Passion for soccer and people the driving force behind sport academy

Driven by a passion for soccer and the desire to see Buffalo City youth succeed in sports and education, unemployed Mdantsane resident Nzimeni Fanta founded the Blue Aces Sport Academy, gathering young boys and girls of all ages to play sport at the Vulumzi JP School playground in NU1 every afternoon.

Fanta’s objective is to keep the youths occupied with sports and away from a life of crime and drugs.

A former soccer player,  he was inspired to start the academy after seeing a young boy being beaten by a notorious crime forum for allegedly stealing from a local store. 

“Witnessing the violent way that boy was being punished moved me to tears as I thought to myself that no human being deserves to be beaten to that point, regardless of what they had done,” Fanta said.

“It dawned on me that had that boy had something constructive to do, he probably would not have found himself in that position.

“I started the academy because, firstly, I love the game of soccer and, secondly, I wanted to save many other boys and girls from ending up committing crime because they have nothing to do.” 

Every afternoon more than 80 youths gather at the Vulumzi sports ground where Fanta connects them with soccer coaches who train them for games that they play on weekends and tournaments against other teams. 

While the boys play soccer on one side, young girls practice netball on the other side on a nearby netball court.  

Fanta was nominated by Zolani Ngesmani for the 2023 Local Heroes Awards.

With the support of the NU1 community, Fanta has now established an executive committee consisting of qualified people who help the children with school work and family-related challenges. 

“The executive committee is made up of parents who are professionals in their various fields and they have a lot to contribute towards the holistic development of these kids,” Fanta said.

“For example, we have someone who is a teacher by profession who helps the kids with homework and monitors their performance at school so she can assist where necessary.

“Another committee member is in the social welfare field and attends to issues that affect the kids back at home.

“Some come from broken families and others have challenges that include not having important documents, such as birth certificates.”  

When the Dispatch visited the school field on Tuesday afternoon at least 30 young boys of various ages were being trained, while more continued to trickle in.

Community members hailed Fanta as their local hero, saying he had calmed the anxieties of many parents who no longer had to worry about their children’s whereabouts after school and on weekends. 

Vuyokazi Dyalvane, who lives opposite the school, said Fanta had made an impressive difference in, not only the children’s lives, but the township’s economy too. 

Although Dyalvane does not have children in the academy, she runs a snack-selling business which benefits from the buzz created by tournaments held at the stadium. 

“Whenever there are games held here, it’s an opportunity for our businesses in the area to grow,” she said.

“You will always find me sitting close to the field, selling my stuff to the crowd.

“These tournaments also unite people and attract soccer fans from far and wide in Mdantsane, who come all the way for sports.

“It’s a nice boost for our businesses and a good thing to keep the kids occupied.”  

Nomawethu Titi, whose son plays for the academy, said young boys and girls stood a greater risk of being involved in crime before Fanta started the academy. 

“Our kids use to roam around and sit on street corners, and we would have no idea where they are or what they’re doing,” she said.

“Now we relax, knowing that when they’re not in school, they are on the soccer field and in safe hands. We’ve seen a huge positive impact.”  

Involved the soccer fraternity for more than 20 years, Fanta was elected as deputy president of the Gompo Local Football Association after the 2012 merger of the Duncan Village and Amalinda soccer associations. 

Since the early 2000s, he has developed young players from Duncan Village, Scenery Park, Amalinda, Reeston and Mdantsane, and has helped various BCM soccer teams secure funding from the national lottery.

Some of his successful graduates include Sundowns FC and Banyana Banyana player Melinda Kgadiete.

Fanta was recently recruited by Safa Buffalo City to bolster their marketing department by publicising their activities on various media platforms.