Grannies pose for a photo before a soccer match in Nkowankowa Township, outside Tzaneen in Limpopo province, about 600 kilometres outside Johannesburg, October 9, 2009.[Agencies]
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Grannies pose for a photo before a soccer match in Nkowankowa Township, outside Tzaneen in Limpopo province, about 600 kilometres outside Johannesburg, October 9, 2009.[Agencies] |
The team lacks proper funding, with each woman pitching in around $1 a month for soccer balls, kit and travel to their bi-annual competitions with teams from other regions.
Ntsanwisi, who uses her own money to help fund the teams, hopes one day to attract sponsors.
Dozens of local fans support the grannies' games, cheering and blowing vuvuzelas -- noisy, plastic trumpets that create a cacophony of noise that is unique to South African soccer.
"I feel good when the (grannies) play soccer so that they can be fit and strong," said 13-year-old Chamelius Bayani.
Winning seems secondary. Some of the grannies look as if they are struggling to keep going during a game after a long day of housework.
Most come to practice straight from cleaning their houses and cooking meals or after selling food along the township's streets.
Missing a practice is unheard of, however, they say.
"I was too fat...now I can run and teach my grand-kids how to kick. I feel great," Baloyi said.