InternationalSport

Dzumeri soccer tournaments put on hold

There won’t be any soccer kick-offs in the indefinite future in the Mopani area as law enforcement clamped down on soccer tournaments for breaching Covid-19 regulations.

Last week, the police and SANDF descended on a soccer field during a hotly contested semi-final tournament tie in Dzumeri.

Dzumeri Soccer Tournament organiser, Steven Mkhari, expressed his disappointment in the way their tournament, which caters for several teams in the Mopani district, was halted by the SAPS and SANDF last week.

He said it could have been handled better and without destruction.

Speaking to the Herald, Mkhari said infrastructure was damaged during the whole incident which saw law enforcement vehicles enter the field during a semi-final tie.

“A van just drove onto the field during the match, followed by SANDF vehicles and everyone scattered and ran in different directions. They went to the sound station we use for commentary and confiscated it.

“Most of our tournaments also have informal traders who sell food and drinks to spectators to support themselves, they also had their goods confiscated and cooler boxes were taken from spectators.”

Also read Phalaborwa: Large crowds gather at soccer tournament

He said the goal posts were broken after being run over by a big nyala.

soccer ground.

“This was unnecessary as we could have just stopped the match and announced the suspension of the tournament without the destruction that was done.

“We are very disappointed by the damage to the infrastructure as this is our way of moving the youth away from bad habits and to hone their skills in soccer. It was also boosting our local economy.”

He admitted that the number of people in attendance was over the limit due to the popularity of the teams that were playing on the day.

He said they could not control the numbers but advised people to social distance and wear their masks.

“We are planning to meet with the authorities regarding the incident to find out when we can start planning to play again.

“We are just not sure what will be done regarding the damage to the field and infrastructure.”

The Greater Giyani Municipality also issued a statement stating that soccer tournaments were super spreader events and they would be clamping down on such to avoid a spike in the numbers as more people attend matches and behaviour to ensure minimising the spread of the virus.

Mkhari said any scheduled tournament matches were suspended indefinitely and all teams were notified of the suspension of matches.

Soccer tournaments and funeral services were identified by the Mopani Covid-19 Command Council as super spreader events of the virus and stricter compliance monitoring in collaboration with law enforcement authorities was needed in some areas that were not adhering.

 

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Emelda Tintswalo Shipalana

Tintswalo Shipalana, a journalist for the Letaba Herald, has been in the media industry for over a decade. She started her journey in radio, but ended up in print which is her first love. She joined the Herald newspaper as a cadet in 2016, where she graduated with a journalism qualification from the Caxton Training Academy. She also has a qualification in Feature Writing from the University of Cape Town and a Media Management qualification from Wits University. She is completing her BA Communication Science degree with UNISA. She sleeps well at night knowing she is a voice to the voiceless and her work contributes to promoting local talent, businesses and service delivery. Her love for her community keeps her working hard every day.

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