Sports association tackles substance abuse in Shatale
Soccer and netball teams from the various voting districts of Shatale’s Ward 7 competed for top honours at the festival.
In an attempt to fight substance abuse and crime in Ward 7, the Thabakgolo Sports Association hosted a sporting codes festival at Shatale Stadium from December 28 to 30.
This festival aimed to renew the spirit of sports participation among the Shatale residents and raise awareness against these evils in a community that has been plagued by various crimes.
The community members came out in their numbers. According to them, crime in this area has been on the rise because of the youth idling their time away due to lack of recreational activities.
The first day saw people of various age groups partaking in a fun run and walk, as well as a 10km race. Later that day, soccer and netball teams from various voting districts in Ward 7 competed against one another both on A1 (ages 16 to 25) and A2 (ages 10 to 13) levels.
ALSO READ: Goalless game in Mbombela for the Rockets
The first soccer match saw the Serisha Voting District playing against the Ditau Voting District. Serisha won the match 4-1. The second game saw the Thabakgolo Voting District locking horns with the Narishe Voting District. Narishe won the game 4-1. Serisha played their second game of the day against Thabakgolo and came out victorious by winning with 5-2. Narishe played against Ditau and won 2-0, as they didn’t give Ditau any chances to score a goal.
The second day saw Serisha playing against Narishe, while Thabakgolo played against Ditau. Narishe won the game 2-0 to top the group with nine points, while Serisha secured the second spot with six points. Thabakgolo and Ditau got a draw of one point each.
The teams with the most points had to play against each other on the final day of the tournament. These were Serisha and Narishe, and it was a challenging game as both wanted to show what they can do. The game ended in a draw of 1-1, and it went to the lotteries of penalties. Serisha emerged victoriously with four goals and Narishe managed to score two goals.
Serisha outshone the rest as they won the A2 soccer matches, too: 6-0 against Thabakgolo.
On the netball side, Narishe won both the A1 and A2 games, and Serisha were the runners-up in the A2 game.
ALSO READ: Malelane’s Eddie Wilken triumphs in the 2024 Barberton Open
This event will be held annually during Easter Weekend and the festive season, and was the brainchild of Pr Andrew Komane, the interim chairperson of the Thabakgolo Sports Association. Thabakgolo is a non-profit organisation that was established to organise games for the residents, and it relies heavily on donations for survival. Community members and local businesses donated money to ensure that the participants have water and refreshments.
Komane managed to bring together all stakeholders in the ward to plan and execute the tournament. He said he was ecstatic to see the people of Shatale coming together and competing for top honours. He said Shatale is known for producing good soccer stars such as Tshepo Mashego, formerly of the Golden Arrows, Reason Chiloane, the former Orlando Pirates striker, and David Nyathi.
