According to Lourika Vliestra of the Mark Fish Foundation, preparations for the 10 farm soccer teams, one-day tournament have been finalised and will take place at two FIFA approved pitches at the resort.
Mopani District which has been divided into two sub-district Mopani West and Mopani East will be represented by Miami Canners’ Miami Tigers FC, Mahela Group team Shaka Bundu FC, Bavaria Fruit Estate FC and Richmond Kopano Farming FC. Capricorn District will be represented by Mockford Farms and Midway Fruits, Vhembe Maroi (Boerdery and Noordgrens Landgoed) while Sekhukhune District pins its hopes on Schoonbee Landgoed FC and Rooiblom Landgoed FC.
Vliestra said the tourney will culminate with the selection of the AgriUnited team to comprise of top 18 players selected from the 10 competing teams.
“The top 18 Agri players will be selected directly after the prize giving – the teams that got knocked out in the early stages, try and stay until the end. This is going to be exciting. We will communicate with the farms whose workers are in the team,” said Vliestra.
Read: Soccer legend fish for future stars in Tzaneen
The team will play in a friendly game against SuperSport United during the first week of November
The Mark Fish Foundation embarked on an initiative in 2018 to use football as a platform to build bridges between communities – and, therefore, cultural and social differences.
This year the Game of Stars farm workers’ soccer league hosted five district tournaments – where 47 matches were played and an impressive 117 goals were scored – to determine the top 10 teams that will battle it out at the finals for the coveted Limpopo Trophy.
“The Game of Stars tournament creates a sporting culture on farms; it builds relationships between farm workers themselves and with their employer. It also uplifts skillsets and provides players with a platform to showcase their talent,” says Mark Fish, who will be officiating the event.
Game of Stars uses the quick-paced fast-footy football format and is a collaborative effort between the Mark Fish Foundation, Agri Limpopo, Saai and Farmboek. Games will be broadcast on DigiTV, as well as on StarSat.
A team will be selected by Fish and advisors after the finals to practice for a week and play a friendly game against SuperSport United in the first week of November. This game will also be streamed to DigiTV and StarSat.
Date:
Saturday 19 October 2019
Venue:
The Ranch Resort, Polokwane
Programme:
08:00 – 08:10 Arrival of teams and registration
08:15 – 08:30 Official opening
08:30 – 08:45 Draw – captains and coaches
09:00 – 15:00 Play-offs, quarter- and semi-finals
15:00 – 16:00 Final match between the top two teams
16:15 – 16:30 Prize-giving
16:30 – 17:00 Selection of the AgriUnited team
