Obs home to top football club

PASSION was brought back home to Observatory when a soccer fanatic Zaid Omar started the first successful football club in Observatory.

Zaid, 42, grew up in Salt River and his dream was to become a soccer player. The laws in South Africa at that time made it impossible for him to make a career out of soccer, which led him to study sport science.
Kapstadt Football Club (FC) is situated at the Hartleyvale Stadium D field in Observatory and has been based here for four years. The name Kapstadt was given to the club when Zaid visited Germany and they asked him whether there was a club named Kapstadt.
He mentioned that there was an Ajax team, which is a Dutch soccer team’s name, and that there was Santos, which is also a Brazilian team’s name. “The Germans were confused and said ‘you have Brazilian and Holland named teams, but no Kapstadt?’ And I said, ‘Don't worry, there is a team named Kapstadt’,” said Zaid. This then inspired him to start a football team in South Africa named Kapstadt FC. “The spelling gave it an international feel.”
The football club was formed in 2002. “We've been pretty successful, because when we started we were one of the first Football Club to have an international brand to sponsor us... New Balance wanted to associate their brand name to our club name (New Balance FC). When that relationship sort of dated, we adopted our name Kapstadt Football Club”.
When the football club started, they initially only played in the second division which is known as the Vodacom League, and they only had two teams.
Now, Kapstadt FC has two under-seven teams, three under-nine teams, two under-11 teams, one under-13 and a first and second team from 19 years and older. They currently don't have enough field space to play all these teams, and are hoping to get the A field which is currently being used by Greenpoint football club.
“We asked the City of Cape Town to help us. This is an investment to the community, into the people, the kids and the youth, they are just very slow. You'd think that after the World Cup there would be so much money available for South African amateur football, but it's not so,” said Zaid.

There are about 15 young players from Observatory who are members of the club’s Youth Division and around five senior members who reside in Observatory.

The junior fees, which excludes kit, are R240 per month and senior fees are R1000 for the season. Membership is open to all, but especially to those who can meet the membership requirement. “For under-seven players, we encourage and assess players’ basic skills before accepting membership. For seniors, since we’re a performance based club, we would like to encourage aspiring footballers who can indeed compete to join,” said Zaid.

Because of the club being run professionally, being very structured, very organised and very disciplined, their teams are able to remain top of the Cape Town Tygerberg Football Association division. “I am proud to say that every team that plays in the Cape Town Tygerberg (league), is top of their division, that must tell you that we are doing something right,” said Zaid.
There are numerous players who rose through the ranks of Kapstadt FC now playing professional football around the world and in the Premier Soccer League.Vorgen Less (Wits University), Welcome Qalanto (Maritzburg United), Athony Moniz (Vasco Da Gama), Ernil Kemp (Santos), Leroy Maluka (Finland), Danny Bowers (Santos), Craig Jordan (Santos), Asavela Mbekile (FC Cape Town) and James Madidilane (SA Under-20 & Bloemfontein Celtic).