Sport

The Dumpy Adams Sports Complex in Alovale (Queenstown) will come alive on Easter-weekend with the Gwede Mantashe Soccer Tournament which will be held over three days.

The annual tournament which aims to identify talent and develop sport in rural and semi-rural areas will start on Saturday the 15^th and end will culminate with the final on Monday the 17^th of April 2017. On the day, the patron of the foundation, Gwede Mantashe will swap his suits for the soccer kit and participate in the matches.

Caswell Mokoena, COO of the Gwede Mantashe Foundation (GMF) said he trusts that the tournament will go a long way in developing sport in the area of Alovale. “As the foundation, we saw it befitting that we bring the tournament to the Chris Hani region, which is part of the area where our Patron (Gwede Mantashe) hails from. The tournament was previously held in Venda which is over 1000 kilometres away from Queenstown and that demonstrates our mission to cover the length and breathe of the country. We are grateful that the Chris Hani District Municipality has welcomed this initiative. It’s only through partnerships with the local government that we can truly impact on the lives of the residents”.

It will not be all fun and games when the tournament takes place but life-skills sessions and soccer clinics will be conducted with the help of ex-football professionals. Some of the football legends that will talk to the players include former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana players, Steve “Chippa” Lekolea and Benedict “Tso” Vilakazi. “Talent can be found in the less glamorous places and with the help of the legends, we trust that we will identify talent and give the chosen players a

platform to develop their talent further. Whenever we host the tournaments, we work with the relevant stakeholders, hence we have partnered with SAFA Easter Cape (who are the custodians of football in the region). Through SAFA, we will be able to screen the players and the Chris Hani Distric Municipality will monitor that the players are given the necessary support. Our work is to recognize talent in others and giving them the platform to shine”, concluded Mokoena.

Programme overview:

• Saturday 15^th – Last 16
• Sunday 16^th – Quarter Final
• Monday 17^th
  • Semi-finals @ 09h00
  • Mantashe XI vs Chris Hani Municipality Masters @ 13h00
  • Finals @ 15h00
  • Prize Giving Ceremony @ 17h30

Entrance for the games is free and the community of Alovale is expected to come and support local talent. The organizers believe that tournament will promote social cohesion in the process. The games will kick off at 09h00 each day.

Prepared By Phokamazolo Communications for the Gwede Mantashe Foundation

Media enquiries:

• Gwede Mantashe Foundation – Caswell Mokoena (Chief Operations Officer)

C: 073 357 6290 / E: caswell@gwedemantashefoundation.co.za

• Chris Hani District Municipality – Lonwabo Kowa (Communication Officer)

C: 071 531 6426 / E: lkowa@chrishanidm.gov.za