Township Football #2 - Training

15 years after Dumi’s first informal session, his Royal Priesthood academy has 3 junior and 2 senior teams, spanning all age groups and working with boys from across different regions in Khayelitsha.

Overcoming various parental and cultural challenges, and despite receiving little or no support from local government or football bodies, Dumi has successfully built a community of players, coaches and leaders from across the community.

Today, the township has hundreds of football teams and thousands of players, with the sport impossible to ignore when you drive around. Makeshift goal frames stand amidst the township’s rolling fields, pitches of various shapes and sizes visible at every turn.

The football community is so huge that there are now 5 separate Local Football Associations operating within Khayelitsha alone, with new teams and academies forming by the week, a sign that more people have followed in Dumi’s footsteps around the township.

After the grand tour (and with a brief stop for a delicious local snack, a ‘Mokweenya’), Dumi took me to the local Mandela Park Sports Ground to see a session in action. Spotting a handful of his players on the street en route, dutifully carrying the equipment, we stopped to give them a lift, the boys and balls all fitting comfortably in the boot of his pick up truck.

The ‘Mokweenya’ - beef, vegetables and salad with their signature sauce, stuffed into a half bread / half donut kind of roll, seriously tasty.

The ‘Mokweenya’ - beef, vegetables and salad with their signature sauce, stuffed into a half bread / half donut kind of roll, seriously tasty.

As the training session began in the late afternoon sun, running seemed to be the theme of the day. The coaches (themselves beneficiaries of the early days of the academy) ran with the boys around the field and up and down the empty bleachers, the beginning of the session seeming closer to a military exercise than a football one.

‘With only a handful of balls between 4 teams, there’s a lot of running sometimes!’ Dumi laughed, as we watched the under 12’s flying up and down the stadium steps in the distance. The mismatched equipment and lack of resources was an evocative reminder that the entire project has been funded by Dumi, with him and his family making huge sacrifices to provide this opportunity for the boys.

‘We considered moving out of Khayelitsha some years ago’, Dumi shared, ‘but I wouldn’t have been able to live with that decision’.

‘No-one else would be there to make this happen, and everything we’ve achieved so far with these boys would have faded’.

‘The spirit they have and the culture we have created here is too much to turn our backs on’.

Unloading the kit (and the players) from the boot.

Unloading the kit (and the players) from the boot.

As we spoke of spirit and culture, I watched with joy as the boys concluded their warm up. Led by their coaches in a colourful procession, the boys clapped, sung and danced in unison, dust flying up from the turf as they stamped their feet in sync.

Intended as a stretching exercise, it wouldn’t have looked out of place on a West End stage. Topped off with a group prayer before the football began, I was left astonished at the energy and spirit within the team.

‘Dancing and singing are a huge part of our culture’, Dumi chipped in, laughing at my bemusement. ‘It is important to hold these values dearly as a part of their football, and a part of their lives, and the boys enjoy it’.

One of the team’s more active warm ups as the sun was setting.

One of the team’s more active warm ups as the sun was setting.

As the session continued, the boys took part in technical drills and exercises before finishing with a game of 5 a side, some incredible technique on show despite the scrappy terrain and bobbling balls.

Steve, Tapelo, Unati and Ayande, Dumi’s coaching team, are themselves former players of the academy, Khayelitsha born and bred. Volunteers, and with little or no formal coaching experience, they share Dumi’s vision of the positive impact football and education can have upon the next generation in their hometown.

‘I always hoped the project would create leaders, and a legacy’, Dumi shared proudly, ‘and to see these boys become men thanks to football, makes it all worthwhile’.

Coaching team - Ayande, Steve, Tapelo, me and Dumi at the end of the session.

Coaching team - Ayande, Steve, Tapelo, me and Dumi at the end of the session.

The ambition is that these young players will all grow up to continue living this RPA legacy, and to become role models in the Khayelitsha community. When asked whether any of the boys might dream of making it as players one day, Dumi was quick to offer a reality check, and to prioritise the impact of the work being done.

‘In our community, this work is effective. The boys attend school more often, learn more, and become leaders here in Khayelitsha’.

‘But there are still lots of barriers for them in life, let alone in football, particularly as potential aspiring players’

‘Scouts don’t come to townships very often’, he stated abruptly, ‘it’s perceived as too dangerous, and they will go to the academies in the affluent areas instead. There is very little pathway for these kids in reality’


Discussing whether or not the township had any ‘rags to riches’ stories of players making it against all odds, again the mood was one of realism.

‘There surely have been plenty of boys with the potential, and the talent’, Dumi pondered.


‘But there’s definitely more ‘what could have been’ stories than successful ones’.


‘In this environment, it’s more important to look at the whole story, and the bigger picture. Our first priority is to make them members of the community. With the odds stacked against some of these boys, we need to make sure they can succeed not only in football, but in life’.

The boys are put through their paces on the sandy, rocky surface.

The boys are put through their paces on the sandy, rocky surface.

With the session at an end, the boys thanked their coaches and shuffled off, away from Mandela Park into the Khayelitsha sunset. I couldn’t help but wonder what their lives might look and feel like without the positive culture created by the football team, and how else they might have spent their afternoons.

Dumi’s story, achievements so far and ambitions for the future, brought into sharp focus the impact that football can have when used properly, in the hands of the right people. The phrase ‘unsung hero’ is often used in sport, but it couldn’t be more applicable to the role Dumi plays in his local community.

In a sporting culture increasingly focused on commercial gain, bureaucracy and politics, and a distorted top flight ‘industry’, the experience served as a reminder of the true values and importance of the beautiful game.

After our fateful Uber-inspired meeting, and a fascinating day exploring and understanding the role of football in the townships, I vowed to return regularly for the remainder of my stay to work with Dumi and the boys. Stay tuned for tales of English teaching and football coaching in SA’s biggest and fastest growing township!

Post-training team talk and prayer to end proceedings.

Post-training team talk and prayer to end proceedings.

Khayelitsha at sunset.

Khayelitsha at sunset.