Whopping prize money up for grabs in Map games

A whopping R130 000 is up for grabs for the winners of this year’s Maimane Alfred Phiri (Map) Games’ seniors category.

The soccer tournament’s senior games, established with the sole purpose of giving the youth an opportunity to show off their talent and to encourage sportsmanship in the community, will kick-off on 20 June at the Rotary Grounds next to Madala Hostel. The final will be on 12 July at the Alexandra Stadium.

Member of the local organising committee, Percy Ndaba said a new element had been introduced to the games to cater for an away and home leg for the semifinals. This year’s tournament will see more than 170 teams, including those from around the country from far afield as Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, competing

Tournament founder, Maimane Phiri, said at the seniors’ draw that all the top four teams would receive prize money, with the winners getting a whopping R130 000 and the runners-up receiving R80 000. Both finalists will also get new soccer kit.

The seniors’ tournament will have 32 teams participating in a knock-out competition format, and the draw has provided for some scintillating first-round games.

The tournament prides itself on having produced some great players over the years, with some of them going on to make names for themselves in the highest leagues around the world. One of those is Alexandra’s very own Lebogang Manyama who currently plays for SuperSport United and is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Premier Soccer League. He is also an ambassador of this tournament.

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