The Rich Gang smashed Dream Team 2-0 in the soccer finals of the 2019 Nkowankowa Community Games recently.
The annual games were held at the Nkowankowa Stadium, marking 11 years of this exciting event.
The long awaited match between the two arch rivals was a thrilling affair as it answered questions of who is the better team between the two.
Despite being the defending team, Dream Team, was unable to keep up with the stamina of their opponents resulting in them losing the match.
Captain of the winning team, Thabiso ‘Touch’ Shokane, told Letaba Herald that his team was ready to prevent their contenders from winning the title three times in a row.
“We didn’t want Dream Team to break our record of the only team since the inception of the tournament to have won the title three times respectively.
“We trained so hard for the games and we even hired a professional soccer coach, Peace Khosa, to help us get in shape and he was very instrumental in the win,” explained Shokane.
Shokane was one of the players who scored in the finals as well as Nyiko Chauke, who was also named Player of the Tournament.
According to Shokane, his team will be looking to defend the title this year and again in 2021 with the hopes of taking the trophy three times in a row.
Meanwhile the runner-up, who won the 2018 and 2017 games, will also be looking to redeem themselves in the upcoming event.
The community games also included volleyball and netball games.
Nkowankowa team, Diesel and Dust walked out victorious after beating The Hurricane from Dan Village 25-23 in the finals.
Marito Shikwambana from the winning team was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
“We are happy that we managed to win the games and most importantly, it was a wonderful occasion which united the community through sports,” Stanley Malatji, Diesel and Dust’s captain stated.
Meanwhile, in the netball court, the 2018 defending champions, the Nkowankowa City Remblers, lost to Lefulo Netball Team by one point.
The games were founded in 2008 by a group of soccer loving friends, who are also business partners in the company, Vuvekisi Africa Holdings.
During the launch of the 2019 tournament at De Joint, Solly Nyambi, was given a Special Award from Vuvekisi.
The occasion was sponsored by 20 local businesses.
Happy Mathye, a member of the organising committee, told the Herald that they are happy with the outcome of the games and are grateful for the continual support from the sponsors and soccer fans who came to the stadium in great numbers.
