Amherst Soccer Association

An Assist at the World Cup

By John Bronstein - Niagara Gazette

AMHERST — Brendan Murphy landed in South Africa with 48 soccer balls, 18 pairs of soccer cleats, and the desire to do good.

He came back with a vuvuzela, indelible memories, and a mission to do more for the impoverished township of Soweto.

Murphy, 30, the director of coaching for the Amherst Soccer Association and the goalkeepers coach at Niagara University for the past two seasons, was inspired by a photo spread he saw in Sports Illustrated before going with three of his former St. Lawrence University teammates to watch the first week of the World Cup.

“It showed all these kids that had made their own soccer balls out of yarn and plastic bags that they tied together,” Murphy said. “You could see the pride on their faces, how much they cared about that one ball. I looked at it and figured, how many times did they fail in trying to make just one soccer ball that works, that rolls properly.”

Murphy contrasted that with the daily occurrence of finding a good ball left behind at one of the Amherst fields used by the region’s largest youth program.

After raiding the lost and found, Murphy solicited donations from ASA board members and parents. He packed a 50-pound suitcase full of soccer balls, and stuffed his carry-on luggage with cleats and T-shirts.

Contributed Photo: GREAT SAVE: Former Niagara University men’s soccer

assistant Brendan Murphy, bottom left, provided soccer balls and equipment donated

by the Amherst Soccer Association to young players in Soweto, South Africa, while attending the opening week of the World Cup.

“I knew, once I was going to Africa, that I was bringing something,” Murphy said. “Soccer is my passion, I’m going there for soccer, and these people love soccer. I’m going to bring something and hopefully find someplace to give them out. But I didn’t know where.”

•••

Soweto is a depressed urban area in the city of Johannesburg with a population estimated at about one million. It often served as the setting for South Africa’s struggle against Apartheid, and is considered by many now to be a dangerous place to visit.

Andre “Pooch” Webster, a Jamaican living in New York City who played at St. Lawrence with Murphy, paid a driver to give him a tour of Soweto. When the driver, a Nigerian man, got lost, he also got scared, and wanted to go back to the safer streets where the World Cup was being staged.

Webster resisted. He knew Soweto was where Murphy’s donated items should go, and he wanted to find the young players who needed them most. Eventually, Webster linked up with a man who used to bodyguard for Nelson Mandela, and another man involved with the Ormonde Young Masters soccer club.

Murphy arrived later in the week, and on a Saturday, he and Webster set out to tour Soweto with three locals — Milifi, Dominick and Robbie — as guides.

“At first you have to go on trust with these people,” Murphy said. “I was nervous to begin with.

“... It’s supposed to be this dangerous place. You’re not supposed to go there. Even people in South Africa are scared. They say you should leave Soweto by 4 p.m. because it starts to get dark and bad things happen or whatever. We were there from noon until 2 a.m. Never left, no problems. Everybody was so friendly. They all wanted to see what the heck we were doing there.”

Murphy and his group found masses of people everywhere they went. Many of them were playing soccer, or at least passing a ball around, even though there were few suitable fields.

“Everybody is outside,” Murphy said. “And it’s cold too. It was winter there. They’re not outside because it’s beautiful weather. They’re outside because what else is there inside? Their houses are like you see them on Survivor, dead trees and a tarp over the top.

“... Everywhere you go, there are people kicking soccer balls. Not just soccer balls. Basketballs, they’re kicking it. Volleyballs, they’re kicking it. Tennis balls, they’re kicking it.”

Murphy had his Flip video camera rolling the whole time. Highlights of his day in Soweto can be seen at www.AmherstSoccer.com/DoC.

•••

The soccer balls were dispersed among the various groups playing in the street. Malifi brought Murphy to meet most of the boys playing for the Ormonde Young Masters, and they eagerly accepted the cleats.

“Some of the kids we saw were playing in boots with steel toes,” Murphy said.

Shown pictures of the club teams, Murphy was struck by how each age group wore the same uniforms; the under-11 squad swallowed up in the extra large kits fit for the U-17s.

“Short sleeve shirts come down to here,” Murphy said, pointing to his wrist. “Shorts down to there chest, (neck holes) hang down to their chest.”

On Aug. 10, Murphy will share his experience with the ASA board of directors, and propose a plan to direct a portion of the club’s camp revenue to a fund that would give the Ormonde Young Masters properly-sized uniforms.

If that venture proves successful, Murphy hopes to strengthen the bond by getting Amherst families to host youth players from Soweto for a summer.

“We’d like to inspire them with the opportunities they could have playing soccer in college here,” said Murphy, who recently joined the University at Buffalo coaching staff. “And educate them on what college is, what they need to do to get in to college, and even, what a scholarship is, why they would want one.”

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258