Eleventh annual tourny scores
He explained although the tournament originally began with Muslim youth in mind, it has developed and grown to include youth from all religious backgrounds into the tournament.
The 11th annual Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) soccer tournament was held on Saturday with 48 teams participating.
Teams from as far as Tongaat and Ermelo descended on Newcastle to participate in the highly anticipated annual event.
For many of the participants, this was a major opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent.
“Although the tournament has grown over the years, our objectives have always remained the same, to give the youth the chance to build bridges with people from other towns, as well as to try and keep them away from drugs,” explained MYO chairman, Moosa Desai.
He explained although the tournament originally began with Muslim youth in mind, it has developed and grown to include youth from all religious backgrounds into the tournament.
Teams participated in the under 11, u/13, u/15, u/17, and u/19 divisions.
Skills were shown throughout the day. The were players recognised, especially those who displayed the most dedication and potential.
Local Freestyler, Siyabonga “Shorti” Khubeka treated the spectators and players to a demonstration of his skills during the lunch break.
“It was nice to perform here, because everyone likes the stuff that you do,” said Siyabonga.
The Escourt Islamic Da’wah Centre (EIDC), proved to be one of the strongest sides in the tournament, reaching the semi-finals in all divisions, as well as by taking top honours in the u/11 and u/17 divisions.
Vryheid also performed exceptionally well, by winning the under thirteen and fifteen cups.
Al-Ahly’s u/17 side once again failed under the pressure of the penalty shoot-out when they could not score during the finals against EIDC.
However, Newcastle’s outlaws ensured that some silverware stayed in Newcastle, when they managed to triumph over Ladysmith’s Islamic Education Centre (IEC) during the u/19 finals.
Outlaws proved deadly throughout the tournament, as they won all their matches, and only conceded a goal during the finals against IEC.
Spectators expected a lot from the game.
Although Outlaws gained the upperhand when the team managed to draw blood by scoring first, IEC was quick to respond with an equaliser.
Both teams could not gain further purchase in the game, and the resultant penalty shoot-out saw Outlaws bring home the trophy in a nail-biting finish.
During the presentation, MYO officials reminded attendees of the plight of the people of Syria.
