As usual the soccer loving revelers of Mokuruanyane, and its surrounding villages did not disappoint. An avalanche of goals, local flair and showmanship was once again on display at the Impala Sports Grounds of the Tshehlong section.
The stakes were handsomely stacked at R20 000.00(Twenty Thousand Rands) and to lay their hands on the spoils of the “MaMkhize Top8 Soccer Tournament” sponsored by Ms. Kedibone “MaMkhize” Mabote and sanctioned by the Abbortspoort Football Association (AFA ). Eight teams forked out an affiliation fee of a R1 600.00 each with the hope of emerging as winners of any of the following prices at the end the battle: First Price (R11 000.00, Trophy and Gold Medals), Second Price (R7 000.00 and silver medals), Third and Fourth Place Prices (R 1000.00 each). The individual accolades on offer were as follows: ‘Goalkeeper of the Tournament’, ‘Top Goal Scorer’, ‘Best Striker’, and ‘Best Defender’.
The soccer tournament was a two-day affair, with the quarter finals taking place on the first day of the tournament which was on Saturday the 7th of September, with the Semi Finals and the Finals on the Sunday the 8th of September.
The opening match of the tournament was a one-sided affair between Barcelona FC of Ditloung (Oliefants) Village and Niger City which kicked off at 11H00 and ended with Barcelona brushing aside Niger City, Golden Arrows doing a number on Highlanders, Dion Dubs being thumped by Maletswai Tigers and Impala booting out Young Dribblers aka ‘Drebbulers’. This meant that Arrows, Barcelona, Impala and Tigers and a date with each other for the final round.
Sunday the 8th presented more intrigue and wonders to determine who will make it to the finals. First up was Barcelona against Maletswai Tigers who were brushed aside 2-1 courtesy of a penalty kick by Ditle Thapedi, to book a spot for Barcelona in the finals. Next up was a local derby between Arrows and Impala where a hat-trick from ‘Lekgowa’ sent Impala to the finals while a ten-man Arrows managed a consolation goal from the spot kick.
The afternoon of the 8th gave us the moment we all have been waiting for, a final match of the day of the day, the day between the much-fancied Barcelona against the host and the home team, Impala. In the end it was Impala who emerged as the champions of the Tournament after a nail-biting moment of spot kicks which eventually ended 4 – 3 and as they say, ‘gae latellwe mosimeng’. In addition to the bragging rights, they also walked away with the prize money, the trophy and gold medals, with Barcelona coming second, Tigers and Arrows coming third and fourth respectively. The best player went to Lesiba, best goalkeeper to Johnny, best striker was Matorokisi, best defender was Thapedi, and the top goal scorer was Lekgowa.
MaMkhize promises more fire works on the 14th and 15th of De 2024. You do not want to miss this one. Guaranteed to be a humdinger.
For more information regarding upcoming tournaments of this nature please contact Frans on 071 137 0205 or Merika 076 544 0455