It feels like it was just yesterday when the KIA Street Soccer kicked off in the Western Cape: home to this year’s defending champions. This experience has been dynamic on all levels, running for six months and continuing to reach out to communities far removed. 6000 boys and girls have been able to partake nationally, and now the event is in its final stages, with the first provincial finals of the year due to kick off at Gugulethu Square in Cape Town on Wednesday.
As Cape Town is gripped with another cold front wave, we hoped to wake up to sunny skies this morning, so as to complete the electrifying rivalries and games we’ve witnessed throughout the programme. Today the focus is on the Western Cape; all representatives from the ten regions will battle it out for the coveted title of Western Cape Champions. This simply means that the team that comes out on top of all twenty teams competing, will represent the entire Western Cape at the National finals arena in Johannesburg in mid- September.
The children involved have not taken the magnitude of this programme for granted; most of them have been vocal about the massive changes and developments that the event has brought to their lives. They understand the crucial lessons that have been taught from the onset, and understand that at the end of the day, this is about more than playing soccer with their peers on a street in their community, it’s an opportunity to learn, showcase their skills and grow.
As has become the norm, the games will kick off after the singing of the national anthem by a local Marimba band called Abavuki. Mille, the events technical sponsor, has introduced two incredibly talented freestylers, who have now become a solid part of the programme, also due to perform at all five provincial finals as well as the National finals. Mille and Bokomo have also committed to providing various prizes for the participants involved, and are determined to make all the children feel like winners at the end. To top the entertainment line-up off, our media partners Super Sport Let’s Play and Good Hope FM will both broadcast live from Gugulethu Square this afternoon.
We can only hope that the twenty teams set to compete today, bring with them a resilient attitude and a champion-like mindset. Games begin at 14h00 and will go on until one deserving team is crowned, and manages to secure a spot in the much anticipated National finals.
Most of our sponsors will join in on the festivities- KIA Motors; technical sponsor Mille; Logistical partner Dawn Wing; associate sponsor Kruger Bets CSI; Media partners Super Sport Let’s Play, Good Hope fm and Ukhozi fm; and PSL partners Ajax Cape Town and Amazulu. We can never thank you all enough for your involvement and your support.
