Langa teens head to Sweden

It was a jubilant moment for 17 boys from Langa as they were about to board a flight to Sweden, where they will showcase their soccer skills in one of the biggest International youth soccer tournaments.

These youngsters are part of the non-profit organisation Project Playground Soccer Skills programme.

PPG is the organisation that caters for vulnerable youth from Langa.

PPG social worker Sabelo Mlonyeni said: "When I got here at PPG I was very touched by the stories that I encounter here on a daily basis.

“We have different programmes which are academics, arts, music and dance. In all that we have coaches and facilitators who throughout the year take part in home visits to see how these youngsters settle at home."

He said, sometimes they found some the children struggle, some of whom are from single parents households.

“Some of them are sexually abused, Some come from poverty stricken households where you find out that some do not even have clothes," said Mr Mlonyeni.

"So as PPG we meet families half way. Our role as social workers is to provide social support, we counsel them and run intervention groups with those kids that are good when it comes to academics but we want them to do more at their level," he said.

Mr Mlonyeni said they run groups in six weeks, and teach them good behaviour and about substance abuse.

"We can't do that without excluding parents. We also have social workers for parents, which helps them to understand what to do when it comes to good parenting," he said.

Mlonyeni has praised Vrida Vesterberg, the co- founder of the programme and said she has done a lot for the children of Langa as her goal was to create a safe space for vulnerable kids.

Talking about the journey of these young soccer players to Sweden Mlonyeni said: "Well, when it comes to the Gothia tournament, Project Playground FC was invited to Sweden. We have an invitation letter. There are different teams from different countries that will take part in the tournament and we are one of the eight teams from South Africa.“

He said as part of preparing the boys for this event, they played different friendly games with teams in and outside of Langa, so that they could assess their mental and physical fitness.

"Our boys are looking forward to being in Sweden. We are hoping that they will bring the cup home and that some of them get scouted there," said Mr Mlonyeni.

Team Head coach Ian Makholwa said: "We are going to Sweden to represent our community and Project Playground. As we were preparing for this trip we had so many challenges regarding the travelling documents as some of these boys had no unabridged birth certificates. But all that is over we are looking forward to this trip. I have trust in my boys that they will represent us well there."

One of the excited players is the 17-year-old Sitha Henda.

He said: "My love for soccer started here in Langa when I was younger, after I moved here in 2016 with my family. When I arrived there was a group of players that were going to this tournament in Sweden and I told myself that one day I will also have this trip."

Sitha said he was looking forward to learning other styles of playing as the overseas football pace is different.

"I am excited about this trip as it is my first trip and it's my first time catching a flight," he said.