Fusball - the beautiful game

Soccer at a nearby field

     I've been under the weather for the past few days and while Gloria and Claire traveled to work at an IDP camp this weekend I stayed in Ngong. This afternoon my illness began to clear up and I ventured out with Issac to the nearby soccer field.
     There are no language barriers in soccer. A hand signal for directional plays, hands to the chest for a "me, me, me" action and hands down palms up to ask for the ball placed at your foot. The warm ups are always the same, I made a fool out of myself and then made a fool of others. As the day went on respect and communication between players grew. A "budda" (brother) or "wewe" to get attention and "cuja" (come) to get a player to continue dribbling.
    At 4 the children were on the field for practice, but as time passed the elder boys, and men coming home from work joined the frey for a very fast paced game. As more people arrived they easily stepped into warm-ups and the game, no conversations needed. Though I did not participate in the later game I hope once I'm back to health I can.
    And no matter where you go there seems to always be the same confrontations. In example the prima donna striker who dish out some tough blows but will complain when they receive a strong tackle from a no-nonsense defender who hates prima donnas.
    All you need is a ball and a place to play. This is why soccer is a global game a beautiful game.