Heading to France to compete in Champ into the Arena World Finals
JOBURG – Durban's KZNConnected wins national tournament held at Discovery Soccer Park.
KIA Motors South Africa concluded the fifth instalment of its amateur 5-a-side soccer tournament, KIA Champ into the Arena, at the Discovery Soccer Park on 28 May.
The winning team claimed the grand prize of going to compete against multiple other teams in the Champ into the Arena World Finals in Bordeaux, France, in the first week of July.
In conjunction with its global partnership with Fifa, and as one of the main sponsors of the 2016 Uefa Euro 2016 in France, KIA Motors South Africa hosted tournaments in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, with the top two teams from each region making it through to the finals.
The six teams vying for overall glory included KZNConnected (captained by Donavan Gordon) and Astro FC (captained by Kyle Davis) from Durban; Orlando Pirates Football Club (captained by Conrad Botha) and OBC Wits (captained by Lee Edwards) from Johannesburg; and Just Our Style (captained by Nolan Wagenaar) and UnTouchables (captained by Allie Logday) from Cape Town.
The semi-finals was a closely contested affair, with KZNConnected winning 1–0 on penalties against OBC Wits. The other semi-final was claimed fair and square by Astro FC, scoring 3–0 over Just Our Style. Shortly after, the final kicked off with Donavan Gordon’s KZNConnected team taking the win 5–4 over Astro FC.
“This soccer spectacular certainly did not disappoint – from the competitiveness of the teams to the professional execution and the great sportsmanship on display,” said David Sieff, marketing director for KIA Motors South Africa.
“On behalf of KIA Motors SA, I would like to extend a warm congratulations to KZNConnected and wish you well as you not only head to France to represent South Africa in the tournament, but also enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime hospitality experience, including the thrill of attending a quarter-final match at Uefa Euro 2016.”
KZConnected will travel to France at the end of June where they will compete against 32 other teams from around the globe.
Prior to departure, the team will also receive a thorough one-on-one coaching session from three-time Premier Soccer League winning coach, Gavin Hunt.
A delighted Gordon smiled as he thanked KIA Motors South Africa for a highly successful tournament. “My team played with pure hearts and the right attitude, and if there’s one word I would use to describe our performances throughout the tournament, it would be ‘character’,” commented Gordon.
“We are really looking forward to representing South Africa with pride in France and do so under the guidance of Gavin Hunt, whom I feel will play a big role in improving our play and making us a much better team – and certainly one that can compete.”
