A Bright Future for Football in South Africa

[Beaussie]

Football's African adventure
November 17, 2004
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/
articles/2004/11/16/1100574465475.html


The North West Province has embraced Australian football, but could
the game yet conquer the rest of the country? Dan Oakes reports.

As St Kilda conducts its 10-day training camp in South Africa, starting today, it will discover that one small province in the backblocks of that rugby- and cricket-mad country is fast becoming the world's most unlikely AFL hot spot.

A submission by AFL South Africa predicts that within a year, there will be 3000 people in 50 teams playing the game in North West Province, on the border with Botswana. If the projection is realised, the province will have the biggest Australian football-playing population outside Australia and Papua New Guinea.

"We need to consider the opportunity that presents itself now and not miss the opportunity by sitting on our hands. We want to embrace what the South African people have been able to demonstrate," said David Matthews, the AFL's game development manager.

"The support doesn't always have to be financial. The sort of promotion that St Kilda are undertaking at the moment, we'll top that up with coach education, coaching seminars and promotional clinics over the next couple of years."

The head coach and executive officer of AFL South Africa, Steve Harrison, said yesterday that the enthusiasm in the province for the sport was infectious because of the similarity between the sporting cultures of Australia and South Africa. Harrison said that because the two countries were so competitive in cricket and rugby, many South Africans were curious about Australian football.

"The rate of growth really is exceptional," Harrison said. "I've been rounding up kids to come down and see the Saints this week.

"I visited four schools. I just went in there and saw the sports teachers. I walked in, had five- or 10-minute meetings, explained a bit about Aussie football - some already knew about it, some didn't - and said, 'Would you be interested in bringing some kids down on Saturday to train with these guys,' and all of them have agreed to bring down 40 or 50 kids."

The introduction of Australian football to the area was due to a combination of good fortune and persistence. Although Australian soldiers during the Boer War and miners in the late 19th century are documented as liking a bit of kick-to-kick, the sport took off in modern times after a South African boxing troupe competed at the Arafura Games in Darwin in the late-1990s and became fascinated with the game.

Over the next few years, the Crows visited the area and held clinics, as did an Australian Army contingent. But it only took off in 2001 when the AFL and the aid agency Australian Volunteers Abroad combined to send a development officer to the area.

Since then, Australian football has become an accredited sport at the prestigious North West Academy of Sport at Potchefstroom (where the Saints will train), and a plan has been put into place to introduce the sport into a further four of South Africa's nine provinces.

The AFL's commitment to South Africa is still not massive. The league kicks in $20,000 a year to promote the game, with Tattersalls (which has business interests in the country) and the South African Government contributing $180,000 between them. But Harrison and Matthews agreed that the most significant thing was the government support.

"The impressions that we've got are that the South African Government sees it, in some respects, as the sport for the new South Africa. There's no class element to it in terms of the history and politics associated with a lot of the sport in South Africa," Matthews said.

"We're excited by the rapid growth and we're excited by the fact that, in this case in particular, locals want to get very involved. I guess the main advantage we have is that there are cricket ovals everywhere. With cricket grounds everywhere and governments supporting us, who knows where we could take it?"

Matthews said the AFL's priorities were still in promoting the game at home, but the rate of growth could not be ignored. "South Africa is a very, very interesting possibility for the AFL. Longer term, you never know where this might end up," he said.

Harrison estimates there are 1000 people in the province playing in 25 to 30 teams, but he harbours grander dreams. In his submission, he said that the AFL could have membership of the South African Sports Commission by 2009, and the accompanying financial and logistical benefits.

"There's just so much to do," he said.


Fantastic news for the development of footy in South Africa. As the article suggests, the participation growth has been "exceptional" and with the South African government already on board and cricket grounds in abundance - the future possibilities are very exciting. Congratulations to all those involved in establishing real footy in South Africa.

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