Phumelela Academy scoops 1st place
Phumelela Football Academy was announced as the winners of the Philly's Games u/17 tournament that was played at the Seshego stadium over the Easter weekend.
POLOKWANE – Phumelela Football Academy was announced as the winners of the Philly’s Games u/17 tournament that was played at the Seshego stadium over the Easter weekend.
Phumelela celebrated its victory after beating Limpopo Sport School of Excellence 3-0 in the penalty shoot-outs.
The game between the two rivals ended in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of play and had to proceed to penalties. Phumelela defeated Gunners FC 2-0 in the semi-finals to proceed to the final stage.
According to Martin ‘Tino’ Lesudi, team head coach, the team did exceptionally well in the tournament and he was happy with the way players played.
“It was the first time the team participated in the tournament but we managed to dominate and came out first. We had a well balanced team and all the players were committed and had one objective which was winning the tournament,” Lesudi said.
He added that Phumelela was currently on top of the Polokwane Local Football Association league in the B-stream and they were confident that they would retain the position until the end of the second leg.
Phulemela walked away with a trophy, gold medals and a kit.
“We did special preparation for this tournament and I am happy our efforts paid off. Our goalkeeper, Frederick Mashamaite, will be joining the University of Pretoria’s Tuks FC next year and we would like to wish him the best of luck with his future endeavours,” Lesudi said.
He further said businesses in the province should try and sponsor soccer teams to keep the sport of football alive.
He added that there was a lot of talent in the province and companies and coaches should join forces to nurture and promote players.
