World Cup inspiration at the Dreamfields Cup

2010-05-07

Despite the fact that he was dressed in his brand new Dreamfields Cup tracksuit, the young boy simply couldn’t resist the temptation to step under the shower and turn the water on full blast. Because this was no ordinary shower. This was a shower in the heart of Soccer City, in the change room that would be used for the FIFA 2010 World Cup final, the same shower that would soak the post-match sweat off Steven Pienaar and Didier Drogba, off Robinho and Kaka.

This mad and magical moment was just one of hundreds of special memories left behind by our first ever Dreamfields Cup.

Pictures speak a thousand words, click here to see these moments of magic.

After 30 months of planting and growing dreams in every corner of our country, we decided to celebrate by inviting 32 teams - 480 children and 64 teachers - to Pretoria for what we hoped would be three unforgettable days. The event was funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and co-hosted with our founding partners BHP Billiton and Old Mutual.

All through Monday, the buses rolled in. Long journeys for the boys from Cape Town and Kuruman and Elliotdale in the rural Eastern Cape, and the girls from Plettenberg Bay. Less distance to travel, but still time for excitement to build, as schools came from Tshisahulu in the north, Gopane in west and Driekoppies in the east. And joining these South African children were two teams from Maputo who were quick to show us how much they would enrich this event.

After checking into their Holiday Inn rooms, the players headed out for some practice to the lush green fields at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre, a stunning training facility that will be used by Argentina during the World Cup. Then it was time for the draw and an evening of entertainment. The schools had been invited to sing and dance and show us something about themselves. And without prompting the Mozambicans were the first on the floor to get the party going.

The football was due to start the next day, but first we wanted to give our young dreamers a taste of the country’s capital and the democracy that had made 2010 and a World Cup in our country possible. They gathered at the foot of the Union Buildings, where Themba Kojane from the Department of Education welcomed them all.

Back at the High Performance Centre, an important partnership was in full swing. Apart from hosting the event, the University of Pretoria provided us with 40 students from their Sports Science department, who worked tirelessly for three days solid.

As the sun began to set, some the children might have thought the day was coming to an end. And then everything brightened up, and the pace of the games quickened, as the children savoured the experience of football under floodlights for the very first time.

Most of these children probably won’t be going to a World Cup game. But we were determined to give them a taste of this extraordinary event. Their tour of Soccer City, venue for the World Cup final, began with them seated high in the grandstands - and for at least half an hour they sat in silent wonder staring down. Group by group, they began their tour, making their way downwards into the players dressing rooms, before striding out through the tunnel onto the pitch. Imagine the dreams growing in their heads...

To set the seal on the trip, 2010 Organising Committee CEO Dr Danny Jordaan came out to meet our Dreamers. He was warm in his welcome and inspiring in his words - and echoed the thoughts of many when he said he hoped that among the 480 children were at least a couple of good strikers!

By now the Dreamfields Cup was at quarter-final stage. Before the games kicked off, players from Moroka Swallows joined the schools to run some training sessions – the Birds have been brilliant supporters of Dreamfields. And then it was time to play. Both the girls’ and the boys’ events were hard fought, with a number of games going to penalties.

And then it was time for the finals. The boys’ and girls’ champions were crowned in a downpour, but we all know that in Africa, rain brings blessings. Escola de Matola from Maputo were pushed all the way by Matikinya from Bushbuckridge in the girls final. And Thlakanang from Winnie Mandela Park, an informal settlement in Gauteng needed penalties to beat another Mpumalanga lowveld team, Hundzukani from Lillydale.

We were thrilled to see that all of the teams who reached the final stages, including the winners, play weekly soccer under the DreamLeague system that is starting to take shape. By the time the next Dreamfields Cup comes around, we hope to have leagues running wherever Dreamfields has worked - with another trip to Pretoria as the ultimate prize.

Pictures speak a thousand words, click here to see these moments of magic.

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