Learning it Street Style
Learning It Street Style
Street soccer and the Homeless World Cup are a new experience for Bongiwe KubhekaI was one of those people who had no interest in soccer until the 2006 World Cup in Germany came around. My friends and I would go to bars and join in the football festivities. I knew nothing about the game and its rules and basically all I was doing was watching the good-looking football players. I tried to learn the rules but I still can’t figure out what the off-side rule is.
Surprisingly after the World Cup in Germany I decided to get involved with the Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. This time I was not coming to watch the good-looking guys; I was here to learn a new sport. The Homeless World Cup is a street soccer event, aimed at changing the lives of homeless people. A friend asked me the other day why I was involved in the event if I knew nothing about soccer. I answered by saying that street soccer rules are so much easier to follow than ordinary soccer rules. I wish I hadn’t said that, because now I had to learn the rules of street soccer.
So I started doing some research and from what I gathered, street soccer matches are played at a faster pace than ordinary soccer matches. There are four players from each team that play during a street soccer match. The size of the pitch is only 22 metres long x 16 metres wide. When I found out that the field was smaller, I had a hunch that the rules would be easier. And I was right; the game is simpler than the soccer we usually watch.
Teams can be male, female or mixed. There are three outfield players, one goalkeeper and four ‘rolling’ substitute players. Players can be substituted at any time and as many times during the match. In one match the number of people in each team must not exceed eight players. The game starts when the referee throws the ball into the field. The whole game takes 14 minutes with only 7 minutes per side and 1 minute for half time. The goalkeeper is not allowed to score any goals and must never leave the penalty area. Penalty kicks are given when a player from the defending team enters the penalty area and when a goalkeeper holds the ball longer than necessary. If there is a foul, the referee may judge the foul by showing a blue card which means the offending player leaves the field for 2 minutes, leaving the team with one less player. A red card is given for serious foul play which prohibits the player from playing the rest of the match. This leaves the red carded team playing with one less player for the duration of the match. Free kicks are given for all fouls on the field except for any offence which is seen as a “penalty offence”. All players from the opposing team must be at least two metres from the ball when a free kick is taken.
Just like traditional soccer, street soccer has a lot of dirty fouls. When some players see an opportunity to foul another player they take it; if the referee didn’t see the foul, it did not happen and, because the field is so small, tension is bound to develop during the match. This makes the game electrifying and exciting. What I did notice about soccer and street soccer is that the players always have something to say or to argue about to the referee. I feel sorry for the referees who have to handle all that chirping from the different players.
Soccer still remains an important sport in the world; whether it is traditional soccer or street soccer. It has a way of bringing people together and having people learn a new sport especially during World Cups. I certainly learnt something and hopefully I can get more people interested in this great, faced paced, exciting sport. And at last but certainly not least, street soccer has some beautiful players.
Bongiwe Kubheka