The inaugural Masakhane cup inter-high school football tournament was in full force at the Central sports grounds in Mamelodi this week.
On Tuesday afternoon, eight schools from Mamelodi who were successful in the round robin phase, faced each other in the top 8 knockout round.
Phateng, who had finished top of the Mamelodi West zone, qualified for the semi finals with ease after defeating Rephafogile 3-1.
J Mahlangu and Ribane Laka had to be separated by penalties after they finished 1-1 with the former winning the nerve-wracking penalty shootout 5-4 winners.
It was the same in the match featuring Stanza Bopape who edged out J Kekana 5-3 on penalties, while Mamelodi High defeated Bona Lesedi 4-3, also penalties.
The semi-finals were set to be played on Thursday afternoon, with Stanza Bopape facing J Mahlangu, while Mamelodi High would renew their rivalry with Phateng.
READ MORE: Pretoria High School for Girls to host Spring Day fundraiser
The tournament is an affiliate of the SA Masters and Legends Football Association under the Mamelodi Local Football Association.
“Our vision is to revive school sports so as to have a sports bursary for professional athletes in Mamelodi like in the past,” said tournament director John Skhosana.
“Our dream is to see Mamelodi thriving in all sporting competitions.”
Skhosana said for the tournament to be a huge success, the schools and the community had to get behind them.
“We are pleading with the schools, especially the principals to get behind this initiative. I understand that studies are very important that’s why the tournament takes place between July and September so that it does not clash with exams. Our wish is to see more teachers and parents involved in the future to grow this tournament.
“Although our initial goal was to make this a local soccer tournament, many teachers in our schools have approached us and asked if we could include netball. At the moment, we don’t have a budget for a netball tournament, but we have welcomed the schools to compete during the tournament and the winning school will be awarded medals during the ceremony in the finals,” he said.
READ MORE: Budding maths genius puts east school on the map
Skhosana said the tournament would help create a drug-free environment.
“If our children can spend most of their afternoons playing soccer and getting involved in this tournament, then it’s good for the community in a sense that they are away from drugs and alcohol. For that to happen, we need the schools, community and football legends to work together.”
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
Rekord East
Rekord North
Rekord Centurion
Rekord Moot
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
