This is not the first time TOUCHLINE suggests that there is a serious need for Sedibeng to have Football Indaba, to look deep into our souls as a region. This is what I told Lesedi FM’s Sports presenter Sibili Molefe in an interview recently when she asked me what is needed to have a professional soccer club in this region taking to consideration how many players come from Vaal. My immediate response was that, “We need a Football Indaba to have a deep conversation about the state of the development of football in this region. This region continues to produce professional footballers regardless of the fact that we have not had a professional football for sometimes now. This tells you some about the development of football in this region. Thanks to the development coaches who continue to develop players despite the circumstances. It tells you about the level of commitment from the development coaches from this region regardless of lack of resources. The biggest challengein this region is lack of financial muscles to empower poor development coaches. This Football Indaba will address how we can empower development clubs to continue to feed South African football. It doesn’t mean if we don’t have a professional football team, football is dead in Sedibeng. Lack of ideas is our biggest problem here to have a topflight football. The problem is that people with financial muscles don’t believe investing in the development of our football. The only time they invest in our football is through soccer tournaments. Did I hear somebody saying, “Here we go again, I told you Zacharia Nale hates tournament?” No, I don’t hate tournaments. TOUCHLINE is against the manner in which our talent is used for the love of money in this region. In the past, we all know that we used to participate in two big tournaments in this region, namely, the Pooe Festive Tournament and the UK Easter Soccer Tournament. But recently, there are tournament all over Sedibeng every weekend competing against Safa leagues. As a region, we need to have a deep conversation among ourselves if we are serious to have a professional club again in Sedibeng. Money is not a problem here but lack of ideas and know how is our biggest challenge. For example, the winner at the Pooe Festive Tournament takes home R100 000, 2nd prize R60 000, third placed R40 000 and when you calculate this money, we can buy a Glad-Africa Championshp status if the organisers are really serious about the development of football in this region. My plea to my good friend, Kgogi (Pooe) is that he should please consider this as something we must discuss come the Football Indaba. To make it worse, it is like we don’t have two teams that campaign in ABC Motsepe League in this region because we don’t have a proper working relationship as football people. It is everyone for himself and to ‘HELL’ with the rest! Sedibeng must have its own football Blueprint after this Football Indaba where generations to come will refer to.
