Spectacular soccer and netball tournament unifies the youth of Sithembile, Glencoe

Soccer fanatics filled the Sithembile Stadium as the first annual Leader Tau Tournament came to an end on September 25.
The three-day soccer and netball tournament consisted of 11 soccer teams and four netball teams.
The wind and dust did not stop enthusiastic supporters from filling up the stands. The seating areas were filled to capacity as football fanatics lapped up all the action on the field. The intense final saw both teams missing goal opportunities, with the only goal scored in the second half. The Cakide team took the Cup after scoring the deciding goal against Red Location.

Organisers Sibusiso ‘Leader’ Mbatha and Sandile Khiyano Dlamini saw the need to bring the community together in a fun way by introducing this tournament that will hopefully continue to grow in the coming years.

“Growing up, we used to have tournaments like this, as our location was known for having good players. Recently, however, we have not had any tournaments and that is why I decided to create such a platform for our youth. Having cash prize money, I knew it would definitely grab the crowds,” explained Mbatha.

He said that he wanted to unify the youth of Sithembile and what better way than to battle it out on the sports field? “We have different zones in our location and sadly, it has become the norm that there are wars between them. So having them play together has also yielded positive results, as they had the tournament to focus on, instead of substance abuse. They were all looking forward to this tournament and I even encouraged those who didn’t have Identity Documents (IDs) to go to Home Affairs and apply for one, which most of them did get.”
He added that, as a politician belonging to the Democratic Alliance, when voting time comes, everyone will have IDs and will be able to cast their votes.

“The tournament will continue; this was just the first one. We will be having tournaments all the time, where non-soccer players are also given a chance to participate, for the fun of the sport,” he said enthusiastically.
Nonzwakazi Ngubane, a resident of Sithembile, commented that, “We hope to see more tournaments like this, that bring the entire location together for a fun-filled weekend. Thank you so much to Sibusiso and his organising team for hosting this tournament.”

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