Popular kasi football entertainer Xolani “Blackberry” Nkala has defended the showboating which was the order of the day during the Philly's Games tournament played in Thembisa this month.
“This tournament has a place in our football. You can see with the things we do here we are showcasing what we can do as South Africans. I am just going to say this football here at the Philly’s Games is like Brazilian [soccer]," said Nkala.
The televised tournament grabbed headlines due to the extravagant showboating that is a feature of the matches played mostly on gravel fields.
In one of the games, Isithembiso players fell to the ground and allowed Phanda Phanda to gain possession and score a consolation goal while leading by a bigger margin on aggregate, drawing ridicule and applause in equal measure.
Nkala, who is also on the books of National First Division (NFD) side Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) and played for AT Mambas at this year’s tournament, said there is space for informal football.
“If you take Brazilian football and put it here it will be like kasi (township) football. In kasi football, you can do anything with skills, the way the likes of Neymar do it.
“Those Brazilians can play in Europe. These games are nice because we can also showcase our talent and how good we are. It is a great tournament because we can impress and show people how South African football is.
“You watch [SA professional football in the Premier Soccer League], and every day we play like we are in England. But we are not in England; we are South Africans. This tournament shows that South Africans have skill and talent.
“If you play against Brazil, they can dominate you with skill. This is a nice tournament because we have players who can express themselves with their skills to entertain the crowd.
“PSL teams must give us the opportunity to play and they will see how good we are.”
As for the results, One Lion were crowned Philly's Games champions after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over Isithembiso on Monday.
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Image: supplied
Popular kasi football entertainer Xolani “Blackberry” Nkala has defended the showboating which was the order of the day during the Philly's Games tournament played in Thembisa this month.
“This tournament has a place in our football. You can see with the things we do here we are showcasing what we can do as South Africans. I am just going to say this football here at the Philly’s Games is like Brazilian [soccer]," said Nkala.
The televised tournament grabbed headlines due to the extravagant showboating that is a feature of the matches played mostly on gravel fields.
In one of the games, Isithembiso players fell to the ground and allowed Phanda Phanda to gain possession and score a consolation goal while leading by a bigger margin on aggregate, drawing ridicule and applause in equal measure.
Nkala, who is also on the books of National First Division (NFD) side Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) and played for AT Mambas at this year’s tournament, said there is space for informal football.
“If you take Brazilian football and put it here it will be like kasi (township) football. In kasi football, you can do anything with skills, the way the likes of Neymar do it.
“Those Brazilians can play in Europe. These games are nice because we can also showcase our talent and how good we are. It is a great tournament because we can impress and show people how South African football is.
“You watch [SA professional football in the Premier Soccer League], and every day we play like we are in England. But we are not in England; we are South Africans. This tournament shows that South Africans have skill and talent.
“If you play against Brazil, they can dominate you with skill. This is a nice tournament because we have players who can express themselves with their skills to entertain the crowd.
“PSL teams must give us the opportunity to play and they will see how good we are.”
As for the results, One Lion were crowned Philly's Games champions after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over Isithembiso on Monday.
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