Unifying power of sport needed again
• When rebuilding starts, SA can draw on example of prisoners’ Makana Football Association
Fourteen days of lockdown does not compare with years of incarceration on Robben Island, in any way. Right? Yet, a desire for physical contact with family and friends, developing the rhythm of a daily routine, a craving for sport and time to read and reflect does.
Our current lockdown gives us a real appreciation of the courage, generosity, forgiveness and vision of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada and others who suffered at the hands of their oppressors.
The elite ANC leaders emerged emboldened and humbled by their experiences and learning. Their extraordinary example should remain a beacon for us all.
On Robben Island, sport proved a unifying force. Thanks to the additional pressure from the International Red Cross, the SA authorities, in 1966, acceded to the prisoners’ constant requests to be given the right to play soccer. The Makana Football Association was formed.
A young Robben Island prisoner, Anthony Suze, said: “We played soccer on Robben Island with such passion and such detail — it was another way of survival. It is amazing to think a game that people take for granted all around the world was the very same game that gave a group of prisoners sanity and in a way it glorified us.”
The Makana Football Association had a constitution, a disciplinary committee and referees who took Fifa exams. This was a proper soccer league with clubs, officials, a commissioner and meticulous record-keeping.
By ensuring that the different factions played together, a common bond was established irrespective of political views.
The association stuck rigidly to Fifa regulations. This adherence to international standards gave the political prisoners a sense of dignity, a realisation of their good governance and a healthy release during their desperate plight. Small beginnings to great things. The ANC elite leaders’ doctrine of inclusion and equality of all those living in SA never wavered in those appalling conditions.
The coronavirus has sparked a revival of this doctrine.
This pandemic has revealed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership strength in times of imminent disaster. The Motsepe, Oppenheimer and Rupert families and Naspers have donated billions to assist those in desperate need, and many individuals have given what they can.
Religious and community leaders, non-governmental organisations and the medical fraternity, with support services, are tirelessly assisting the sick, poor and impoverished. Their courage is palpable. This inclusivity that the ANC leaders so desperately fought for has taken a large step forward.
The political prisoners understood the power of sport and its ability to transform.
“Sport has the power to change the world,” Mandela said. “It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”
The lesson of soccer from Robben Island is ubuntu at work and should be replicated.
Sport must be encouraged in all communities and schools, especially in the rural and desperately poor areas.
As the political prisoners did, the communities need to make the best of what is available. Before 1966, the prisoners fashioned soccer balls from paper, cardboard and string and played in washrooms during their rest periods in the afternoons.
The economy will be in desperate shape after the virus, and there will not be sufficient government funds to underwrite a national sports programme. Every community can organise a sports project. The good news is that there is, almost always, a Red Cross type of organisation or a willing company to supply some funds and impetus.
Schools with no facilities will need to start from scratch. A school quad with limited equipment will need to suffice in the early stages until the economy picks up.
Equipment support might come from a wealthier school, a sports supplier, retired sports people and so on. Former players might help with the coaching. This is all possible. It will be small beginnings, as from the washrooms of Robben Island.
Coming out of the lockdown, sport is essential: physically, socially and psychologically.
As in the aftermath of the 1929 economic collapse, there is, in the time of corona, no them and us — only us. We need to build back our strength and the vision given to us, a generation ago, by the elite ANC leadership.