By Hillary Orinde/ AFP
SOUTH Africans gogos had themselves a ball as they hosted the world in the first-ever Grannies International Football Tournament (GIFT).
Launched by the Mama Beka Ntsanwisi Foundation, a Limpopo organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of elderly women.
Founder Rebecca “Mama Beka” Ntsanwisi, 57, says the idea for the tournament arose in 2007 as a sense of personal challenge following a cancer diagnosis that once bound her to a wheelchair.
He tells AFP: "The older women need to come together and enjoy. We are neglected.”
The four-day tournament brought 16 teams from around the world together, including from as far as France and the USA.
The 30-minute games were played in two halves at a slow but purposeful pace, as the oumas played out their fantasies.
South African grandmother of five Devika Ramesar is a groot Liverpool fan and laced up her boots for the first time ever.
The 62-year-old says: It is all about active ageing. Whether we win, lose or what, it is all about coming here and staying fit.”
Vuka Soweto star Nonhlanhla Mbele laced up her silver boots and donned the No.10 jersey.
The 63-year-old gogo of seven says: “I feel like a superstar. They call me the goal machine.”
In South Africa alone, almost 40 percent of children live in households headed by their grandparents, according to government statistics.
That is mainly due to poverty, cultural traditions and urban migration.
But grandmothers should not be saddled with the responsibility of raising their grandchildren, Ntsanwisi said.
"This is our time to enjoy and relax," she said. "I will die knowing that I did something."
Chris Matson, 67, took the advice to heart and travelled from the United States to "enjoy every second of the tournament".
"I did not play when I was little so to do it now is wonderful," said the bubbly goalkeeper for the American New England Breakers team and winner of the golden glove.
"I have something precious to take home,” craddling her first ever trophy.
The team doctors, however, earned their keep.
The aches and pains of the elderly players needed constant checking, South African team medic Diana Mawila said.
