Mogale Vikings win TaMphoza Soccer tournament title

Mogale Vikings have beaten the Baroka Ba Balawodi side in the final of the TaMphoza Kagiso Community Games held at the Juventus Sport grounds in Kagiso Extension 12.

Vikings of Rietvallei Extension 2 and 3 near Azaadville prevailed throughout the tournament and showed resilience. They booked a berth in the finals after beating Mambas 5–4 in a pulsating semi-finals penalty shootout.

Despite winning the inaugural tournament, Vikings met their neighbourhood match in the form of Baroka of Swanieville, who stood their ground and showed a never-say-die spirit in the finals. Baroka marched to the finals after stunning Arrows 2–1 in the second semi-finals.

The finals end all square 0–0 after regulation time, and the resulting penalty shootout saw Vikings emerging victorious 3–2.

Victory in the finals secured Vikings a piece of silverware and increased their bank balance by R60 000, taking home a soccer kit, the winner’s medals and a floating trophy. Baroka took home a paltry R10 000, soccer kit and runners-up medals.

Baroka will rue losing the game and this will forever haunt their central forwards who left their scoring boots at home when they needed them the most. The strikers missed clear and goal-scoring opportunities, allowing their opponents to get them on counter-attacks.

The tournament started on August 28 and ended on September 20. It was held in partnership with Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM). Thirty-two teams from Soweto, Kagiso and Fochville battled it out for the honours and each team contributed R2 500 which served as participation fee.

According to the face of the tournament, Mpho “Pa” Moabelo, the tournament will be played annually and he wants to see it grow in leaps and bounds.

Moabelo, who also doubled as the chairperson of the tournament said, “This is the first time such a huge tournament is played in Kagiso. All the teams want to win the tournament, however, only one team will do so.

“We are happy that the tournament went well without any glitches and we want to see it growing. We are hosting this tournament with a sole purpose of taking young boys off the streets and diverting them from engaging in drugs, substance abuse and many others social ills that are affecting our community.”

Mogale City Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for Sports, Recreation, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Councillor Charmaine Ntlatlane-Nzwane graced the tournament and also did the honours of handing over the trophies and medals. The Ward 5 councillor William “Lepara” Ngwako also attended the games.

Ntlatlane-Nzwane said, “We as a municipality are happy that members of our community are playing their part in the fight against crime, substance abuse and drugs. This is a good initiative and as government we need to assist organisers such as Mpho to host such a magnificent tournament.”

Any member of the community and business people who want to contribute towards the success of the tournament can contact Mpho “Pa” Moabelo on 063 865 6435.