The Seven Fountains community soccer team, the Pumba Pirates, have become the first champions of the Sport Against Crime soccer tournament, which was held in the Salem district.
The Seven Fountains community soccer team, the Pumba Pirates, have become the first champions of the Sport Against Crime soccer tournament, which was held in the Salem district.
The Pumba Pirates, who are sponsored by Pumba Private Game Reserve, were cheered on by the local community during their victory parade through their home village.
Pumba Pirates won the 17 October final 2-1 against Double Action soccer team from Mosslands Farm. This is the Pumba Pirates' ninth soccer tournament victory since they were established in 1998. Due to the difficulty in getting transport to the bigger towns in the Eastern Cape, regular tournaments are held among soccer teams from the game reserves and farms in the area.
The Sport Against Crime tournament was initiated by local youth leader, Bongani Tsana, who works and lives on a farm in the area. This initiative has been created to encourage the youth in the area to take part in sport and to prevent them from getting involved in crime.
The Pumba Pirates were established as the Young Pirates by local game farmer and conservationist, Dale Howarth, and Zezi Ncanywa, who was the Melville Park farm supervisor at the time. After Pumba Private Game Reserve was established in July 2004, owners Trevor Lombard and Dale Howarth decided to continue sponsoring the soccer team, and many of its members became employed on the reserve.
The team then changed their name to Pumba Pirates. The sponsorship of the soccer team is a social responsibility programme undertaken by Pumba Private Game Reserve.
