Sakhulutsha: Makana’s soccer kings

The recent Grahamstown soccer season has seen Sakhulutsha Soccer Development Project sides take the local game to the next level. The club’s senior team (U17) has cleaned up all the competition with their professional, holistic approach.

During the season the senior team won the Makena U17 league, the Easter Tournament and won the Makana Local Football Association Senior League with the same team.

The team then went on to represent the Makana LFA in the Engen U17 provincial tournament.

According to club development manager Siyabonga Masinda they were also the only team from the Eastern Cape to play at December’s Walter Sisulu U17 Discovery Tournament.

The players in the senior side have learned the winning formula from a young age, as they were previously U13 champions.

Sakhulutsha Soccer Development Project has teams at U11, U13, U15, and U17 level. Each consists of roughly 15-16 players, which Masinda claims is an ideal squad size.

The club recruits players from schools in the surrounding areas. Once they have joined, players train four to five times a week during the season and six times a week during pre-season.

Sakhulutsha also work closely with and are supported by the Human Kinetics and Ergonomics (HKE) Department at Rhodes University. The HKE department is highly specialised in sports science, and can thus offer quality training and conditioning.

Sakhulutsha also work closely with general building materials division Buco.

The next mission for Sakhu- lutsha is to see one of their players in the highest tier of South African football, as they already have players in the South African Football Association SAB regional league. Masinda said they are working hard to get their players to national tournaments where scouts are present.

Masinda views the club not just as a sporting project, but as one that uplifts members of the community.

“It’s not just about the football. We want our boys to eat right, sleep right, and to succeed in academics and its a holistic approach, so that even if they don't succeed in football, they become better human beings and succeed in life,” he explained.

“Thank you to the parents and HKE for the team work, and this is how things manifest - they all work for the benefit and future of these young boys.”

Thank you to the parents and HKE for the team work, and this is how things manifest - they all work for the benefit and future of these young boys