Youth get their chance to shine

LOCAL soccer teams in Middledrift and Alice have a chance to win a much-needed playing kit that will be up for grabs at the annual Youth Fight against Crime and Substances Soccer Tournament in Middledrift today at the Annshaw grounds.

Tournament organiser Viwe Siyabulela Mvandaba, 34, from Annshaw in Middledrift, said after he started freelancing in Cape Town seven years ago and having to relocate he noticed a gap in sporting activities in the surrounding areas including his own location.

The visual artist said young people in his area stopped playing sports and were indulging in drugs and alcohol.

“That motivated me to start spend my own money to buy a three-piece kit that is our first prize, even though I don’t have a stable job.

“I decided to have an affiliation fee for teams which is where we take the prize-monies from, including second prize, which is expected to be R3 000 – depending on how many teams will come to the games,” said Mvandaba.

“Without playing sport a community is doomed, and I wish that other young people would work together and create sporting events that would benefit the younger members of the communities.”

Mvandaba, who was part of the art direction team of Troy part 2 that was shot in Cape Town last year, said he would love to see more uncut diamonds emerge from the province.

“Looking at the situations in almost all of the rural areas in our province, drugs have penetrated into these poor communities, where elders are sometimes uneducated.

“So it’s up to us as young adults to take matters into our hands and give the ladder to the younger ones so they can succeed, because there’s talent in this province.

“The likes of Makhosandile Plaajtie, who played very well in the Nedbank Cup Challenge last year against SuperSport, is from just around the corner in Alice.”

He said local authorities were coming on board and he would appreciate parents joining him in today’s games.

“And I’m happy that our municipality’s Sports Council (Raymond Mhlaba Municipality) is looking at ways to assist us, because they recently called me to hear about the progress that I have done in organising this tournament.

“And they were very impressed with this idea because they have been keeping tabs on us since last year, when we had more than 14 teams playing, and this year we are hoping many more would join us.”