Mashupje crowned DCM soccer tourney winners
The annual Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine (DCM) soccer tournament was completed on April 14 at Shorwane Secondary School at Ga Maepa.
Mashupje Secondary Schoool are the winners of the 2022 edition after defeating the host school (Shorwane) 4-2 in the finals.
The tournament which is played by five-a-side players is hosted by DCM in partnership with Boleng Trust and Africa United. The games were played on portable arenas and included schools from Steelpoort and neighbouring villages.
Each game was played for 20 minutes. A total of 12 schools participated in the 2022 tournament.
With both finalists playing in soccer jerseys donated by DCM, Mashupje were clinical scoring four goals in the first stanza.
Shorwane boosted by their fans, came out guns blazing in the second half and scored two goals but it was too little too late as they ran out of time to push for an equalizer.
On the day, there was entertainment galore as ball jugglers and freestylers showed the pupils some footballing skills. A competition of table soccer was also organised for the pupils with winners awarded an avalanche of goodies.
The learners who excelled in showing off their soccer skills were handed soccer balls and caps. DCM’s Lesiba Tjale indicated that they aimed to improve schooling locally and to encourage pupils to participate in sporting activities.
“We saw many stars during this tourney, and we are pleased that our kids are focusing on sports.
We wish to see pupils from our shores representing the country on sporting activities at top level.
“We would like to also thank our partners Boleng Trust and Africa United for making this tournament a success.
It has been a long journey as we ran roadshows and soccer clinics for this tournament.” The winning school and the runners up were handed medals and soccer balls.
A trophy was awarded to the winners as well. Mashupje’s Joel Makola said the Dwarsrivier Soccer tournament unearthed talent from the deep-rooted villages.
“We thank the mine for this platform to showcase our talents. We were happy with the set-up and how the tourney unfolded. I am also glad our school has won the trophy and is the best in Steelpoort.”
In 2019, DCM handed multipurpose sport facilities to both Seokgome Secondary School in Stocking and Shorwane Secondary School for their successes in the soccer tournaments.
