By Patience Gondo
SOCCER Sunday Reloaded (SSR) in partnership with Zimbabwe Immigration, will on Sunday host South African border authorities in a soccer event.
The aim is to strengthen relations between Zimbabwe and South Africa through football.
The social soccer showcase, set for May 31 at Ronnie’s Sports Arena in Beitbridge, will feature teams from Zimbabwe Immigration, South Africa Immigration, South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA), and Soccer Sunday Reloaded FC.
The matches are expected to kick off at 10:00am.
SSR FC Chairman Simon Ndlovu said the initiative goes beyond soccer, as it creates opportunities for people to interact, build relationships and strengthen social ties through sport.
“We organise such events annually, but this year’s edition is bigger because four teams will be participating, including two international teams and two local teams, with Zimbabwe Immigration co-hosting the event,” said Ndlovu.
SSR Public Relations Officer Tatenda Shumba said the team has made it a tradition to use sport as a tool for social integration and cross-border engagement.
“Last year we travelled to Louis Trichardt to play against South African Immigration, and this time around we thought of bringing together all border management authority agents from the two countries through sport,” said Shumba.
While SSR may appear to be simply about football, socialising, and entertainment, the team has become an important platform for fostering friendship and cooperation between people from the two neighbouring countries.
SSR which has a cross section of the Beitbridge community in its ranks may seem to be playing football, eating meat and boozing.
The team has in its ranks Ziyah Media chief executive Loadwell Ziyadumah and veteran journalist Rex Mphisa, among others.
Yet in reality it is moving mountains of difficult relations between South Africans who afterall should be good neighbours.