One-Two Magazine January 2014 | Page 20

The Beautiful Game follows the City Lads Ladies soccer team-- based out of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa- specifically focusing on five of their players, Nowie, Ngwenya, Shuffle, Chika and Amy. All of the women have endured painful and troubling pasts, including "corrective rape," physical abuse, poverty and HIV-related deaths. Yet, these athletes represent the women who strive and survive not only throughout the country, but also throughout the world, as they organize and play in soccer leagues and pursue the belief that the sport they love can be a force for social change.

"I love football because it has helped me bounce-back in life when I lost my mom. At that moment I thought I lost everything in this world, and soccer has stopped me from giving up," says Shuffle, a Defender for the team.

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