I mentioned before that the tournament was designed as an official launch of the pitch that had been created on the big circle (roundabout) in the middle of Ruyterwacht the area had previously been a place of crime and negative activity, the area had been cleared up, lines were painted and goals were put up to create a pitch. I personally think it was a great idea, not only does it give the kids somewhere to play football but it's also something the community should be proud of. We heard there was some negativity around the circle being used for football from older members of the community and they are entitled to have an opinion, and without getting caught up in the politics behind their negativity I think over time they will see that it has been a positive community project and just shows how strong the community spirit is.
Cape Town gets a lot of bad press and Harry and myself have seen why over the last few weeks, but today highlights that even with all the crime, poverty and negativity around the area community spirit is strong. The local supermarket donated food and drink for the kids, a pair of football boots were donated as a prize, the neighbourhood watch provided security and road safety, 2 coaches help transport kids, goals and also helped ref games. It was great to see and everyone should be proud of what they achieved today and I'm pleased we were apart of it. The main organiser today was Joe and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves, he is clearly a big part of this community and without him today wouldn't have happened. He is supported by his family who all helped out today, Vinolia his wife was registering teams, his daughter Jodi was running around taking 100s of photos and both of his sons Yonick and Jaydon had teams involved.
Onto the tournaments themselves, I took control of the junior tournament which eventually had 6 teams, I was refereeing and organising the teams, Harry was point keeper and was overseeing the senior team tournament. Some great football was on show and all teams wanted to win specially with prize money at stake. After 90 minutes of football both the senior and junior teams had 2 semi finalists, we stopped the football for a bit to take time to listen and watch performances and talks from different groups trying to inform the youngsters here that it is important to stick to the right path, some good messages. The guys talking were very passionate about what they were involved in and I hope the kids took something from what they heard. After a short break it was back to the football, with 4 teams going for 2 places in the semi finals in the junior tournament it was quarter final time. 10 minutes later we had our 4 teams. The senior tournament had 3 teams going for 2 places and after a few more games we had all 8 semi finalists.
We made the semi finals 7 minutes long with unlimited goals. Team Cedar took a 4 goal lead in under 3 minutes in the junior tournament and even with 2 late goals their place in the final was secured 4-2. Team Emirates narrowly won their semi final in the senior tournament and took their place in the final. The 2nd Junior team was won by The School Boys with a 4-0 comfortable win, their opponents had the highest points tally out of all 15 teams from the speed ball round but a place in the final was not to be. The final semi final was won by tournament favourites All Stars, a local club with Joes son Yonick playing for them.
Onto the finals, there was a short delay after an enquiry was made about 2 of the boys ages 1 from either team, we found out that both had an over aged player, both of which were banned from the final, both teams re grouped to find players that hadn't already competed for another team. Finally the final was underway, briefly having to be stopped for another enquiry, the final was to be 12 minutes long, team Cedar were the fan favourites with big support, they were younger smaller boys and everyone loves an underdog. They went down 1-0 early and it looked as though it would be a long game, but fortunately they managed to get the equaliser and came close to getting a 2nd, but it was the School Boys who scored the winner late on to take the prize money.
Time for the main event, final of the seniors, All Stars were clear favourites, Harry and I took hold of the mic and decided to commentate which the crowd enjoyed, not taking it too seriously we managed a few laughs. All Stars went 2-0 down and it should have been game over, but they rallied and 2 quick goals put them on the front foot, with time running out a penalty shootout look like the only way to separate the 2 teams, it's what the crowd wanted and what the commentators wanted but it was Team Emirates that got the decisive goal and hung on for the win.
Great way to end the day, played in good spirits seeing good football, the prizes were handed out including the donated boots to the Team Emirates goalkeeper who was voted man of the match in the final. Hope everyone had a good day, would love to do it all again. Thank you for letting us get involved on this special day. Well done Joe and family for a successful day. Sorry if you're reading this I got a bit too involved in the match reviews. But the important thing to take from today wasn't the winning or losing but the community spirit centred around this facility that can be used by young and old. Thank you Ruyterwacht.
After everything was packed away Joe invited us to his for food, he went and got some of the nicest chicken and chips I've ever had, it was like Nandos chicken in a spicy sauce so another big thank you to the Africa family.
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