Municipality launches this year’s Mayoral Cup
Athletes in Nkomazi only have about two weeks left to register for the municipality's biggest and most varied sports tournament, the Mayoral Sports Development Cup.
The Mayoral Sports Development Cup tournament was officially launched at Sivutsa Lodge in Tonga last Friday and a host of local sponsors have joined hands with the Nkomazi Local Municipality to make this the most successful one yet.
Matches are scheduled to start in the second week of November and sporting codes include soccer (men and women), basketball, netball, volleyball, boxing and Taekwondo. Physically challenged individuals will also be able to participate in wheelchair basketball and netball and rugby for the deaf.
The tournament started ten years ago with the aim to develop sports among the young generation in Nkomazi, maintain physical fitness, promote healthy lifestyle through sports activities and most importantly, keep people away from the streets and criminal activities.
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The soccer matches are highly anticipated as it leads into and acts as a qualifier for the hugely popular Selati Cup and also keeps players match ready.
The Mayoral Cup soccer finals at the start of this year ended up being a nail-biting clash between Block A Naughty Boys and Shando Real Aces. The game ended in a one goal draw, with the Naughty Boys scoring three penalty kicks to two. This earned them the Mayoral Cup for the third time.
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The spokesman for the Nkomazi Municipality, Cyril Repinga, stated that the tournament is open to all residents for Nkomazi and they believe that there is enough local skills. No players from other areas will be allowed to participate as the tournament helps them gauge what talents there are in Nkomazi and how far they are in their journey to develop sports.
“The Nkomazi Local Football Association will be running the events, specifically in soccer for the men and ladies, as well as netball, until the last 32 round. Then we will take it from there,” Repinga said.
Different shareholders and partners attended the event on Friday evening and expressed their commitment to support the tournament until the last day. This included Old Mutual, Standard Bank, Nkomati Anthracite Mine , Malalane Ford, Buscor, ShoeZone, Department of Culture, Sports and Recreation (DCSR), and Nkomazi Confederation.
“The biggest challenge we usually face in regards to the tournament is sponsorship. Since it involves a lot of sporting codes, we as a municipality are unable to manage everything at the same time. Help is needed from other stakeholders and we are glad for the support we’ve received so far. Other companies or organisations are still welcome to take part in this great tournament, ” Repinga explained.
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Teams have been issued with entry forms and more can be obtained from the Nkomazi Local Municipality’s offices in Malalane. The closing date is October 24.
