Referee for Mandela event

So my Saturday Oct 30th starts out with refereeing 3 soccer games, this is for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, which is run by our office and has the intention of forming leagues for soccer and netball (a interesting version of basketball) to help keep kids busy after school and on the weekends. Idleness is a huge problem, cause unlike in the America there is pretty much no after school children activities.

So Mandela established this program to create youth leagues. They are the only ones in our town and there are only 6 teams. (By the way, I am 38 and in my tiny town in OKLAHOMA, the recreation league was started when I was age 6). And they are just starting youth leagues in Swaziland Now. So I was happy and very much enjoyed refereeing the 3 games.

By the way, the off field organizer of the event is a former Black Terrors goalie who in pre-season switched away from my team to go play for a rival team. His name is Sabelo. He was giving up on the training I was giving him and had been a member of the team for many years. And is a really good goalie. The last game was coached by my main mid fielder, Titi, I guy I fought hard to get signed. See the next post to see how these three people (and I am including myself) have a huge impact on the Black Terrors soccer game that was literally 3 hours away.

When the games were finished I said to Sabelo “Are we done working together?” He said “Yes.” Then I said “Well, I can’t talk to you then?” Laughs all around.
See the next post for the highlights of the soccer game.

But this program is one way in which my office is really helping out the community. And between events like this, the coaching and just working the Town Council center most of the town seems to know me.