In response to a plea from local higher primary school teachers a new U15 soccer league kicked off on Friday.
In response to a plea from local higher primary school teachers a new U15 soccer league kicked off on Friday.
Under the banner of the Sakhulutsha Soccer Development Project, Siyabonga Masinda, the project's leader, said the league got off to a good start, “with all teams turning up and positive for the league”.
Masinda said the idea to host this new tournament came about after he was approached by a number of school principals and teachers asking for a junior soccer league.
Hoping that the league will keep pupils motivated to play the sport, Masinda said he also hopes it will promote healthy living among young children. While Sakhulutsha does its part to resuscitate school sport, Masinda added that the league is a “good exercise to nurture the talent”.
Weekly matches will be played over the next six weeks, but on Saturday 27 October the U15 teams will get to play in a mini tournament hosted by Sakhulutsha.
Masinda said Sakhulutsha also plans to host an U11 and U9 league next year, while an U13 league is scheduled to start at the end of October and will run for a month, “where we can teach the basic football skills and discipline”.
In the first match on Saturday, Makana Primary beat Good Shepherd 9-0 after leading 1-0 at half-time. NV Cewu beat George Dickerson 2-0, with the half-time score 0-0.
The final match of the day saw league hosts Sakhulutsha beat Andrew Moyake Primary School 9-0 after leading 1-0 at half-time.
Matches are scheduled each Wednesday and Friday with games starting at 2pm on the Rhodes University King Field.
