Up and coming stars of Australian Rules Football

AFL South Africa Scholarship Holders


Bayanda Sobetwa

Corey Wastle 3:45 PM Tue 08 December, 2009

Bayanda Sobetwa, Prince Nematswerani, Chesney Botha and Thembi Opaster, they may not be household names, nor may they roll off the tongue smoothly but they’re talented South African footballers and they’re quickly turning heads in Australia.



The quartet, each AFL South Africa Scholarship holders last week took part in the AIS-AFL Academy’s training camp held at Canberra’s Australian Institute of Sport.
The eight-day camp provided the four boys with the chance to train, live and learn alongside thirty of Australia’s most talented underage footballers. Under the watchful eye of AIS-AFL High Performance coach Jason McCartney and the guidance of mentors Tom Harley, Michael O’Loughlin and Matthew Lloyd, the South Africans did not appear out of place with Australia’s finest youngsters.
David Matthews, the AFL’s General Manager of Game Development says the promising quartet is a testament to the continued growth of the game in South Africa. “The AFL South Africa Talent Pathway has developed rapidly in a very short period of time. With the growth of participation bases in four Provinces, we will continue to look at ways to provide elite opportunities and fast track talent. The introduction of the WORLD XVIII in 2010 is one such opportunity and I would expect a number of South Africans to be selected,” said Matthews.
Sobetwa 19, who last year played three games in the Western Australian Football League excelled in the kicking test conducted by AFL Biomechanist Kevin Ball. Each player’s kicking technique was taped and compared on screen to that of Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley. “I was pretty close,” said a jubilant Sobetwa, “He only beat me on core strength and the angle of my toes.”
The camp also exposed the quartet to the important off-field elements of elite sport including nutrition, hydration, recovery, goal setting and stress management, although when asked to raise their hand if they had ever felt stressed, Opaster 18, was certain that to this point, stress had somehow evaded him.
All four were in agreeance that the highlight of the camp was the chance to participate in all the aspects of training, particularly game sense and ball handling drills. The dedication and work ethic of the Academy boys was not lost on the South Africans with Nematswerani 17, identifying Luke Parker and Curtly Hampton as the best trainers. “They train so hard. Their knowledge of the game and ability to create space is also really good,” said Nematswerani.
Beginning Tuesday each will spend the remainder of the week in an AFL club environment. Sobetwa (North Melbourne), Nematswerani (Carlton), Opaster (Fremantle) and Botha (West Coast) will get the chance to mix with the AFL stars of today and face the challenge of pre-season training. Although nervous, Botha 17 is excited about the prospect of being worked over on the pre-season training track. “I love a challenge and I hope they put me through all of it,” said Botha. “It will be the first time I have stepped into a professional environment, they will have high expectations and I hope I can reach them.”
With over 20,000 South Africans now participating in ‘FootyWILD’ programs, South Africa’s adapted version of the game and the obvious talents of the current scholarship quartet, Matthews is adamant that it’s only a matter of time before a South African boy finds his way onto an AFL list. “I’m extremely confident that it won’t be long before we have a South African player in the AFL,” said Matthews.
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http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/87941/default.aspx

 

Other Initiatives​

South Africa Trip
In October four AFL players took part in an end-of season-trip with a difference. Jason Johnson, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Kris Massie and Mark Bolton accompanied AFL Foundation CEO Derek Linsell and World Vision CEO Tim Costello on a trip to South Africa to gain a first hand insight into the plight of extreme poverty. Arriving in Durban the players were taken to rural areas where they saw for themselves the desperate poverty in which so many South Africans live.
As the AFL explores opportunities for game development in South Africa, there are unique opportunities for the AFL community to be directly involved in making a difference in South African communities that have grossly inadequate health services, educational opportunities and employment prospects. The visit was a small step towards exploring ways the AFL can work cooperatively with agencies such as World Vision and The Oaktree Foundation.​

Sports without Borders
The AFL Foundation recently made a grant of $5000 to the not-for-profit organisation Sports Without Borders for their work providing support for young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds who are involved or want to get involved in sport.
Sports Without Borders provide funding assistance to alleviate the barriers and impediments children from migrant and refugee communities face when trying to participate in community club sports.
It is hoped that this initial grant will be the start of active and mutually beneficial relationship between Sports Without Borders and the AFL Foundation.


it appears that aussie rules has began a love affair with south africa and i am so encouraged by that. i did a search on official afl site and came up with the link below....
http://www.afl.com.au/AFLSearch/tabid/11471/Default.aspx?gq=african&s=www.afl.com.au
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is this thread alive because I said AFL wasn't as tough as American Football

 

lol...where on earth have i compared australian and american football or mentioned you pecs...??? this thread is alive because i've noticed that the afl are now doing all that is possible to start recruiting players from south africa.

 

lol

this thread has officially been hijacked

 

where's that pic of you in your tights?????

 

Also in europe.