R35 000 up for grabs in Mapungubwe challenge

LIMPOPO – The winner of the Mapungubwe Soccer Challenge Knockout Cup Top 4 Challenge will walk away with R35 000, a trophy and a kit while the runner-up will receive R15 000 and a kit. The challenge was launched by the Sports MEC, Thandi Moraka on Thursday, 21 November at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and will take place at the Seshego Stadium on 16 December from 10:00. Teams who will participate include Polokwane Galaxy FC, Seshego 11 FC, Star Sign FC and Lion of Limpopo FC.

Moraka says sport plays an important role in building communities and improves the health and well-being of individuals, contributes to the empowerment of individuals and promotes the development of inclusive communities. “The value of sport in our communities extends beyond sport. It can play a role in bringing communities together, have a social and cultural impact, develop social capital and reduces crime and anti-social behaviours,” she said.

She said the department has decided to expand their horizons for the festival this year by including sport, in particular football, as part of the Mapungubwe Arts and Cultural Festival. “This will be an exciting recipe given that it breaks the hunger for football during the time when our local league will be in recess. This is just the start and we will treat the tournament as a pilot project this year. These teams were selected based on their geographical location and the kind of support they have. Our plan is to have a fully-fledged tournament next year which will be inclusive of all teams from our five respective districts. We will work closely with the Limpopo Sport Confederation and SAFA Limpopo to achieve this. I also find it personally gratifying to be part of the festival’s growth and I am excited by the prospects of taking it much higher as we continue to review and generate a lot of innovative approaches towards its composition and format,” she said.

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