Pole to Pole
Day 123: Soutpansberg Mountains to Johannesburg
Greater Horned football supporter.
We follow an expensive red car into the ground. 'Soweto BMW' says the rear window sticker. Admission is five rand - about a pound, which is not bad value considering this is a cup semi-final between the local team, Sundowns, and the holders, Jomo Cosmos from Johannesburg.The status of football being relatively humble here, Sundowns arrive squeezed into a minibus bearing their motto which, with an unfortunate letter missing, comes out as - 'Sundowns. The Sky is the Limi'.
The Jomo Cosmos team is as far as I can tell the personal property of Jomo Sono, a Pele and a Charlton of South African football. It has been managed for the past nine years by a Scot from Arbroath called Ray Matthews. I am privileged to hear his warm-up chat in the dressing-room. He exhorts his players in a broad Scots accent that gives no hint of twenty years spent in South Africa. 'Mothale, you feed Minkhalebe . . . Masinga overlap Singiapi . . . '
Choose another day from Pole to Pole
PALIN'S GUIDES
- Series: Pole to Pole
- Day: 123
- Country/sea: South Africa
- Place: Pretoria
- Book page no: 276
Bookmarks will keep your place in one or more series. But you'll need to register and/or log in.
){kind=link}