Big names attend Maruleng tournament
Maruleng Local Municipality hosted its annual soccer tournament on Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12 with Ward 10 winning the men’s soccer.
Ward 10 won 3-2 on penalties against Ward 6 after play ended with no goals scored in fulltime. Cassius Shai, Ward 10 captain, said that they have been wanting to win the trophy for a long time and that he is overjoyed to have finally achieved it. “We could not participate in the previous tournaments as we did not have enough players. “Our win can be attributed to communication and dedication on the field.
The fact that our opponents had professional players whereas we were amateurs, makes the win great. “We are very happy that we can take the trophy home, it is well deserved,” he said. “I would like to thank my teammates for trusting me enough to lead them to victory, it means a lot. We did not only get the trophy but got medals, soccer kits and R5000 cash.” The grannies of Maruleng also got the chance to show their skills.
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Maruleng Vakhegula played against Lephalale Vakhegula and won 2-0 with Rina Malatji named Woman of the Match after securing two goals for her team. A game between Nkowankowa and Maruleng featuring grandfathers was won by Nkowankowa 3-2. In the ladies’ soccer competition, Ward 5 won against Ward 10 with 5-3 on penalties. They went home with a trophy, soccer kit, medals, and R5000 in prizemoney.
In the netball tournament, Bokhalva was crowned champions after they won 30-13 against Motherwell and went home with medals, a trophy, a netball kit and R3 000. “It was a challenging game as there were a lot of injuries, we are also currently playing in the provincial league where we are in third place, and this means that the girls did not have time to rest,” said coach Taola Shai. The mayor said that the purpose of the tournament is to take children off the streets.
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“We want to bring our people together and ensure that they converge. “We also invited soccer legends as inspiration,” he said. Arthur Zwane, former Kaizer Chiefs coach and player, said that he was very impressed with the performances of the teams. “It is a great initiative taken by the mayor and to see people this involved shows great commitment.”
“I have seen how everyone is enjoying themselves and I see myself in these children as that is where I started as well.” Zwane was accompanied by Vincent Phaladi Kobola, a South African soccer manager and player, and Edward ‘MaGents’ Motale, a former footballer who played internationally as a defender.
