Jealous Down coaches host tournament to nurture young soccer talent  

Tsakani– Jealous Down coaches Ayabonga Nxumalo and Kgosi Mpapea hosted Jobe’s Tournament on March 15 and 16 at the Langaville Ext 4 ground. The tournament catered for U13, U15 and U17 teams as a way of encouraging young boys to play soccer.

“We hosted the tournament as a way of blending and witnessing different soccer talents among children and different teams.

“The tournament contributed to children’s wellness by promoting physical activities such as developing teamwork and leadership that helps them develop more skills such as dribbling, stamina and how to space without the ball,” said Nxumalo.

He added that another reason for organising this tournament was to keep the children occupied, off the streets and away from dangerous and harmful things.

“Alcohol, drugs and other smokable substances have managed to ruin many talents. This is why we use soccer to bring these children together and encourage teamwork while uniting the community as soccer has managed to bring people together and shape our community,” added Nxumalo.

The U15 game between Jealous Down and the National Team started on a high pitch with both teams trying so hard to score goals. The National Team scored three goals within the first 10 minutes of the first half.

Their coach, Andile Majwede said the first half was fruitful enough for them, mentioning that they did not manage to score more goals in the second half.

“We have minor mistakes that need to be rectified especially with players playing in the front. We had a lot of goal-scoring opportunities which we failed to use in our favour.

“I must teach them not to be afraid to use every opportunity that comes their way. Jealous Down is the only team that we always struggled to win against, they have always been stronger than us witnessing them lose to us is an incredible achievement,” said Majwede.

He cited that soccer has managed to keep his team motivated and suppresses them from overthinking about the challenges they may be facing at home. The game ended with a score of 3-0. Nxumalo said his team was shaken up after realising who their opponent was.

“They lost focus in the game due to that. Our opponent came strong onto us and used all our weaknesses to win the game.

“Many players failed to commit to the game which gave the National Team strength. In the second half, we tried to perform better. I substituted some players and saw great improvement,” he said.

He highlighted that he was not pleased with his team’s performance, citing that he did not expect to lose the game.

Other results:
U13:
Sparrows 0-7 Jealous Down
Kopano 13 -0 Team bulala
Jealous down 1-0 Kopano
Final: Gupta 3-1 Jealous down

U15:
Jealous Down FC 3-0 Team Asinavalo FC
Sparrows 1-2 Kopano
Team Bulala 4-2 Dunnotar
Final: Team Bulala 0-2 National team

U17:
National Team FC 2-3 Sparrows
Jealous Down FC 3-1 Team Bulala
Final: Jealous Down FC 3-1 Sparrows FA