Ruan Meyer

Goal50 upfront about racism

There’s no mistaking that the hottest ever news in South Africa’s third tier soccer was the appointment of Ruan Meyer as head coach of Goal50 United. It was an historic moment because for the first time ever a white man was coaching a squad of Afrikaan players. In a world that is currently rife with racial prejudice, it was a massive breakthrough.

You’re 24. You love football. You like working with sportsmen and sportswomen. You love doing team. You’re a motivator. And you’re never going to make it as a professional player.

Ruan Meyer would concur with all of these statements. He‘s a coach and a fine up-coming coach at that. He’s applied his skills at top tier club Ajax Cape Town as well as at Goal50 United. He has an insatiable appetite for the game.

Tall, intelligent, confident, Ruan has spent time in the UK at Bolton International Academy and Manchester Metropolitan University. He studied for his UEFA B qualification in Ireland. Two things were against him, his nationality and his tender age. He fought through both to get his place in Ireland.

Having completed his studies he’s determined to work his way right to the top. He loves the psychology of getting the best out of players. He understands that some players need to see a diagram of how to play a team system, some need it demonstrated, some need to read up on it. Everyone’s different.

He’s not convinced that shouting is helpful with players. ‘You might get an immediate reaction’ he says, ‘but continually doing this is just negative. And ‘we’ is much better than ‘I’ in a team sport. A plan is much better when everyone buys into it.’ He truly believes that whilst less than 1% make it to professional standard, 100% can learn to play better.

Ruan’s philosophy dovetails beautifully with that of Goal50. The charity is sponsoring this fledgling club because it brings the community together under the banner of Heideveld UNITE. Several smaller clubs in the township have fed their best players into the new club, encouraging the talent to stay within the community rather than move to the pro and semi-pro clubs of the city. But it’s not all plain sailing.

During Ruan’s time at Goal50 United he raised standards of discipline too. And he’s brought in support coaches from Scotland and Greece. A league of nations. And though Ruan is now back at top division club - Ajax Cape Town - his appointment will long be remembered in South African soccer is a ground-breaking move to overcome racial barriers.

It’s not a question of race, it’s a matter of who’s right for the task.