Grassroots
Playing, coaching and refereeing in South Africa, from the first course to the first trial.
Photo: Ed Suter / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Becoming a Referee in South Africa
The path to becoming a football referee in South Africa starts with joining the Local Football Association where you live, then moving up through SAFA's graded refereeing levels, each with an examination and a fitness test.
SAFA Coaching Licences Explained
SAFA's coaching ladder has five steps, from the grassroots D Licence to the Professional Licence.
Getting Scouted in South Africa
Young South African players are most likely to be noticed through the structures scouts already watch: school football, SAFA club and league football, and the youth systems of professional clubs.
Futsal vs Five-a-Side
Futsal is a formal FIFA code with fixed laws, played on a hard court with a smaller, low-bounce ball.
Soccer vs Football
"Soccer" and "football" mean the same game in South African English, and both are used every day.
From the archive
Meeting the Soccer Grannies
The advance team's diary, including a day with Vakhegula Vakhegula, South Africa's famous soccer grannies of Nkowankowa.
Friends and Local Patrons
The organisations and local patrons in dozens of towns who made the 2010 tour possible.
Screening in Qunu
A tour stop at the Nelson Mandela Museum in Qunu, Eastern Cape.