Mkhulu Mashau
There is more to Soweto Saps Football Club’s affiliation to the Soweto Football Association (SFA) than just honouring their weekly Premier League fixtures.
They are gradually achieving one of their primary objectives of forging links with members of the community.
Through football, they are changing the attitude of people towards the police. The club’s officials and players believe playing football with Soweto teams allows them an opportunity to interact with the community.
Club chairperson Warrant Officer David Motsi said this week: “We are people first and police officers after. We are just like other human beings and we should not be classified according to the job we do as if we are aliens,” said Motsi.
Motsi said their early days in the league was no easy walk in the park. “We did perfectly on the field by winning convincingly each week. That’s how we earned respect,” said Motsi. Made up exclusively of members of the South African Police Services from Soweto police stations, the team have come a long way, defying all odds before breaking into the highly competitive league.
The team are in Stream D of the eight-team mini league.