SOCCER GRANNIES

One woman’s story of getting to know a legendary South African women’s soccer team.

Duffy’s story begins in Boston in 2010, when she eagerly awaited the start of the FIFA World Cup. Duffy, a 51-year-old self-proclaimed “soccer freak,” received an email from a friend telling her about a soccer team in rural South Africa made up entirely of grandmothers, all of whom were Black. Duffy, herself a member of a soccer team of older women in Massachusetts, impulsively wrote to Rebecca “Beka” Ntsanwisi, the founder of the Grannies (official team name: Vakhegula Vakhegula), asking if their two outfits could be official sister teams. She began corresponding with Beka and worked to bring Vakhegula Vakhegula to America for some exhibition play in Lancaster, Massachusetts. She eventually met her new sports idols and learned about some of their struggles with poor health, disapproving relatives, the search for sponsorships, and so on. Duffy adroitly balances her narrative among these different topics, from the backstories of the individual athletes to the challenges of the game itself. In warm prose, Duffy describes a world of soccer in South Africa that can still be deeply sexist, juxtaposing this state of affairs against the tremendous impact the Grannies have had within their country and beyond. Duffy also does an excellent job of capturing Beka’s wisdom. “If you want to succeed in life, you have to suffer,” the team matriarch says at one such point; “you cannot just climb a mountain without struggling.” Readers will find the Grannies’ story genuinely touching. “I have been a happy woman since I have been playing football,” says 67-year-old Norah Mtileni. “I am living so well. My soul has settled.” This is a sports story full of extraordinary achievement that will likely make “soccer freaks” out of quite a few readers.

A heartfelt, inspiring story of the world’s most unconventional soccer team.