Unisa’s Institute for Social and Health Sciences’ (ISHS) Friendship and Hope Campaign (FaHC) hosted its second event of the year in the form of a soccer tournament which occurred in Thembelihle. Participating in the Campaign’s initiative to foster social cohesion amongst the Institute’s surrounding communities, were teams from Thembelihle and its surrounding area Ennerdale as well as a team from Tembisa in the East of Johannesburg. With soccer being an integral sport in bringing the community together, the Campaign’s steering committee found the idea of an annual tournament to be fitting for its agenda.

The 2022 tournament was hosted by the Thembelihle Football Association (TFO) in partnership with Lehae Sport Development Organisation (LSDO) on the 23 October 2022 at the Thembelihle N-Section grounds, a venue carefully selected because of its central location in the heart of Thembelihle. With the hope of bringing in donors, sponsors and teams from areas surrounding the informal settlement, the organisers were also intent on hosting the event at this venue with the objective to promote the local team’s talent and draw on resources from the community to ensure continuity.

The FaHC lead, Ms Nomagugu Ngwenya of the ISHS, and its steering committee consisting of several local community leaders and organisations such as the TFO, LSDO, Imbumbe Yabafazi, Vlakfontein Men’s Forum, Igula Lemfundo and the Thembelihle Crisis Committee (TCC) to name a few, placed emphasis on the need to encourage solidarity and friendship between Thembelihle and greater Lenasia and its surrounding communities. Although more efforts need to be made between the two primary communities, the soccer games have been found to be constructive in bringing different groups together for a common cause. This year’s tournament final consisted of different divisions namely under 11, under 13, under 15, and under 17 (males and females) whose games were spread throughout the day. Local winning teams included One Love FC in the under 11 division, BK Stars in the under 13 division, Stapura FC in the under 15 division and Thembelihle United in the under 17 male division. The winning title for the under 17 female division was claimed by Tembisa Home Defender, the female soccer team from Tembisa. Winning teams were awarded team trophies, coach trophies and medals.

The tournament final was a win not only for these teams, but also the several external organisations and individuals who supported the event through sponsorships and donations of assorted required resources to ensure a successful event. This included Guru Villa Pillay and the Drive to Feed who assisted in providing additional catering, trophies and bibs, to the ISHS’s sponsorship; the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation who brought additional trophies and sponsored additional water; The South African Football Association (SAFA) and SAFA Local Football Association (LFA) who sponsored bibs and a few more medals; and Saaberie Chishty ambulance services who availed a non-dedicated ambulance for the day to cater for any injuries in the case that they occurred.

When commenting about the tournament, organiser and TFO founder Mr Nkosinathi Mdletshe said: “We have to understand the dynamics of football and note that football is a game of motion. We had a successful soccer tournament, and we appreciate the support we have received.”

He further stated that the community of Thembelihle was truly happy about the tournament; they have expressed gratitude towards the Institute for its efforts and contributions towards this event.

The soccer tournament marks the final event on the Friendship and Hope Campaign calendar for the year, although a few esteemed locals who participated in previous Campaign events can look forward to the long-awaited SAFA D-Licence certificate awards ceremony for their completed coaching training, on the 12 November 2022 at the ISHS campus in Lenasia.

* Written by Duduzile Skosana (ISHS Marketing and Communications Intern)

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