Alex schools welcome return of Discovery soccer games
Alex schools have welcomed the return of the Discovery Alex U13 Schools League football tournament which kicks off on September 8 after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 global pandemic.
After a two-year hiatus as a result of the Covid-19 global pandemic, the Discovery Alex U13 Schools League will make a welcome return to grace the soccer fields of the Number 3 Square Grounds on September 8.
The return of the games was announced by implementing agency ForwardZone’s senior events manager Raymond ‘Rayzor’ Marutha, who indicated the Number 3 Square Grounds were not available on the traditional Wednesdays of the games.
Marutha said the games will only return to their usual Wednesday slot when the schools re-open for the fourth and final term of the 2022 school calendar. The games will now feature U13 children instead of the U12s as was the norm since their inauguration in 2013.
He said the move to U13s was aimed at harmonising the age division with the private schools that Alex schools eventually play against in the Discovery Festival Cup. “We have harmonised the age division as we felt this tended to disadvantage the Alex players as they played with U11s while other teams featured their U13 learners in their squads. Everything is now the same,” Marutha confirmed.
Marutha said all stakeholders in the games have long been engaged on the return of the games. They were all delighted for the return and eager to renew the pleasant rivalry that had developed among the schools – which was embraced by all in the name of good sportsmanship.
The schools will play all their round-robin games before the closures and, when they re-open for the fourth term on October 11, they will start the knockout stages of the tournament – including positional play-offs and the ultimate championship final on November 2.
A new innovation of live games has been introduced and Marutha said some matches will be featured live on the YouTube Channel. This requires discipline and punctuality on the part of the schools to ensure the games kick off on time to accommodate this new feature.
When the games were last played in 2019, Dr Knak Primary School boys’ team was crowned champions and MC Weiler girls were crowned Queens in the girls section. MC Weiler missed clinching a double as both their boys and girls teams qualified for the finals.
Related articles:
