Hundreds of youths from Maniini and surrounding villages gathered at the Maniini All Blacks Grounds for the First Annual Goldwagen Soccer Tournament on Sunday, 21 September.
The tournament, organised by local police officer Ndivho Mugwari and sponsored by Goldwagen in Thohoyandou, saw teams including Rangers United (Maniini), Limpopo Silver Stars (Thohoyandou), Link FC (Thohoyandou), Muvhi Football Academy, Likwadi FC (Maniini), Lalucia FC (Tshikhudini), Maniini Youth Development Academy and New Aces Development Club (Lufule) competing.
Mr Mugwari, a seasoned crime-buster with Public Order Policing in Thohoyandou, said the tournament was designed to offer youths positive alternatives and reduce crime in the area.
"Our village is riddled with crime, and we identified a lack of positive activities among youths as a contributing factor. This is where the idea of a soccer tournament came in. When youths have nothing to do, evil thoughts can take over. We are trying to minimise this through sport. Our ultimate goal is to keep young people off the streets and away from drugs, alcohol and crime, while helping them build skills that could one day turn into a career in soccer. This is our first attempt, but we are excited with how things went," he said.
In the final match, Rangers United convincingly beat Link FC 3-1 to take home a R4,000 cash prize and a trophy. Runners-up Link FC received R2,000 and a trophy.