The scene: A football field in Diepsloot, a settlement in northern Johannesburg. The event: The first stop on the Sport Heroes Walk, and a few hundred people, mainly children, are gathered to have fun, and learn a few sports tricks from the likes of Veronica Phewa, one of South Africa’s first class female football players.

Brand new soccer balls!

Brand new soccer balls!

Suddenly the doors of a silver Volkswagen van opens, and brand new soccer balls start rolling out the doors. There’s about thirty seconds of silence and stares, and then dozens of children storm the van. This is the first of the consignment of soccer balls that SRSA will be handing out at each stopover to kids and other participants int he Sport Heroes’ coaching clinics! Adult marshals have their hands full controlling the children, loosly assigning smaller kids first in line to receive their complimentary soccer balls from the SRSA support team on hand. One hundred balls are handed out, which means that about all kids under the age of six or so are moments later dribbling a ball around the soccer field.

I walk around speaking to some of the Heroes. Pointing to the blazing early afternoon sun, they’re all speculating what the heat will be like once they reach the likes of Musina and Phalaborwa. ‘We’re in for a hot trip’, is the standard answer.

I catch up with Cynthia who is watching the hullabaloo on the soccer field. I’m rearing to get going, to hit the road in Limpopo’, she says. Communities out there are waiting for us’. Indeed.

She confirms that the first run of the 2009 Sport Heroes Walk will start tomorrow (Sunday, 15th) right here in Diepsloot, and ending in Winterveld north of Pretoria, where the next stopover will be. On Monday it’s on to Bela-Bela, the first stop in Limpopo proper.

The show’s on the road!