Age cheating creaps into school soccer

A potentially thrilling school soccer match turned into a farce with the winning team likely to be disqualified for allegedly fielding ineligible player(s).

The match played at Altrec Sports Complex between Alex’s Realogile High School and Sedgewood Secondary School from Midrand was a district U15 decider for the K Motsepe Cup and Coca Cola Cup.

Realogile qualified for the game after victories over Eastbank and Alex high schools and only had Sedgewood and Highlands North to contend with for the district championship.

The match started at a frenetic pace and within 10 minutes of the first half Sedgewood was already three up through a scintillating display of soccer skills by their burly striker wearing the number 11 jersey who also slotted in two more goals in the second half before being substituted.

The striker, with an amazing burst of speed and strength, whizzed through Realogile midfielders and defenders with consummate ease raising eyebrows on his eligibility from Realogile teachers, coaches and some spectators. Also, fingers were pointed at his teammates who dwarfed all Realogile players.

Asked at half time, the referee who controlled the match well said players’ physical appearance had no bearing on the game as the teams had already passed through knockout stages where queries should have been raised.

Phumzile Mthiyane, sports co-ordinator and teacher at Realogile said all sports had fair play rules which should apply in particular at children’s games so that they can know their potential, play to their strengths and learn to lose with grace to their own peers.

“This game’s outcome shows that something wasn’t right, as our team won convincingly against previous teams through sheer skill, and most of the players play competitively in local teams every week,” she said.

Looking frustrated at the likely disqualification of his team, Dwain Dudley, head of sports at Sedgewood said it seemed the rules were not clear, as no questions had been raised in previous games.

Documents he produced for the players revealed that some of them were not South African citizens.

Helping to resolve the debacle, Percy Ndaba, chairperson of Region E sports council said the documents should have been accompanied by official Home Affairs letters confirming the players’ status in the country and at the school.

“As it is, Sedgewood may be disqualified with Realogile and Highlands North qualifying to the provincial level, as only two teams per district are expected to go through,” he said.

A report would be submitted to the sports and competitions authorities for a ruling.