One of the modern-day greats of soccer, Zinedine Zidane, recalled: “I once cried because I had no shoes to play football with my friends, but one day I saw a man who had no feet, and I realised how rich I am.”

It is this grounded philosophy that anchors the boys who proudly represent the Spirit International Football Academy (SIFA) teams. Of course they are special, and yes, they are talented and each has been hand-picked to play for SIFA, but football is but one of the aspects of their lives that is nurtured and cultivated in our partnership with the Cape Academy of Maths, Science, and Technology (CAMST).

Excellence on the field and in the classroom

At SIFA, we believe in preparing our players for success, both on and off the field, which is why we emphasise a dual-career approach that balances football with education. By equipping our athletes with education and life skills, we ensure that they are set up for success, whether they continue in sport or transition to other professional careers.

Every SIFA boy follows a rigorous academic schedule, irrespective of whether he is a budding Ronaldo! Do the young Rooney’s and Messi’s sometimes find Maths, Science and Languages tough? Of course they do, and that is why the Spirit Foundation provides extra tutoring to those boys battling their way through algebra, physics equations or conjugating verbs in Mandarin.

Each boy’s academic progress is closely monitored and evaluated each term to ensure they remain on track to reach the goal of passing each grade right up to Matric. But its on the field of play that our boys come alive and it’s truly inspiring to see their transformation from studious scholars into competitive top performing young athletes.

Having donned their training kit, the SIFA boys become something quite magical to behold. Enthusiastic, vital, competitive, committed and most of all, team players – the SIFA boys turn every soccer practice into an inspirational spectacle. It was Diego Maradona who once said, “To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world.” This same unbridled excitement is on display at every SIFA training practice, come rain or shine.

It is during these intensive but fun training sessions under the guidance of our world class coaches, that SIFA boys develop technical mastery, tactical intelligence, physical conditioning and mental fortitude.

It was this latter characteristic that was most on display last week when our teams were pitted against Hout Bay Club. Many of the Hout Bay players were older and physically stronger than our SIFA boys and it showed in some of the results. But at the end of the two-day tournament, the true spirit of the SIFA shone through as each boy exemplified the character and mental fortitude that makes them oh so very special.