Mabunda ploughs back to community

Campus benefits from tourney

Sundowns midfielder Tiyani Mabunda used the Fifa international break to give back to the community of Potchefstroom at the weekend.

Through his self-titled foundation, he staged a junior knockout tournament at the University of North West’s Potchefstroom campus.

Mabunda, 29, has previously hosted a similar tournament in his hometown of Polokwane, but he’s on a drive to take the games, which targeted the U-12s in the North West, across the country.

“We are trying to allow the kids to have an opportunity to be able to play football. We outsourced a number of local teams from the rural areas and around town to enjoy the sport,” Mabunda told the Sowetan yesterday.

Mabunda is motivated by his desire to revive football in the community, because he believes children now spend more time playing TV games rather than participating in sports.

“Like the rainbow nation that we are, everyone was there,” Mabunda said.

“I’ve had one [tournament] in Polokwane and that was for the U-13s, but the difference is that one was held in schools [last year]. The same project is going to be happening all over the country, whereby we are going to engage communities.

“This also sends a message to parents that they must support their kids. If you look at rugby, for example, you will find parents all over supporting their kids; it’s not the same with us in football.

“We would rather send our kids to go and play and wait for them to come back home,” Mabunda lamented.

He added: “We need to support the kids and allow them to grow in the fields that they enjoy more. You never know who is the next Bafana Bafana captain.”

Mabunda hopes that the different communities will be able to sustain the projects beyond the one-day events he has been hosting.