eMbalenhle residents use sports to fight crime
“These criminals are our children, not the police’s. We have to do something to stop what they are doing,” said Mabaso.
Residents of eMbalenhle played sports to fight crime on Sunday, March 20.
It was unusual to see soccer games with smaller poles than usual, but young and old were competing in soccer and netball.
Games were divided according to the township’s extensions or zones.
Malaika FC and netball teams won the top eight tournaments by beating all the teams that were participating.
Because of the mixed-age groups, games were only played for fifteen minutes.
According to the organisers, the age mix was to forge understanding between the young and old.
“Young people are mostly involved in crime, those are our children.
“We want to bring them closer to their parents and make them understand that crime doesn’t pay. It destroys their future,” said Nurse Mabaso, one of the organisers.
“We are experiencing different crimes in our township and we can’t always blame the police.
“These criminals are our children, not the police’s. We have to do something to stop what they are doing,” said Mabaso.
Mabaso said they are planning to host more sporting codes in the future working together with businesses, the police and other government departments.
Both the netball and soccer teams of Malaika won the finals.
Malaika women’s netball team won by 15-7 against Ncovu while Malaika FC beat Bloma Nathi FC 2-0.
The requirement for a team to participate was to have enough players to make a football team and a netball team.
Games were played at an open field in White City, eMbalenhle.
