Alex’s ‘Shorty’ never too short for women’s football
ALEXANDRA – The aim is to make the world an oyster for the girls once they leave the programme.
Simphiwe Dludlu may be famously known as ‘Shorty’ in her Alex neck of the woods due to her diminutive stature but trust it, she is never short when it comes to matters women’s football.
The coach of the U17 National Women’s Team that’s better known as Bantwana and one of the finest female footballers to come out of Alex and went on to captain Banyana Banyana, hosted the second episode of the Alex Girls Football Development initiative of her Simphiwe Dludlu Foundation in partnership with Mavu Sports Development, Afrika Tikkun and the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.
The programme was launched in 2019 as part of an initiative to encourage girls to aspire to play football and take them away from mischief such as early teenage pregnancy, dropping out of school, indulging in drugs and other substance abuse and developing and nurturing them into successful and prosperous citizens with an active role in the economic and lifestyle of the country.
The annual programme failed to pick up in 2020 due to the hard lockdown of the country due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic but with the relaxation of the lockdown rules that also affected amateur football, the organisers decided to revisit the initiative which was conducted under strict Covid-19 protocols.
Dludlu said the platform was a good development initiative for the girls not just in sport but in other spheres of human endeavour as it sought to build holistic human beings in the young girls who, one day will be leaders of this country in the various spheres of economic, political, social and sporting bodies.
“We’re looking to expand and grow bigger and also venture into other areas of the country where the need for this programme is also high. We want to help the girl child to realise her dreams too but we will do this development together with our male counterparts who already have the requisite developmental skills.”
Dludlu said some of the girls on the programme have never kicked a ball in their life but are eager to learn. “We want the programme to be so effective such that once they go through the programme, the world becomes their oyster.”
