Voice 1
Hello, I’m Mike Procter.
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Fadzani Nnandzwa climbed on to the bus. It was full of people - and animals! No seats were empty. Everyone from the village seemed to be going to town. Fadzani had to stand for the whole bus ride. Soon, the bus reached town. But this was not the end of Fadzani’s travels. She had two more buses to ride on. She had to travel fourteen hundred [1400] kilometres. She was feeling very tired. But she did not care. She could only think about one thing - what would happen at the end of her trip. Two days later, she finally arrived in Gaborone. She was very proud to be in the capital city of her country, Botswana. But she was even more excited about the reason that she was there.
Voice 2
Fadzani is a school teacher. But she also trains children how to play football. She went to Gaborone to attend two days of football training for trainers. It was the first time she had been in Botswana’s national football centre. The English football authority had organized the event. Two top trainers, or coaches, came from England. Twenty-three [23] female teachers attended the event. The coaches wanted to show the women how to improve their football teaching skills. And this is exactly what Fadzani needed. She explained:
Voice 3
“I have always wanted to teach football. When I was young, I played tennis and volleyball. People expected girls to play only sports where you use your hands. People did not think that girls should lift their feet off the ground.”
Voice 1
Fadzani is looking forward to using her new teaching skills. She had been training a boys’ football team in another town. This town was far away from her home. She had to travel eight hours every week to train this team. But now, she has moved to a new school. And she wants to start a girls’ football team there. She says:
Voice 3
“Girls in Botswana watch football games on television. And they have football computer games - just like the boys. The girls believe they can play football. But there are problems.”
Voice 2
And these problems are not just in Botswana. Women footballers across Africa face the same problems - a lack of money and men’s negative opinions about sportswomen. A recent international game between Namibia and Zimbabwe showed this very well. The groundmen did not prepare the football field in the right way. So the players had to mark the field themselves before the game could start!
Voice 1
The trainers from England understand that Africa needs female football coaches. Karabo Mponang is a football trainer in Botswana. She explained more:
Voice 4
“Most of our coaches now are men. And some of them shout a lot. Sometimes a male coach may visit a young girl’s house. He tells her parents that she is going on a two-week football camp. The parents will not trust the man. What will he do with their little girl? But if it is a female coach, that is different. That is why it is beautiful that all these women attended the training event.”
Voice 1
Doctor Nomsa Mbere is a member of the Botswana National Sports Council. She talks about another problem facing many African sportswomen:
Voice 5
“There is a lot of violence in the home. So, we have a lot of single-parent families. Often, it is women who are the head of these families. We say we want women to play sport. If that is true, then we need to help them look after their children.”
Voice 1
Yes, there are problems. But let us take a quick look around the world of African women’s football. It shows that encouraging things are happening too.
Voice 2
Burundi and Liberia have women as leaders of their football organizations.
Voice 1
In Sudan, change is happening. Usually, there are special rules about what women should wear when they are playing sport. But the religious authorities decided to change these rules. So now, women can wear the right kind of clothes for playing football.
Voice 2
In Nigeria, the government decided to employ women football players. This means that the women still receive wages - even when they miss work to play football for their country.
Voice 1
2007 is a special year for women’s football. Why? Well, it is Women’s Football World Cup year. And Nigeria’s women’s team will be there. Another West African team, Ghana, will also take part in the competition. These two teams will join fourteen [14] other teams from around the world. They will all gather in China in September - to do battle on the football field!
Voice 2
The women’s team of Nigeria call themselves the “Super Falcons”. Like the bird of the same name, the Falcons hope to “fly high” above the other teams that they will play against. These teams include the United States - the current world champions. The team from Ghana are the “Black Queens”. They want to improve on results from past World Cup games. One thing is for sure. The women of Africa will be very happy if either team plays in the World Cup final. For them, it is not an impossible dream.
Voice 1
Women footballers in Africa have asked the football authorities to help them. And the Confederation of African Football, or CAF, is trying to make women’s football more popular - training women coaches, starting girls’ teams .And now is the time to do this. The men’s World Cup competition will take place in South Africa in 2010. Many people with influence and money will visit the continent. CAF hope they will like what they see - and be willing to invest in developing the women’s game.
Voice 2
The future of women’s football is very promising. It is still a struggle. But it is a battle African women are willing to fight. Nwako from Botswana says:
Voice 6
“My father is against me learning how to train football teams. I have been like this my whole life. But he will never understand. He is always saying, ‘Why not do something else?’ But what else? Football is what I love.”
Voice 1
The idea of women’s football is a problem for some people. However, many agree with the world football authority’s development officer for South Africa - Ashford Manelodi. He said:
Voice 7
“Women’s football is here to stay. It cannot be wished away.”
Voice 2
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Ruby Jones. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. All quotations were adapted for this programme. This programme is called “Women’s Football in Africa.”
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