So it was the Western Cape leg of the Engen Knockout Challenge this past weekend.
The who’s who of amateur football were in attendance and it was an opportunity to also engage and exchange some ideas of how to manage the game at grassroots level.
Local club officials pointed at several players who were playing for professional clubs such as Ajax Cape Town, Cape Town City and champions Ubuntu Cape Town at the tournament.
They were proud to see their hard work and dedication opened doors for kids pushing on and realising their dreams.
The only issue was how the pro clubs do very little to nothing for the clubs where these kids started out at.
For years the local guys have left it to the goodwill of the players to hopefully plough back into their local clubs when they have signed professional contracts.
But this has not happened, as expected, because some footballers become “too clever” and “too good” to be associated with the local clubs.
One club official from a SAB League team says: “They [pro players] always assume we want to milk them for their money.
“They need to understand that they have the power to inspire kids who, like them, started here emgqubeni [in the dust].”
Another club official adds: “I live for the day where my former players who have progressed volunteer their services like I have done for them and many other kids.
“I spend my own money and sacrifice my time away from my family for these kids.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but we have to grow and evolve, but it is not possible because we get very little help.
“I’m still the owner and coach of all the divisions at my club, that is not ideal at all.
“When you ask the guys to assist, they make you beg and that can make you feel like a pest or something.”
They also brought up the deals they have been forced to get into with City’s Dream Club 100, which provides them a playing kit and balls.
One of them says: “Those are not even good quality kits and balls, but it’s better than nothing. It doesn’t benefit us at the end of the day, it only benefits Cape Town City.
“[City owner] John Comitis gets his investment of buying all these kits and balls back because we produce players for his club.
“It’s even better if that player is sold and we maybe we get something from that sale if he decides to play fair.”
It’s heartbreaking to hear such stories and makes one feel sad for these guys who give so much at grassroots level, yet seem like they get the short hand of the stick.
I alerted them about the new feature in the MySafa system.
THE IDEAL: Bafana Bafana heroes giving back at tournament. Photo: Supplied.
The system has been integrated with Fifa’s Transfer Matching System and the Fifa Connect ID platform.
This means SA amateur football clubs could become some of the first to benefit from reforms to the international transfer system that will re-shape the way solidarity payments are made to clubs that develop professional players.
Fifa’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players provides financial compensation to clubs developing professionals in the form of training and solidarity payments.
Clubs that contribute to a football player’s development between the ages of 12 to 23 are meant to be rewarded once a player signs his first professional contract or is transferred internationally.
It has been difficult for clubs to claim this financial windfall in the past, while many clubs and some of the guys I spoke to were not even aware of the system and, as a result, the vast majority go unpaid.
It’s nice when a player moves and makes a name for himself, but spare a thought for the guys on the ground who get these kids started, keeping them interested and motivated until they strike it lucky.