself sits at the foot of Table Mountain, Cape Town’s most recognisable icon, and looks out upon the whole CBD and harbour area on the other side. As the setting sun lit up the scene, the guys showed off a few moves in front of the spectacular backdrop. The higher you can get in these circumstances, the better. Keturah got on my neck to get better elevation. A lady with a camera ordering around her ‘ladder’ while trying to keep steady and take pictures, it must have been a sight to behold.
The guys explained that they were from Sudan and had lived in South Africa for many years. They were avid soccer followers and very excited about the World Cup. One of the men said he already had his tickets for three of the games. He barracks for South Africa (Bafana Bafana) but did not think that they could go all the way to the final although he was very hopeful of one African team at least going all the way.
As we left, the guys did some goal kicking practice in front one of the most spectacular backdrops in South Africa, before calling it a day.
Cheers
Morne de Klerk
Desert Storm Soccer, South Africa
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on January 10th, 2010
Action on the field
An electrical storm approaching a desert town in the Kalahari with the late afternoon sun beaming orange light in on a hard, dry, rocky soccer field where two teams are about to play. It was perfect.
We approached the coach of one of the teams to ask if we could take photos of the soccer game and he immediately lined up the players for team photos, no problem!
Suddenly a spectator took us back to our car and showed us the tyre, an unmistakable hissing sound was coming from it. Unbelievable, three weeks of driving through three African countries with pot-holed roads and thorn-spattered elephant dung and our huge, hardy Pajero had succumbed here, in a seemingly car-friendly township just out of Upington, Northern Cape of South Africa.
We looked back at the perfect soccer scene longingly, jumped into the Pajero and gunned it back to Upington. At our friend’s place (whose Pajero it was), the tyre was quickly changed and re-fired by his enthusiasm we zoomed back to the town, our friend’s cry in our ears “go go go!”
loving the camera
The game was only at half-time and the light was still good! We grabbed a camera each and started shooting. At my end, behind a goal, children were simultaneously playing their own game and stopping in the middle of my view to pose for photos.
Spectators sat in front of their homes and along the sides of the field, be it on chairs, old paint tins or the rocky sand, it didn’t matter. The game and the spectators were passionate, as we’ve come to expect from soccer games of any calibre here in South Africa.
The game at a draw, the teams decided for a penalty shoot-out and immediately the spectators drew themselves right in onto the field to form a semi-circle around the goal.
the crowd goes wild!
As each team’s player took a turn at a penalty, one or another side of the crowd would go wild! And it’s a different kind of wild to what I’m used to in Australia, here it means running forward, jumping, screaming and dancing back to your spot for the next shot. As more and more shots are played, the excitement builds so that the anticipation dancing continues as the players swap and get ready for the next shot, then an explosion of energy consumes everyone and the winning team’s player is swamped in celebration.
cheers
Keturah de Klerk, Photography Life
Malawi Blues
Posted by admin in Travel Photography on December 21st, 2009
Our trip away from South Africa 2010 and the soccer world cup fever have brought us to Malawi where we have found highs and lows.
A tree stands among the houses in Chembe Village
I have not blogged for a while. I have been having too much fun in the crystal clear blue waters of Lake Malawi. As you drive into the village of Chembe on Cape Maclear in the South of the lake, there are all the scenes of the Africa you would expect. Poverty is clearly visible as you drive past young children sitting in the dirt, playing with sticks and sand. Goats roam free, nibbling on anything they can find. Driving on the sandy pathway amongst the densely built grass hut homes is a mission in itself, dodging chickens, street vendors and even a Boabab tree. The guidebooks hadn’t much described the village of Chembe, but somehow I pictured a western seaside village, manicured lawns with square city blocks and a bitumen road. It seemed like we had come to the wrong place. At this stage, we certainly were not expecting the tropical haven that we pulled into.
It is an extreme contrast. The resort style accommodation stretches along the beach, broken up with houses (huts really) and even fish drying platforms. The beachfront area of the resort is carefully and tastefully patrolled by local security and if locals linger too long while passing, they get a glare and a move-along from the hired muscle. Local people bathe and do washing in the shallow blue-green waters of the light brown, almost idyllic white sand as far as the eye can see, but beware if you ask to take a picture, it will cost you … “Money”.
People bathe and collect water from the lake at sunset
Tour operators and vendors hang around on the fringes of our property on the beach in a sort of gentleman’s agreement with the owners that they would not hassle patrons. Beware if you make eye contact though, they call out and try and coax you to their stall with promises of new items and different tours. Every time you approach, you get swamped, as the moment one person sees that you are near the ‘free-lance’ zone, others descend like seagulls to a hot chip to try and hawk their goods. The goods are of good quality though and very reasonably priced. It just depends how many times you would like to be asked to buy bracelets, or paintings or earrings or key chains.
a man with dried fish
Even leaving the accommodation for a stroll along the dusty pathways of Chembe leaves you feeling really guilty. The scenery is absolutely amazing. This is Africa, there are children and adults seemingly wandering aimlessly everywhere. The word “Hallo” is usually followed by “Give me money”, from children as young as 2 and 3 years old. It is hard to imagine where they have learnt this phrase, as they do not seem to know any other English.
I am sure that foreign tourists have come here for years and have taken lots but left little, Malawians have obviously realised that the balance was not quite fair, and this has also now had a negative influence on this small community. It has created a whole us-and-them feeling. Tourists rather stay inside the resort area for fear of being swamped by traders. You do not want to approach local Malawians for fear of being asked for money from these predominantly friendly, helpful people.
Children play and swim in the lake
If you look past this, work with them and give a little back, life becomes a lot less stressful, then you can also get to the other reason for being here - The Lake. There is still a LOT of fun to be had!
Cheers
Morne de Klerk
Smash Block
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on December 11th, 2009
We had a really cultural day today. A few days ago we paid a lot of money for a personal driver to take us into SOWETO, the notorious South Western townships of Johannesburg. Today, we got a ‘tour’ of a genuine slum shantytown for free.
A street scene in Smash Block
We are staying with a children charity in the Limpopo Province in the North of South Africa in our search for more soccer photos. The world Cup is coming and everyone is well aware of that.
Ladies cook up a storm
Our host, a modern day Mother Theresa, welcomed us in accompanying her to the year-end function of at the township clinic’s support group. They are a group of residents from the local community that support elderly and sick people in their homes, people who are too sick or frail to make it to the clinic itself.
Picture in you minds-eye your local year-end function. Some have formal dinner, a few drinks at the pub, or just a get together of work mates. But I bet you envisage at least four walls and air-conditioning!
The scene was set in the shade of a big old tree next to the clinic. The clinic consisted of 3 transportable offices, these had power and plumbing, but the rest of the houses in this 30 000 strong community did not. A few donkeys walked past in the distance, one chased the other with a loud hee-haw, nobody seemed to care.
Ladies show off the food
It was hot, there were flies and only limited shade. The proceeding started almost like a church service. Everyone got up and sang gospel songs in Xhosa, clapping and swaying. Because the community was of mix backgrounds, there were two speakers. One spoke in Sotho and the other translated directly after into Xhosa. It looked a little like a stand-up routine, as every so often there would be a word that could not be directly translated, then the speakers and audience alike would burst out in laughter.
Lunch, Chicken stew with rice, coleslaw beetroot and gravy
After a few speeches and a whole lot more singing, it was time for lunch. The cooks had been slaving away since six in the morning, cooking in huge cast iron pots over an open fire. They had to start early because they only had 3 pots and lots of different dishes to cook. Any navy cook would have been proud. With the large amount they cooked and the military precision to which they served up food for 50 people. Lunch was chicken stew, rice, coleslaw, grated beetroot and a beautiful gravy that tied it all together. It was rustic, but very, very nice.
We had to pick up one of the community members from his home, a fair drive into this makeshift city. The local iron ore mines act as a magnet for people seeking to make their fortune. Many come here from neighbouring countries and squat here as a temporary residents. Waiting to find work. Because the community is so mixed, our host told us, there is no sense of community and crime is rife.
A man carts water on a donkey cart
As you drive among the shacks, mostly made from tin and corrugated iron, it is hard to believe that roughly 30 000 people live here, mostly on a temporary basis. Many houses share the same ‘long-drop’ toilet and there are four points in the area where one can collect water. At the water point you will be charged a nominal fee to fill up your containers, but you have to cart them home yourself. Also the local entrepreneur’s have started a water running service. They load water containers onto the back of donkey carts and shuttle backwards and forwards between water points and houses, for a fee of course.
a store in the cbd area
A good town also has a business district, you can buy chickens, mobile phone credit, get a hair cut from one of the many salons or get meat from the butchery in the main street, albeit with donkeys, dogs and cats wandering the streets right next to the shops.
All up, in SOWETO we had to pay for an experience that was still very limited and we did feel like tourists. Here, the people were friendly and forthcoming. They fed us lunch, the same as what they had, they sang African Gospel and we had a township experience that money can’t buy.
It was great.
Ooh and almost forgot to mention, we were there on the wrong day for soccer, but on the two soccer fields in this area known as Smash Block, there are 3 soccer teams. Amazing.
SOWETO
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on December 9th, 2009
SOWETO. The name immediately makes many a South African uncomfortable. Ask any South African and they might mention words like crime, hardship, Apartheid, poor, riots, student uprising, Mandela etc. They will probably tell you to run the other way.
Spectators watch the game in SOWETO
I have not met many South Africans who have actually visited SOWETO before, as a tourist. Equally, I have never met an international tourist who had not gone there while they were in South Africa, miraculously they all survived to tell the tale.
I myself had always wanted to go and visit SOWETO, but have always been too scared to venture to the SOuth WEstern TOwnship. When we decided to do this photo project, we knew that we would need photos near the major landmarks. With the Soccer World Cup 2010 fast approaching, we though there would be no place more recognisable for Johannesburg than SOWETO. Home of the Orlando Pirates Soccer team, various soccer stadiums including Orlando Stadium which will be a 2010 venue. And also the colourfully painted cooling towers of the planned Nuclear Power station, which never produced any power.
So yesterday at the Tourist information place we asked the lady about Tours to SOWETO. Without hesitation she offered us the number of Obrey, she said that she knew him well and he is very dependable. I rang him and I did think the price that he quoted was a bit steep. Then I realised that this was Africa, we had to negotiate. I rang him back and after a bit of to and fro, the price had dropped by a bit. We were set to go the next morning at 10 am.
Spectators watch the game from the sideline
After going with Obrey, I would not recommend taking on the taxi-riddled streets of SOWETO by yourself if it is your first visit. Just about all the backpacker’s hostels offer organised tours, but we needed a more personal service (and a photographic model) and thus our private driver, Obrey.
I won’t write here about the history of SOWETO because I do not know enough myself about it. I will tell you about our experience. It was well worth it. I had imagined rows and rows of corrugated Iron shacks and immense poverty everywhere. Instead, we saw a lot of well-built houses, bricks and mortar, interwoven with poorer shacks. Some houses were half brick, with an extension made from corrugated metal. Many had nice patches of garden out the front. Propably the most interesting commercial initiative we saw, were ready made metal shacks. You can buy the four sides and roof, with holes ready cut for windows and door. Take this to your desired site and assemble. Our driver Obrey said that a ready made “house” could be as much as R6000.
We headed straight for the Hector Pieterson meseum. Hector was a 13 year old student protesting against the government policy that the local schools should be taught in Afrikaans, even though many students did not speak the language. He was shot and killed during the riot. A powerful picture was taken of another boy carrying the dead body of Hector down the street. This picture became a poster for the struggle against Apartheid. The museum does not take sides, but has many exhibits of powerful images and video that was taken during this time. It is very moving.
After that we went for a little sight seeing drive. We passed by the house that Nelson Mandela stayed in during his time in SOWETO. Right next door is the new restaurant/coffee shop tha we were assured is owned by Winnie Mandela, the ex-wife of Nelson. We saw women cooking and selling a kind of take-way, pap & vleis (porridge and meat) and mini bus taxis driving like they own the place!
Because we were focused on soccer, we decided not to doodle. We found a local soccer game being played and pulled into the stadium to take some pictures, the game looked very serious. One game was underway on the main field while other teams warmed up on the adjacent one. We stood out like sore thumbs! I could see one other white man, but I think he was a coach of one of the teams, he kept shouting instructions as they warmed up.
A man blows a plastic horn (vuvuzela) in support of his team
People looked at us funny, for all of about two seconds, then they went back to their serious game. Strangely, we almost felt welcome. A bunch of fairly intimidating guys crowded around a Vuvuzela (I think the spelling is ok), one of the trumpet horns that they blow at the soccer games. We timidly walked over and asked if he would be in a photo. He leapt at the opportunity. He started blowing wildly in all directions. It was loud.
After that we went to the cooling towers/smoke stacks. I had read that you can bungee jump off the top. I think that those days had come and gone. We pulled in almost directly next to the foot of these towers. The area looked DODGY AS! I asked Obrey if he thought it was safe before we got out. He was more concerned about Lions that Tzotsi’s. Seriously, as we walked into the area that was a deserted commercial district, it resembled the secene of a deserted New York City in the movie, I am Legend. I think this is why he was scared of the lions.
One of the cooling towers that is colorfully decorated
We did our photos as quick as possible and got the hell out of there. Obrey was great, No Problem, but I would’t have wanted to stay any longer. I can’t believe he was more worried about lions than totsies!
Cheers
Morne de Klerk
A Soccer Atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere - Soccer in South Africa
Posted by admin in Africa's Game, Travel Photography on December 8th, 2009
Soccer World Cup! Soccer World Cup! As we anticipated, the hype from the media here in South Africa is already huge. It was especially so before last friday - the draw for who would play who, you’d think it was the actual event already!
This was how it was on the radio at least. We were staying in rural towns and there, business as usual.
We are at least, finding what we thought we would when we planned this trip; South African people enjoying soccer in some form, in any situation, all the time!
Soccer fields are dotted along side main roads, with the goal posts often made from all sorts of materials and people playing in all sorts of gear - including in Crocs! (which must be harder than playing with no shoes at all surely?)
As we drive through villages we see children kicking a flat soccer ball down the street or back and forth to each other in their backyards. We’ve already seen it played in calf-length grass, on dirt and on cement. We’ve seen rugby kids playing soccer in their down-time.
We’ve also come across people who don’t like soccer at all of course. Are not interested at all, though some of these are still incredibly grateful that the Soccer World Cup is coming to their country in 2010, for suddenly the roads are being massively improved and stadiums are being upgraded (which one guy thought was pointless as all the new bits - even taps and the like in bathrooms, would be stolen soon after!)
Indeed there are road-works everywhere, we’ve been at the mercy of road signs indicating a 20 minute wait! Whereupon all the men get out of their cars to have a pee on the side of the road!
The radio stations are also encouraging entrepreneurship in preperation for the World Cup in the form of learning how to open and run your own accomodation.
From these radio stations we are also getting a feel that there might be a lack of confidence in the South African soccer team Bafana Bafana. Before the World Cup draw on Friday there was a lot of sentiment that they would not do at all well, that they were maybe a bit of a joke. Then at the same time there would be a push to support their nation’s team, to get behind them no matter what!
So we continue our project of photographing soccer in South Africa. We’ve achieved some great soccer photographs already and we’ve still got a long way to go! Hope you’re enjoying our images of soccer in South Africa.
cheers
Keturah de Klerk - Photography Life
Find Us On