The Pulse of a Nation documentary was the perfect distraction after Bafana Bafana’s boring performance against Namibia on Saturday.
I for one was already put off by the fact that none of our Cape based international prospects made the squad.
Only Grant Margeman from Bonteheuwel, who plays for SuperSport United, and Cyprus-based Mihlali Mayambela from Khayelitsha, of whom I’m fortunately a big fan, are Kaapse manne.
Todays starting line up for the international friendly against Namibia 🇳![CDATA[]]>🇦 @OrlandoStadium #BafanaPride #ComeShowYourLove @10bet_ZA @LeCoqSportif_SA @ENDURADESPORTS pic.twitter.com/ztbuZXIkiS
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 9, 2023
Mayambela didn’t get a run, but Margeman made the starting lineup and the 25-year-old ou from Bontas was named Man of the Match in the lame 0-0 draw.
It was reward came with a cool R10 000, a first for Bafana players under new sponsors 10 Bet after a very long time.
Orlando Stadium, where the match was played, was a truly depressing sight. It felt like Covid all over again, with fewer than 2 000 people at the stadium.
Only 500 tickets were bought, which means everybody else that was there either walked into the Soweto-based venue for free or were invited guests.
It was nothing like what we saw in the documentary that is telling the stories of the men and women that shaped South African football as we know it today.
The scenes on match days we see in the documentary are so much more vibrant in the streets of Soweto back in those days than what we saw this past Saturday when Bafana were there.
Football was a day out with men and women dressed in their best outfits.
Players literally played to entertain, a nice distraction for the people who had limited options because of the harsh realities of Apartheid back then.
It’s near impossible to find anything from days gone by when it comes to SA football. Some of the stories are in the graveyard as a lot of people have since passed.
The Pulse of the Nation doccie really helped to fill in the blanks and might even give people a perspective of why some clubs, particularly the Soweto clubs, get so much more respect and air time.
Award-winning actor and legend Sello Maake KaNcube, famously known as “Archie”, whose father Joseph “Skehla” Ncube was an Orlando Pirates goalkeeper is the voice and storyteller of the documentary.
The film was directed by Luthando Tshaya, coming straight out of Gugulethu and the original score was done by kwaito rapper and producer Zamile “Mtezman” Somchiza - another Gugs ou.
They used the 2018 street banger, “My Dululu”, on which he collaborated with other Gugs ouens, DJ duo TP nalaPisce.
Tshaya says the documentary was a tough task to complete as scheduling was a major issue because it depended on the different people’s availability.
The director explains: “The original idea was to tell SuperSport’s side of the story from the 2007 deal with the PSL because people even today still say the game was taken away from the people.
“The idea developed further and we decided to rather go back to the beginning and work our way up from there.
“I’m of the belief that history is human and best told through people and get what football means to South Africans.”
Our very own Duncan Crowie will also feature, telling stories of the injustices of that time, and why some of the Cape’s Federation League clubs refused to join the National Soccer League back then.
You’ll also learn about some of the famous nicknames given to players such “Ace”, “Pro”, “Troublemaker” and “Roadblock”.
This is a culture that is dying a slow death as fans and media don’t really embrace catchy nicknames anymore.
I mean look at us here in the Cape, we haven’t even managed to create our names for our own PSL derbies.
You can go back as far as the old Cape Town Spurs and Santos, that was called the Cape derby. Then there was Ajax Cape Town versus Santos and that too was called a Cape derby.
After four years, Cape Town City and Stellenbosch don’t have a unique name for the match, guess what, their match is also referred to as the Cape derby.
There’s a bit of an effort made for highly anticipated clash between City and Spurs which is set for the reopening of the DHL Stadium on September 30th, the name “Ikapa Derby” is slowly being adopted by the public but not yet by the clubs.
I get the feeling this documentary is only the beginning of what will be a roll out of some of Mzansi’s famous football moments.
Gugs Phakama (stand up), chest out, stomach in, be proud for your sons are doing great things out here.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za