Italian Club hosts Smirnoff Raga Bolo

The day saw four teams, namely Leratos Place, Moss Jazz Café, Brunos Liquor Store and Nkadimeng General Dealer advance to the finals which took place at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday.

Raga bolo is a five-a-side street soccer championship played by predominantly tavern teams around the country.

With roads as the pitches and streetlights as the stadium, it’s the sporting tournament of the year for local communities nationwide.

Raga Bolo Championships is represented by four Smirnoff Kings, who are all South African football legends, namely former Orlando Pirates midfielders, Thabo Mngomeni and Benedict Vilakazi; and former Kaizer Chiefs stars, Pollen Ndlanya and Stanton Fredericks.

Asked for his thoughts on the tournament, Smirnoff marketing manager Kyle Lesch said: “With Smirnoff’s inclusivity as a brand and soccer being the biggest sport in the globe, we know how massive soccer is to people and knew that this initiative would be a great way to bring people together.”

Smirnoff King Ndlanya, who grew up in Ekurhuleni, commented: “Tournaments like this can help aspiring young footballers in many ways. Let me use myself as an example: I also started from street soccer like raga bolo.

“That’s where we all started before I realised my dream of playing for Kaizer Chiefs.

“It (raga bolo) helps in developing your skill set because it’s all about showcasing your skills. Our football in South Africa has become boring, it needs these kind of skills,” explained the former striker.

Ndlanya added that his involvement in raga bolo is his way of giving back to the people of South Africa, and particularly the community of Ekurhuleni, who supported him before and throughout his footballing career and made him what he is today: one of the country’s footballing icons.