Here's who's missing at the World Cup: Soccer-playing grannies!
Editor's Note: As the World Cup kicks off, we just got some good news about our coverage of another global soccer event: the Grannies International Football Tournament. Last year 2e published a story about this tournament — "where you've never too old to play. But you may well be
Editor's Note: As the World Cup kicks off, we just got some good news about our coverage of another global soccer event: the Grannies International Football Tournament. Last year 2e published a story about this tournament — "where you've never too old to play. But you may well be too young." (The youngest permissible age is 50.) This week we learned that our story landed first prize for sports features reporting in the Society for Features Journalism awards! The judges' comments include: "A beautiful story beautifully told." We can't disagree!
TZANEEN, SOUTH AFRICA — The stands of the soccer stadium buzzed with anticipation. Vuvuzelas honked like a chorus of drunk geese, and spectators chattered excitedly. The teams were about to take the pitch.
But first, match officials had some business to attend to. They hunched over a stack of passports, carefully checking the teams' credentials. "We don't want to see underage players," one official explained gravely.
Welcome to the Grannies International Football Tournament, or GIFT, where you're never too old to play. But you may well be too young.
Rossina Mathye, 84 (center), was one of the original Vakhegula Vakhegula players — the name for the team from Tzaneen means "Grandmothers, Grandmothers." "Exercise is good for me," she says of her soccer career, which took her to the U.S. in 2010 to play in a special match for older women. Mathye, who has 10 grandchildren and is a great grandmother, no longer plays. "My knees are sore, so I stopped," she says. "Now I sit and watch. Now I'm one of their biggest supporters." Samantha Reinders for NPR hide caption
Technically speaking, having grandchildren was optional, but the age requirement was strictly non-negotiable. Under 50? Go find your own stadium of adoring fans. This one was reserved for the nanas, the mamis, the vovos and the gogos.
Once the age checks were done, the opening bars to the FIFA anthem crackled through the stadium speakers, and the players filed onto the field, gripping the hands of the young local players escorting them. On one side stood Togo, dressed head to toe in highlighter yellow. On the other was the United States in white.
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