Patricia de Lille and Lance Greyling with team

The players returned home to South Africa this week.  While there were some bumps along the way, they are now all home, safe and sound.  Soon after they landed, they were invited to Parliament and were recognized by Patricia de Lille, the leader of the Independent Democrats political party.  Also, they were welcomed by Kgalema Motlanthe who served as President of South Africa between  September 25, 2008 and May 9, 2009, completing the second term of Thabo Mbeki. He currently serves as Deputy President of South Africa and of the African National Congress.

These leaders spoke of how proud they were of the team for representing South Africa in Milan and for bringing home the Milan Cup, which Martin Afrika presented to Deputy President Motlanthe while at Parliament.

Kgalema Motlanthe with the team

Interviews for local news media

Taryn Aveley, FUWL regional coordinator with 2009 team captain, "Mabuthi"

Blog and photos by Christina Ghubril

Yesterday, Demetrius and I spent some time at a local NGO, MyLife, where several of the players of the Western Cape Street Soccer League are connected and have found rehabilitation.  Martin and Rasta are both a part of MyLife and have opportunities for projects and work lined up for them upon their return from Australia.

Several of the guys from the team were at MyLife when we visited.  Many of them are coming down with physical  ailments of one sort or another.  Sandile was laid out on the couch and was taken to the hospital after we left.  Martin’s eyes were swollen, almost shut.  Linzy shared several stories with us of past students that came down with sometimes severe ailments before opportunities to leave the country for the first time. Her thought was that it is most likely adrenaline and nerve based in anticipation of such a big transition and that once they leave, they will be fine.

Linzy Thomas

Traveling the world is a big transition for anyone.  For these players, the idea of traveling to Australia and playing on a team that represents their country as a whole is daunting, at times.   Yet, in the midst of day jobs, families, organizations to run, lives to live, the leaders of these organizations are running around town, finding students to complete paperwork, drive them to practice, organize practice games, provide meals, take the players to hospitals and prisons and where they need to go in order to get all their ducks in a row to be a part of this team and to travel the world.  The village is gathering round and I believe these guys are on the brink of something special.