UP and KLFA host June 16 soccer tournament

The competition catered for both boys and girls soccer in three divisions: u-11, u-13 and u-15.

The tournament organiser, Thato Kele, explained that UP Sports Club was formed on Youth Day in 2014, and as a result, it hosts the tournament every year for the community to celebrate both its anniversary and Youth Day.

“Through sport, we celebrate and commemorate the youth of 1976,” said Kele.

The participating clubs include UP, Hlahatsi Peace Makers (HPM), Katlehong Rivals, Katlehong City and Katlehong Gardens. The ladies side includes HPM, UP, Moleleki United and Last Warning.

Kathorus MAIL joined the tournament to cover the ladies finals between Last Warning and HPM. The heated final caught the attention of many fans watching from the sideline.

Last Warning lifted the trophy as they were crowned champions after they overpowered HPM 2-0.

Amanda Skhakhane opened the score for Last Warning in the first half, while Andile Zwane doubled the score in the second half when she punished the goalkeeper from close range.

The defender of Last Warning, Thando, who was positioned as centre back and gave the opposition a hard time as they struggled to get shots on target.

The coach of Last Warning, Thabo Maphathe, said it is not easy coaching women because there is a lot of work to be done, starting with the basics. It was a tough game, even the first game was not easy. The final was tougher, he added.

“The performance we displayed in the field was what I was expecting because we work hard during the week. We had four weeks to prepare for this tournament. They did extremely well; they followed instructions and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the things they applied,” said Maphathe.

The captain of Last Warning, Mbali Mashinini (16), said the tournament was tight but with teamwork they won.

“I feel really happy. This is the first tournament we won medals and a trophy. This shows that with hard work and a bit of patience, we can do more as a team.”

HPM coach Masopha Nkhato said he is still working on building a strong team as most of his players are new to football.

“It’s been a year since we had the ladies team, but we encountered challenges because we used to play and take breaks mainly because players were not attending training every day.

“But they now understand they must come to training every day because there is still a lot of things we need to work on as a team,” said Nkhato.

Finals’ results per division

• U-11: United Partners 2-1 Katlehong Rivals

• U-13: Katlehong Rivals 1-0 Katlehong City

• U-15: Katlehong Rivals 0-1 Hlahatsi Peace Makers

Ladies

• Last Warning 2-0 Hlahatsi Peace Makers

“Every year, we want the tournament to improve. The only challenge is sponsorship. We plead for community donations and the parents to contribute,” said Kele.

“If the sports confederation can come on board and assist us with prizes, it will encourage the youth. I was not happy with the prizes because only the winners received medals. Silver was not available for the runners-up. That is our concern for the future.

“But the games were super and the players enjoyed the competition,” he concluded.