The elderly of communities in several rural villages have found a way of taking away boredom and keeping themselves busy. They are participating in "the beautiful game".

The players, who are commonly known as “Old Crocs", engage themselves in soccer games during weekends and they are playing in front of capacity crowds most of the times.

In one of the weekend games at the Tshilungoma sports grounds, Makhuvha Masters beat their hosts, Tshilungoma Masters FC, 2-0 before their cheering fans. The goals were scored by Thomas Mugwena and Richard Magavha.

One of the coordinators, Mr Louis Mathavha, said most of the players were working and they had little time to exercise or even socialise with others. “This is an opportune time for us to kick away diseases like diabetes, which are lifestyle diseases. Besides its being a health remedy, we are also able to build friendships with people from our neighbouring villages. Youths who come to watch our games are also spared the temptation to engage themselves in crime as they have something to while away their time. This is working to our advantage as we have little time to frequent bottle stores over weekends, while at the same time improving our health,” he said.

He said all games took place on Sundays and they rotated from village to village.

The coach of Tshilungoma Masters coach, "Wagga" Magau, was not bitter about the outcome of the match. “This is a game to foster unity among our communities. There is no bad blood between us and we urge members of the community to come in big numbers to our games,” he said.