December 21, 2005
By Lucky Sindane
EXCITEMENT mounts as 40 soccer teams prepare to lock horns on the dusty and dry KwaMahlobo Soccer Field in Zone 10, Meadowlands.
The eighth annual KwaMahlobo Festive Games are to take place from 24 December to 8 January 2006 at the Soweto field.
There is no fancy lawn here, just a rough, dry patch of land. Seating is a rudimentary affair, with fans sitting on crates, seats or benches or standing on rooftops or any other elevated space they can find.
Hundreds of spectators converge at the Zone 10 grounds to witness the soccer spectacular that is the Kwa-Mahlobo games
"We don't want to kill the good old days when we used to play football on dusty grounds. We want people to see how football started," said public relations officer for the tournament Dlongolo Ntenjwa.
For two weeks, soccer lovers witness some real soccer flair displayed by dribbling wizards hoping to catch the eye of talent scouts.
"The tournament has produced a number of professional players including Brian 'Macarena' Gafane, who plays for Mvela Golden League side PJ Starts and who is part of the Bafana Bafana provisional squad for the 2006 African Nations Cup to be held in Egypt," Ntenjwa said.
PJ Starts played in the popular tournament three years ago before it was promoted to the Mvela Golden League.
"Some of the professional players who have also played in the tournament include Arthur Zwane of Kaizer Chiefs, Benedict Vilakazi of Orlando Pirates, Goodman Mazibuko of Moroka Swallows and Scara Ngobese of Kaizer Chiefs," Ntenjwa said.
"When we started in 1997 we only had four teams and today the number has risen to 40. Even though we don't have a sponsor the tournament is growing bigger and bigger every year - we have teams from as far as KwaZulu-Natal."
The winners will take home a cheque of R15 000, a trophy, 20 gold medals and a soccer kit. The runners up will take home R5 000, a trophy, 20 silver medals and a soccer kit.
Third and fourth placed teams will each pocket R1 000 and a soccer kit. Entry fee for the tournament is R800 per team.
For more information contact Dlongolo Ntenjwa on 083 595 3924.
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