One moving story emerged last night on BBC TV as they did a short piece on South Africa’s Robben Island prisoners’ football league. Despite the racist authority’s initial refusal, the apartheid prisoners negotiated their rights to play the beautiful game in the stone quarry.

An internal football league was formed and the Makana Football Association was born with team names like ‘Hotspurs’, ‘Gunners’, ‘Rangers’ and ‘Ditshitshidi’.

Politicians and leading figures who played in MFA include  Minister of Defence ‘Terror’ Lekota, the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa Dikgang Moseneke, ANC President Jacob Zuma and business leader Tokyo Sexwale. Some prisoners, like Nelson Mandela, never played as they were kept in isolation. But they said he used to cheer them on from his prison cell window.

They made a film about it. Part 2 reveals how football helped the prisoners transcend their dire circumstances. So no moaning nor whining from today’s multi millionaire footballers as they play the game we all love.

[Part 2]

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Who remembers Bobby Moore and Pele swapping shirts and embracing each other after their epic battle in the opening rounds in the 1970 World Cup? *

Or France 1998 when USA played Iran (despite having cut off diplomatic relations) – the players exchanged gifts, helped each other up off the ground and secretly arranged to play a 3 game friendly series without either government knowing.*

Or the magical moment in Germany 2006 just before kick off when the Iranian goalkeeper gave a bouquet of flowers to, the still grieving, Mexican goalkeeper, Sanchez, who had just flown back from Guadalajara after burying his father.*

Will players be allowed to swap shirts? Who will demonstrate sportsmanship? So that kids everywhere see how cool sportsmanship can be when opposing players do battle and embrace afterwards? Why do players play? Because they love it. Let’s see who will show their unbridled joy?  Who will fully embrace the magic of the brotherhood of football? Send me your stories, observations and thoughts as it all unfolds and I’ll publish them here.

Quiz Question: Who is England’s best ever goal scorer (goals to games ratio)? Very few English fans know it. Post your answer. I’ll also give full answer in my next post.

Footnote * indicates the full two minute story is in the Great Moments Of Sportsmanship book.

During the interview I was moaning about the French footballer, Henri handling the ball (see 3 Wise Men) and demanding a replay in the name of Fair Play (as well as marking the end of the ‘non-video ref era’), when a wonderful Wigan FC fan phoned in (as the programme was originally about the Wigan players giving the fans their money back after Wigan were beaten  9-1 by Spurs). He  admitted that one of their players had, in fact handled the ball also, and that they, as true sportsmen, were offering Spurs the opportunity of a replay. Don’t you just love some football fans’ wit & humour? A wonderful Christmas gesture!

“22 good sports men. They played football as you like to see it played. And the crowd was good. They were a really good crowd. The English crowd clapped the Portuguese when they did anything good and vice versa. It was a real treat to be at that match. Oh I really enjoyed it. “

And when asked about how she felt when her son Bobby scored, she said:

“To tell you the truth I had a pile of programmes that I was bringing for the Bairns (children) at home , an orange drink for half time, I had a box of chocolates that I had been given, I had a box of toffees that a man had given me. I had to put all of them down before I could clap. It was really funny. Oh and then when I stood up it was a marvelous site to see the Portugal players shaking his hand. Something you don’t see these days. It was really terrific.”

You don’t see that these days. But you never know you just might if enough people spread the word about sportsmanship.