Sunday soccer mania explained
Sport
It is more than a Sunday soccer when people pleat, socialize and appreciate the game of football. Sunday soccer is like the new fashion tread. Every Sunday, men and women grab their champ chairs and cooler boxes to go chill and unwind watching their favourite social clubs battling on the playgrounds.
Lately, there have been countless social clubs mushrooming in Botswana, and it has captured most of Batswanas interest. The love for football is the drive behind forming social clubs and playing Sunday soccer games.
Kopano Seeletso is the secretary of one of the most followed social clubs on social media, Motsoseng, which is based in Gaborone Block 9. When contacted he said; The initial motivation behind forming our social club is the love for football and most of us we grew up together, and we went to the same schools. Over the weekend all we want to do is play soccer and that developed into us forming Motsoseng Social Club.
The Sunday soccer does not only benefit the social club members but also benefits the community. The Block 9 community always support us and to give back to them, we usually select certain beneficiaries, be it students or other kids in the community who usually benefit by getting donations from profits made from our tournaments, said Seeletso.
Social media has a huge impact in helping the growth of social clubs, they have gained a lot of following especially from Facebook and with this huge following, social clubs are able to attract different sponsors.
Motsoseng Social Club is the most followed in Botswana on social media. This shows that there is certain type of consistency on certain type of person that watches our games, for example: on average about 150+ people come to watch our games at block 9 and of these people they have certain similarities, they do same type of activities, living and working in Gaborone and within a certain age group.
These certain individuals, there are certain type of business looking for them, and we get that information and make a proposal that will be mutual beneficial not just to the social club but also to that type of business we are targeting, explained Kopano Seeletso.
The main purpose of Sunday soccer is to exercise and have fun and thats why we see so many eruptions of social clubs, and it gives people who only love soccer from the side lines to play and have a feel of what it is like on the pitch at a competitive level yet fun.
When talking to PRO of the recently formed Ko Majiteng Social Club which is based in Gaborone. Ko Majiteng started off as a chill session immediately after Covid-19 lockdowns. The main purpose was to socialize since during lockdown we didnt have that opportunity, said Thulaganyo Seromelo.
Thulaganyo Seromelo further said; Ko Majiteng has a month and a half since its inception, but they already have big plans to give back to the community. One of the initiatives is to adopt one primary school that we can work with and assist wherever they need help; books, balls or school uniform, fundraising and donations when necessary to the students. Other initiatives that we will have to implement was litter picking and all these initiatives to be in partnership with other social clubs and our sponsors.
With all this benefits thatthe Sunday soccer bring to the social club members in the sense of exercising and having fun, and creating business for the community as they sell their goods and services during tournaments, one will wonder if it does not disrupt the mainstream football.
I dont think the social clubs are interrupting the mainstream football but infant giving opportunity to hidden talent recognition to the big teams to discover. Sunday soccer initiatives are also for its members and community at large through the charity tournaments and creates a network of opportunities for the youth through socializing with other clubs, highlighted Thulaganyo Seromelo.
When emphasizing on the issue of the mainstream football possibly being disrupted by social clubs, Kopana Seeletso said: I dont think Sunday soccer takes anything away from professional football because ultimately is social football, basically mostly of us its either we are working or in school, we are not professional footballers.
In fact, I think that sort of pressure that maybe created by social clubs it is good because that will increase the performance level of professional footballers, and they will want to step up their games and create distinction for professional football.
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AFRICA’S RECOVERY: Sports as game changer
The year 2022 witnessed unprecedented phenomena. Several Africans- Gotytom Gebreslase, Sharon Lokedi, Victor Kiplangat, Tamarit Tola and many others- swept the World’s marathons records.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting control measures implemented in several countries, led to many high-level sports competitions being cancelled or shelved, the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games was moved to 2026.
Founder and Executive Chairman, African Sports and Creative Institute, Will Mabiakop, says the inability to hold traditional and amateur sports events have had a serious effect on public health overall, including mental health, sparking a revolution whereby athletes began to talk more openly about stress, mental overload and performance anxiety.
“Africa is home to the fastest growing economies before the crisis, no longer on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). COVID-19 deepened interdependence between SDGs, making them harder to achieve, especially SDG 10 (reducing inequality) and SDG 5 (gender equality_ as the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on poorer countries, and heavier burdens (such as care work) fell to women.”
Mabiakop stresses that as policymakers contemplate actions to speed up recovery and build resilience, they must argue that sports and creative businesses should play a central feature in this effort.
“The sports economy worldwide is estimated at 5% of GDP, but only 0.5% in Africa. If exploited, Africa’s sports and creative industries can offer policymakers innovative solutions. Especially, as regards job creation, and providing employment to the 15 million people entering the job market annually.”
HOW CAN THE INDUSTRY DO THIS?
By leveraging the two-for-one concept: past studies shown that a 1% growth in the economy delivers a 2% job increment in this sector (these ratios are calculated using data from 48 African countries and adjusted to the reality of the sports economy in Africa by the authors). There are between 30 and 50 job types, in sports and creative industries, respectively. These jobs do not fade away with the first major shock.
Mabiakop indicated that policymakers can use these industries to tackle multiple crises- jobs, poverty, and climate risks. Sports diplomacy- defined as communication, representation and negotiation in or through the prism of sports- has proven effective in building inclusive and cohesive societies. Moreover, sports and the creative industry can support better mental health and well-being, both important for productivity.
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He said supporting grassroots sports has powerful distributional effects. “Fortunately, technology has made reaching wide audiences easier, generating higher rates of success when talent is discovered.”
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