City soccer tourney takes girls off the streets
Girls from various clubs in Alexandra were given an opportunity by the City of Johannesburg's Region E to hone their skills in soccer tournament at the Altrek Sports Facilities.
The City of Johannesburg’s Region E Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation held a girls football development tournament at Altrek Sports Facility in the East Bank section of Alexandra.
According to the department’s assistant director Rams Sekati, the tournament was one of those projects that the City undertook from time to time outside its main mandate of looking after the sporting facilities.
More than 10 girls, development teams took part in the tournament and played round robin matches with the winning teams going into to the knockout stages and then the finals. Medals were awarded to the winner, runner-up, and third and fourth place.
“The whole idea really behind the tournament is to compliment the work done by the local football association and ensure that girl children are also taken off the streets and away from mischief and other unsavoury activities,” Sekati said.
Statistics from the City’s social worker Velisha Thompson published in various articles in Alex News in the past have identified Alexandra as one of the hotspots for teenage pregnancies and a tournament of this nature comes in handy as a way of curbing the scourge.
Clubs that participated in the tournament included Bluebirds, Blue Raycons, Bright Stars, Motion City, Goals 4 Girls, Super Eagles, YLA, 7 Stars, and G Stars, with some clubs fielding two teams each.
‘We were pleased with the turnout as the girls and their clubs grabbed the opportunity we offered with both hands.”
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