Giyani soccer tournament takes young people away from the streets
There is no better way to keep youngsters off the streets than to get them involved in sports.

This is what Patrick Sekhula of Loloka village envisioned when he began organising soccer tournaments in his community a few years ago. Starting off as a ward-based sports tournament that was played weekly in his ward, Sekhula had no idea that his dream of getting people together was about to come true. Today, the tournament attracts youth not only from neighbouring villages but from other wards in the area as well.

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Sekhula said his sporting journey began when he teamed up with the African Coaching Network (ACN), a non-profit organisation that trains social movements to efficiently organise themselves and guide society toward a non-violent discipline. “At first, we only trained the youth, but later on, I realised that tournaments were the most effective way to get the youth off the streets,” Sekhula continued. “Today, sports activities have become the standard in our community.
“The community gathers here every weekend for sports such as soccer, netball, and Ncuva, a traditional indigenous sport practiced by men,” he explained. However, according to him, soccer draws the most youth to the sports centre every weekend. Last Sunday was no exception; many young people gathered at Loloka Sports Ground to watch soccer teams compete. Mbhedle FC and Mbaula Happy Boys FC were among the teams that entertained the crowd of spectators.
Their game finished 1-0 in favour of the Mbaula Happy Boy