Where we started
The GIBS Football Club began as an internal initiative amongst employees to connect beyond the scope of work and share in a fun and healthy social activity. In March 2019, the Club started playing casual sessions of 5-a-side soccer at Discovery Soccer Park, Wanderers, and the invite was extended to all colleagues and suppliers of GIBS. Mixed teams (ladies and gents) played every Tuesday at 16:30. By the end of March we had 18 members paying R140 per month each to fund the soccer sessions.
We started arranging friendly games against other companies and soon discovered that we were able to beat the opposition quite convincingly, which sparked the idea to join one of the leagues at Discovery Soccer Park. We approached the Human Capital Department at GIBS with a proposal for funding and they offered to cover the training sessions and entry into the league. We also approached the Marketing Department to fund our soccer kits, which they kindly agreed to. After five months of training our league debuted in August 2019.
Where we are
We are now playing in our second season of the Tuesday night corporate league at Discovery Soccer Park Wanderers with 20 members who each contribute R100 per month for contingencies. We finished the first season in 5th position out of 10 teams. It turns out the corporate league is a different beast and we met up with really stiff competition.
We have a coach, we’ve developed tactics, read the rule book and started doing research on opponents before games. Now in the second season we are top of the table after 4/9 games have been played.
Where we are going
Some of our colleagues would love to get involved with the soccer club, but not necessarily play soccer. We have planned a few initiatives and include launching GIBS Football Club TV on YouTube, merchandising, launching a Business Schools League, and launching a 5-a-side fantasy football platform.
Gallery
