NAFA OVERSEAS TOURS
The Northern Areas Football Association has an organizational culture that has always viewed sport, as one of the major mediums in the development of an individual. The objectives of the NAFA leadership include the administration and promotion of soccer holistically. This involves every player, coaches and administrators. It has not only produced excellent footballers and administrators (over the years), but also people that have become leaders in the community, and this genre has automatically impacted on our religious institutions, education sector, commerce and industry.
NAFA has been in operation for sixty years and its success and strong existence is attributed to its constant revitalizing of ideas and pursuance of dreams by the President Vally Brink. Positive motivation of players, coaches, referees and administrators, ensures the optimum performance which is evident in this organization.
A unique and unimaginable feature of progression of NAFA soccer emerged when exploratory and educational tours extended into Europe. This is besides the general Inter – Provincial LFA tournaments which are held regularly. Our first tour was a trip to London in 2007. More than 100 players (both senior & juniors), officials, coaches and parents were exposed to the international sports scene. This tour required an eighteen – month long trial of detailed planning. This steep learning curve was a powerful crash course for NAFA.
Great praise is awarded to the parents who had dug in their heels by fund – rising with sincere enthusiasm and positive determination. For most, this was the first major eye – opener to the intricacies of travel abroad by way of accessing travel documents. The processes of obtaining unabridged birth certificates, passports, visa applications and forex taught parents and travellers alike how preparation includes great stresses which eventually results in trust in officials and therefore ultimate satisfaction. The result was peace of mind when the legal requirements for overseas travel had been achieved.
The players were warmly welcomed and received top quality coaching in London. They played matches against football academies, which resulted in unexpected victories. Trips to major sports stadia like Emirates Stadium -Arsenal FC , Stanford Bridge -Chelsea FC and Wembley was undertaken and became regular features of the itinerary when we went on sight- seeing tours. (This very important educational aspect was built into the 2011 and 2013 tours.) One of the most exciting experiences for the group was to hop on and off the underground trains in London!
The second overseas tour occurred in 2011. Much emphasis was put on player – coaching and technical skills development. Friendly matches were played in the Netherlands and at the Dutch National Training Camp in Zeist. They hardly had enough ‘off days’ as much of the time was spent in being coached or playing friendship games and going on educational tours. A stop-over at Madrid in Spain allowed a visit to the famous Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home ground of the famous Real Madrid. This proved to be the best highlight! Friendly games were also played in the town of Vreden in Germany.
In 2013 a touring group of more than 100 went to Lisbon, Portugal , where they again received extensive coaching on the Sports Campus of the University of Lisbon and also visited Estadio Da Luz – home of Sporting Lesboa Benfica. Walking tours were undertaken of the city and bus tours into the surrounding countryside. A Brief stop-over was done in Paris, the main attraction of course being the visit to the Eiffel Tower.
We’ve built friendships and established relationships with well-established footballing nations of Europe and with that became ambassadors for South Africa.
LONDON 2007
HOLLAND 2011
PORTUGAL 2013
