KARASBURG – The Karasburg Galz and Goals hosted the FIFA Grassroots Galz and Goals Festival for girls under the age of 13 on Saturday.
About 140 girls from Gabis, Ariamsvlei, Warmbad and Karasburg participated in the one-day event held under the theme ‘Young girls can change lives’.
Speaking to this news agency, Karasburg Galz and Goals’ coordinator Sophie Simboyia said the festival aims to expose participants to football, and start the process of grooming them for the women’s senior team.
“We want to keep young girls off the streets. We educate them on the importance of sports, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and ways to change their livelihoods through sports. Such activities also keep them not just physically fit, but mentally healthy,” she added.
One of the participants, Roxandre Mutero, said football has taught her to have respect, be motivated, and be optimistic about achieving her goals.
“One day someone can go far with football. Even if you are not good in school, football can do it for you as you can even travel the world,” she enthused.
Mutero, who dreams of playing for the women’s national team, was infectiously upbeat.
“We thank the organisers of this event; it is really a needed event for us because it exposes us to the coaches and scouts. As players, we can learn from other players and coaches. It is good that importance is given to the grassroots level because everyone starts here before they go up, and for me personally, I dream of playing for the national team.”
National women’s team player Joana-lee Simboyia, who grew up in the dusty town of ‘Dakaza’ (Karasburg), urged the girls to take football seriously, citing that they can make a career out of it and improve their lives.
“We all started here; you cannot reach the top of the ladder without starting at the bottom. I started playing football at the age of seven, and I realised that it was who I was. I took it very seriously, and it built me up. Now I am at the national level, and you can all do that. This is not just a festival; use it as a platform to discover yourself, your skills, and your talent,” she advised.
Other activities of the event included a healthy lifestyle boot camp and fun games for the participants. – Nampa