Football providing hope for Stellenbosch’s boys in crime-stricken Western Cape

Stellenbosch paid tribute to Oshwin Andries with a banner during its first game against Bengaluru FC and the final against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Team image of Stellenbosch FC. | Photo Credit: Stellenbosch@Instagram

Stellenbosch FC, based in the Western Cape province of South Africa, has enjoyed a steady rise since its inception in 2016.  

The club’s senior team finished fourth in the 2021-22 season of the South African Premier Division, and its junior team won the Premier League Next Generation Cup in United Kingdom last year. 

The Stellies, as fans call them, clinched the title by demolishing Leicester City 7-2 in the final. The last of those seven goals was scored by 19-year-old Oshwin Andries. But Andries was not there with his teammates to defend the title this year as he was stabbed to death during a get-together in his locality.  

Stellenbosch paid tribute to its number six with a banner during its first game against Bengaluru FC and the final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, where the scoreline was 1-1 at the end of regulation time, and it lost 5-6 on penalties. 

“We lost a very dear friend and player in Oshwin Andries a few months ago, who was stabbed. He famously scored the last goal against Leicester in the final last year. It’s a real struggle that these boys go through and I’m very proud of them for being here after everything they’ve faced,” an emotional coach Evangelos Vellios told  Sportstar. 

Stellenbosch paid tribute to Andries with a banner.  | Photo Credit: Nigamanth P

South Africa is ranked third in the Crime Index 2023, with close to 76 crimes committed for every 1,00,000 people. The Western Cape province, where Stellenbosch hails from, has one of the highest assault and robbery rates in the country. The ratio is close to 99 per 1,00,000 of the population. 

“These boys come from very different backgrounds. What you call slums here, we call them townships back home and those areas are unfortunately occupied by gangs. The fact that these players are here is nothing but a miracle,” Vellios said. 

Stellenbosch also retired the number 25 jersey in honour of Andries.

Stellenbosch was unbeaten during its title run last season, and this year, too, it posted wins over Bengaluru FC and ATK Mohun Bagan while drawing its game against English Premier League side West Ham.  

“We’ve got close to 60 million people in our country. We are a strong rugby and cricket nation. But if you look at the demographics of our country, being a predominantly African country, we’re naturally well-built and that helps us. Our raw pace has helped us edge past others,” the 39-year-old coach said. 

The likes of Antonio van Wyk and Kyle Jurgens broke into Stellenbosch’s first team after impressing last year in the UK and coach Vellios hopes a few more from this year’s edition will make the same journey.