Tsakane – Ingqayizele Sports Management hosted their annual Tsakane Festival Games on January 5 at the Malandela Grounds.
The well-attended tournament was meant to happen on December 31 but was postponed as a result of bad weather.
The founder of Ingaqayizele, Votile Jack, says that he started the tournament to keep people, especially the youth, away from drug and alcohol abuse.
“The youth are normally out of school and bored in the holidays and look to alcohol. Playing soccer keeps them away from alcohol,” he said.
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The tournament was entered by 24 teams from all over Kwatsaduza and had three age ranges.
The junior category catered for u-13, u-15 and u-17.
The Open category is open for those who are older than 17 but younger than 35 and the Masters category caters for those who are 35 and older.
The tournament was well attended by community members who sat around the field on camp chairs under tents.
The provincial government was also supportive of the event, sponsoring them with sports uniforms and bibs that were used as prizes.
The prizes also included medals and trophies for the winning teams in addition to trophies for the top goal scorers, best referee and the most entertaining team – which goes to the team that shows off skills like dribbling.
Jack says that the tournament is not about football development but about entertainment of both the audience and the players.
As such, he says coaches should not put too much pressure on the players to win.
Jack says he would like more prize sponsors for future installments of the tournament.
“I want to be clear that I do not want cash sponsorship but grocery vouchers and parcels so that the players will be able to take something home with them because some of them come from homes with dire financial situations,” he says.
The winners for the juniors was Junior Rabbits who beat Tjovitjo FC 2 – 0.
Asidlaleni tournament created an opportunity for soccer scouts to spot talent.
The Open section was won by Jealous Down who beat TBOESA 6 – 5 on penalties following a 1 – 1 draw.
In the Masters category, Verbal Warning won against Vosloo with a score of 1 – 0.
Anyone looking for any information may contact Votile Jack on 078 164 6410 or on Facebook on “Ingqayizele Sports Management”.
