The Ball is rolling in South Africa

Cape Town in February at five o’ clock in the morning. Disheveled and tired, we leave the airplane.  Us, that is Claudia Steiner and Benedict Steilmann, the education team at JUGEND DRITTE WELT. We are getting prepared for a school campaign on South Africa and the Soccer World Cup.

There have been many Soccer World Cups in the past, e.g. in Brazil or the U.S. Unforgettable events such as the World Cups in 1954 and the other legendary World Cup in 2006. Each one was special, but honestly: Who cares where the ball rolls? The main thing is that we win at the end!

Nevertheless, 2010 is special. The first Soccer World Cup in Africa ever. What does this mean for the Black Continent which usually gets only coverage in the news relating to civil wars, natural disasters and famines? As we drive from the airport to our lodging behind the Table Mountain, we can see it right away: The highways have become wider since our last visit. And the Green Point Stadium is almost finished, we hear.

The same news as for any World Cup. But what does this mega event mean for the people living in the poorly built shanties along the highways to the airport? A huge chance to prove to the world that Africans can do it; this is what the newspapers say. During the presentation of the World Cup Logo in Berlin, Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa, made it public that the World Cup would bring Africa's self-esteem back - likewise the 'Miracle of Bern' in 1954, when the Germans finally 'became somebody' after winning the World Cup.

In Khayelitsha we meet Taski Sitholee, the coach of the Masakhane United Football Club. Masakhane means ‚to help each other“ which is the motto of the club supported by a few Catholic organizations in Cape Town,among others by Don Bosco. And Khayelitsha is one of the largest townships in South Africa. Townships are a legacy from the Apartheid period, when black and colored people, Indian and Chinese were not allowed to reside wherever they wanted to but were strictly living according to the principle of 'race separation’.

Taski coaches his players on a free field amidst the houses of Khayelitsha. There is no soccer field and the lot reminds more of sandy farmland. All the same, 30 teenagers run over the field and follow Taski’s instructions with iron discipline. There are also a couple of girls. “A separate girls’ team, that is my next project,“ the coach announces, a novelty in the area.

On the soccer field, we talk with André. Is he looking forward to the World Cup? „Yes,“ he answers with gleaming eyes. ”The best players of the world will come to Cape Town, it is going to be great.“ You can see the pride in his face, the pride of his country hosting the Soccer World Cup.

Taski founded Masakhane United 2003 because of his own passion for soccer – and because he is convinced that soccer keeps children and teens away from the streets, ignites ambition in them and gives them identity. What does the World Cup mean for country, we asked him.

His faces lights up as he bends forward. “The Soccer World Cup was always an event which took place somewhere else. It was not part of our world. Now we show the world that we are also a part of soccer. All the sudden everything is here and we are part of the world."