Skill and panache are the order of the day at the 6-A-Side tournament at Gilfillan Park on August 3.
The court at Gilfillan Park in Jeppestown was turned into a soccer spectacle of note as the first Jeppe 6-A-Side Soccer Tournament came to town recently.
Children from the Jeppestown community enjoy a day of corporate soccer showmanship at Gilfillan Park.
The first-of-its-kind soccer event in the area saw three impromptu corporate soccer sides, and one from the Jeppe community, come together for an exhibition rooted in showmanship.
Players, colleagues and spectators enjoy the first Jeppe 6-A-Side Soccer Tournament at Gilfillan Park on August 3.
This was in aid of much-needed social cohesion in Jeppestown, an area not unfamiliar with numerous social issues.
Organisers also saw the event as a golden opportunity to mobilise corporates, with the aim of introducing them to the area and to hopefully galvanize them into providing a helping hand where it’s needed.
A Hersol player cocks the gun and shoots for a goal in their match against Chairman Industries.
“We hope that future tournaments like this will go on to become a success. We would like to continue to attract more corporate companies; the hope being that these will make some sort of economic difference in the community looking ahead,” said co-tournament organiser Siyabonga Peter.
The community and corporates band together at the first Jeppe 6-A-Side Soccer Tournament.
Sebastian Sierra of Chairman Industries, a company which established its base in Jeppestown almost 30 years ago, said his organisation was eager to support this objective, and do for the community what it always needed.
Players from Jeppe-based corporates Chairman Industries and Hersol Pharmaceutical Laboratories put their money with their mouths are.
“The community needs an uplift and it’s these kinds of initiatives that really push the community up. It is certainly something that we would love to participate more in,” said Sierra.
Hersol Pharmaceutical Laboratories, also based in Jeppestown, was the other corporate taking part in the day’s action.
The corporate teams’ players engage in a hard dual for the ball.
Employee at the company Cedric Nelson was jubilant about the event and hoped it would go a long way towards uplifting the area.
“We are happy to be a part of this event, which has been held to mainly get people within the vicinity together.
Skill and panache are the order of the day at the 6-A-Side tournament at Gilfillan Park on August 3.
“It is also a good way to get the youth active and more involved in sport activities. The way forward is to grow this tournament, and being based in the area, we have seen that it can do with more development. I am, however, confident that through sport we can achieve many things,” said Nelson.
General manager at Maboneng-based Ravioli David Heggie equally spoke volumes of the event’s positive community impact.
“I have learnt that when you do community work, it has a bigger impact on your business. And so, when the organisers approached us, I had no doubt that it was a good idea to let the community know about us and that we are here to support them,” he said.
