Welcome to our new football site….This Is Football Africa. I’m Peter du Toit, lots of you may know me from Soccer Laduma which I founded 25 years ago. After selling the business in 2020 and taking a two-year break, I am now very excited to be back online with you. Our This is Football Africa soccer site is about saying it like it is. We aim to create an environment where the entire football community converges to get their thirst of football first, and where journalists and fans alike join hands in creating an online community, that takes an active role in the journey to deliver our football to where it deserves to be.
As you probably know, I believe very strongly that you the reader, is our boss and myself and the TIFA team cannot wait to engage with you on all matters of football.
Even though this is a site that will bring you the best of what you expect in previews, reviews, stories and news, it is more than ever a site that aims to speak on your behalf.
TIFA aims to be the site that creates the space for you to be heard, where your views have a serious chance of making a difference. We also want to be the place that those of you who want to have a chance of making a career in football media, get a chance at that opportunity. More about that later in this column and future columns.
Throughout the years of me being completely in love with the beautiful game, first as a very young fan, then as a professional player, and then as the owner of Soccer Laduma, it has always been the conversation with the fans, my fellow lovers of the game, that has truly been my most important and happiest place.
I want this site to become our place. That is my dream. That is the dream of the TIFA team.
We aim to bring you what you want without you even asking for it, but even more importantly, we want to become the platform that genuinely brings ownership of SA football to where it belongs, in other words, with you. That cannot happen without you and collaborating with each other on a regular basis. Therefore, over and above the news and match reporting, a major part of this site will be a weekly column from me to you, so that we can achieve the objectives that we believe are important in growing the game back to where it should be in SA. This site must serve you!
My weekly column will cover issues such as my current thoughts on the state of our football and seek out your views and opinions in order to bring them to the fore. In addition, to direct you to our regular features that are designed to guide you around the site, and to encourage you to participate and take ownership of the subjects discussed. We will then take your views and opinions to the relevant parties like the PSL, the various clubs you support, SAFA, CAF and even FIFA.
The plan is to also introduce numerous new ways on how to make positive changes in our football happen, as well as taking certain standard methods to new heights. In this regard, it is important to emphasize how much we value your input to guide us as to what you want.
The various sections of the site are designed to allow me and the TIFA team to engage and collaborate with you as much as humanly possible.
For example, under the PDT section, you will find my weekly column, which will have regular features on it and links to the areas of discussion and interest such as;
Fix SA football – Where we meet to decide what issues you believe need fixing or should be addressed by the PSL, the PSL clubs, SAFA, CAF and FIFA. These issues could either be introduced via a story written by us, or initiated and supported by you, the fans. We would then all engage and collaborate on the issue, and once the story/issue gets enough support from yourselves, we take it to the relevant party to be addressed, and we keep pushing until you get your feedback. This will be done in a non-confrontational way, in order to encourage the powers that be to understand that the supporters are partners in the ownership of football, and to understand that without supporters it’s amateur football, and it’s therefore in their own interest to welcome this new fan initiative! We all love our football, but there is a lot that needs improving, and no one knows that better than you, the fans. After all it is entirely due to your support that the league and the football clubs receive their sponsorship monies.
Letters to the editor – This is the section where you and I will try to engage constantly. I will do my best to read and answer every post. This section epitomizes what TIFA is about. Namely, to encourage you to speak to us regularly, share your opinions and views, ask questions and to debate.
Be a journalist – This section, which is close to my heart, is the space that we hope to be the regular launching pad for a host of new journalists. You will send us your articles, interviews and stories, and the ones that have potential will be put on the site for your fellow readers to evaluate, and hopefully through this process many new journalists will emerge. Of course, we will also make comments and mentor where we can. Later this will develop into opportunities for those of you who want to do podcasts, videos, documentaries and film. Fill in the form in the section and send us your articles of a word count of no less than 250 words but no more than 700. Quote your sources if you have used any. One of the aims is that future journalists will emerge from this section.
Other sections of the site that we hope you will enjoy are;
Fan Club – This is a kind of Facebook dedicated for you guys to create your own space and support each other in any way that you feel is best.
The South African section consists of the PSL, SAFA, Bafana and Banyana.
The International section will look at the big 5 leagues in world football.
The African Super League – The proposed ASL, which is due to start in August 2023 will have enormous ramifications for football in Africa and will have big effect on local leagues including the PSL. Lots to discuss and debate here.
At a later stage we will introduce additional sections to the site, and we are also looking at creating models that will allow for our users to earn income while on the site.
We want this to eventually becomes the site that fulfils your football needs and more.
For now, we are going to start slowly, building up the quality and not quantity. Please be patient with us on our journey to be your site of choice. Please support us with your suggestions of how we can improve and what you want changed.
Lead the way for us with your feedback.
So happy to be back with you.
Thanks
Peter