A free weekend for any sports journalist is worth its weight in gold because that’s when we normally do most of our work. That’s why it was a welcome relief last week when I had time to loiter around since the Telkom Knockout final was the only match happening and I wasn’t working.
I used that time to attend the Abantu Book Festival, the brainchild of authors Panashe Chigumadzi and Thando Mgqolozana.
The festival was organised under the theme Our Stories. ln May last year, Mgqolozana announced that he wouldn’t be attending white literary festivals anymore. That was the spark that led to this festival.
He told the Daily Vox: “I feel I’m there to perform for an audience that doesn’t treat me as a literary talent, but as an anthropological subject - as though those people are here to confirm their suspicions that somehow I am inferior to them.”
Instead of just complaining, he did something with the aim to give black writers and readers a platform that most white literary festivals deny them or do a bad job of it when they try.
It was a beautiful sight, seeing those black faces debunking many stereotypes about us not reading, as we supported what was a wonderful initiative.
My highlight was listening to legends like Don Mattera and Mongane Wally Serote, facilitated by Elinor Sisulu. These two great poets spoke at length about how they overcame the struggles of the past and how the current generation must now pick up the baton and fight today’s challenges like #FeesMustFall.
Another challenge our generation must fight and address is how poorly we have done in documenting our footballing past, especially in books. There are a handful of books written about our football with even less good ones; most would serve greater purpose balancing skewed tables than as reading material.
But at least the people who wrote those books, no matter how bad they might be, have done better than most of us because they at least have done something about it.
Our poor record-keeping goes beyond documenting our triumphs and stories in book form. It extends to keeping statistics and celebrating important milestones. More often than not our milestones are celebrated by the issuing of press releases rather than doing something tangible.
A large part of that is that some people realise on the actual day that it’s an important day in our football history. We need to keep better records of important milestones so history-makers can be properly appreciated while they’re still alive.
That would lead us to documenting our achievements better and prominently. Imagine the many great stories we should be telling but we’re silent. The next thing we’ll complain when outsiders come and do a bad job at telling them.
I fell in love with football through my late father who taught me about the beautiful game and told me numerous stories of our past, from Jomo Sono’s famous performance after leaving his wedding halfway through the reception to the fans who burned a stadium, the charismatic Zola Mahobe and the Orlando Pirates supporters who couldn’t bear to see the league slip through their grasp.
So they “motivated” then coach Gordon Igesund after they stormed the club’s training. Pirates won the league and Igesund didn’t stay much longer after that incident. Those stories did two things, they made me fall in love with football and they made me be a story-teller.
I had to scavenge the depths of a lot of libraries to read about those stories. I didn’t find enough material and what little I found, didn’t satisfy my appetite. Years later not much has changed in that regard.
It’s our responsibility as journalists and writers to change that. I can’t wait for the day when I enter a bookstore and I am greeted by an autobiography about our sports legends, instead of the current scenario where it’s mainly European and American sport that dominate our bookstores.
In terms of doing better in keeping statistics, it’s just a matter of moving on with the times. Companies like Opta and Prozone, sport data companies, have revolutionised the game with the statistics they provide.