In an effort to encourage young people to participate in healthy activities, well-known businessman Mr Awelani Marole has launched the Mukonazwothe Palace Soccer Tournament at the Mukula Avalon sports grounds, where it kicked off on Saturday, 13 August.
According to one of the organisers of the tournament, Rihangwele "Sir Meat" Nemukula, 16 teams from surrounding villages, such as Mukula, Tshitavha, Muhuyu, Ngwenani, and others, will be competing against each other.
"We have come to notice that, when soccer matches are held, the young people are not so prone to getting themselves into trouble as it gives them something to do. The war against crime can be won as long as communities keep their young people away from crime by involving them in sporting codes," he said.
Nemukula said that the final matches would be played on Saturday, 27 August, and no-one would go home empty handed. The overall winners leave with R5 000, while the runner-up team gets R4 000. The third- and fourth-placed teams each get R2 000, and the fifth- to eighth-placed teams will be given R750 each.
Marole, who is the managing director of Mukonazwothe Palace in Mukula village outside Thohoyandou, said that sponsoring the soccer tournament formed part of his company's commitment to community building. Marole also recently launched the Tshifaro Mugwabane Bursary Fund, which seeks to fund four hardworking matric learners from disadvantaged families to further their studies.