Nkhensani Mthombeni
Teams of gogos will compete for the top spot at the first ever Grannies International Football Tournament in the Nkowankowa township in Limpopo in March 2023.
At the tournament, called Gift, 32 teams will participate in the three day event, with 23 foreign teams and nine domestic teams – one from each province – fighting for victory.
Countries such as the United States of America, Togo, France, Mozambique, Ghana and Lesotho will be represented at the tournament.
Gift has been 15 years in the making. It was established when Vakhegula Vakhegula, or Grannies Grannies football team, was formed in 2007.
Philanthropist and radio personality Beka Ntsanwisi founded the team when she was involved in a home-based care programme in the township.
She started introducing football as a way of keeping the elderly ladies active and fit and subsequently it turned into a team which accepted players from 60 years and older.
After seeing the improvement in the health of the players, Ntsanwisi formed more teams across the country before spreading out into Mozambique.
Vakhegula Vakhegula now has a professional league, where the grannies compete against each other.
Over the years some of the South African grannies have had the opportunity to meet Barack Obama in America and also attended the Fifa World Cups in Brazil and Russia.
According to organiser Sam Ntsanwisi the international event will be promoting township tourism and he said they are pleased to showcase the local talent in the beautiful country.
The opening ceremony and first game will be played at Nkowankowa Stadium on 26 March 2023 and will finish on 29 March.
The other stadiums approved for the games are Lenyenye and Julesburg outside Tzaneen.
