“I realise that at 25 years of age my opportunity may have passed, but hope that I can be a role model for younger players in my community like Bayanda”, said Anele Magqwaka captain of local team the Gugulethu Cheetahs

Australian media icon and highly respected journalist, Ray Martin was in Cape Town earlier this week with AFL legends Kevin Sheedy and Robert ‘Dipper’ Dipierdeminico, as they passed on their wealth of collective experience to young AFL hopefuls from the local townships where footyWILD is played.

Ray is in South Africa with the 60 Minutes crew to cover the emergence of AFL in South Africa, as Australia’s only Indigenous game starts to gain real momentum across the International market. In South Africa over 15,000 program participants were engaged last year, with footyWILD activities for all ages, spread across 30 centres and four Provinces.

Ray told the AFL South Africa team that he played some footy in Tasmania as a much younger man and was quick to have a kick with the locals at the Nyanga township ground where the local competition is played.

Sheeds and Dipper spent time with South Africa’s first International scholarship holder 19 year old Bayanda Sobetwa form Khayelitsha township. before he heads to Australia to join Greater Western Sydney in the TAC Cup competition.

Bayanda is one of many South Africa hopefuls and whilst the signs are promising, there is a real sense amongst the locals, that this type of opportunity is absolutely golden and should not be taken for granted.

“I realise that at 25 years of age my opportunity may have passed, but hope that I can be a role model for younger players in my community like Bayanda”, said Anele Magqwaka captain of local team the Gugulethu Cheetahs

“I just love playing the game as it allows me to be physical like rugby and also to use the kicking skills we all learn in soccer, but in a different way. If I can show younger players the way, then hopefully there will be many more just like Bayanda coming through in the years ahead”, said Anele.

Wise words indeed from a man passionate about the ‘new game that roars in South Africa’.