Online Reporter
Ronald Mpofu, [email protected]
The Community Champions League (CCL) in Bulilima district, Matabeleland South, has introduced Under-17 football as curtain-raisers to the main fixtures, with winning junior teams receiving cash prizes in a deliberate effort to engage young people and build the future base of the league.
Junior teams were invited to take part at no affiliation fee, and four sides turned out at Shilla Grounds ahead of the senior matches, with Tshankwa Juniors FC, Diba FC, Black Tigers Juniors FC and Bhulu FC contesting the inaugural mini-tournament that was played in good spirit and drew support from parents and community members.
Tshankwa Juniors FC emerged victorious after beating Bhulu FC in the final, and they walked away with R500 while Bhulu FC received R200 as runners-up, a gesture that organisers said was meant to reward effort and encourage discipline among players who are still in school.
League manager and founder of Black Tigers , Million Tapela said this is the first time the CCL has involved juniors after identifying a gap in which youngsters were left unoccupied during weekends and were therefore vulnerable to idleness and negative influences in the community.
“We have started to engage juniors in our league to keep them occupied, and to motivate them, we made a point of rewarding the winners because we believe that recognition will inspire them to stay committed, and this idea will also help in growing our league as these juniors will be ready to take part in the main league matches in future,” he said.
Tapela added that the league is facing challenges with a shortage of kits and balls for the junior teams, and at the moment all the junior sides are relying on the senior teams’ equipment which limits training time and puts pressure on resources that are already stretched.
He said the league is planning to expand its offering by introducing more sporting disciplines, including netball, so that girls can also participate and benefit from structured sport, and this will require the development of additional pitch facilities at Shilla Grounds to accommodate both football and netball.
The senior league is now in its 11th week since the season kicked off, and in the latest round of matches Black Tigers FC hosted Delela FC at Shilla Grounds and won 2-0, while at Nyabane Grounds Nyabane FC secured a 1-0 victory over Diba FC in matches that attracted large crowds.
A local villager who identified himself only as Ngwenya said the league has brought noticeable social benefits because young people now have a constructive way to spend their weekends and are less likely to gather at bottle stores or engage in risky behaviour.
“We have seen a decrease in alcohol and drug abuse amongst our youth because every weekend they used to wake up only to go to the nearest bars in search of alcohol, but nowadays we have seen an improvement since the start of this league as the grounds have become the place where they meet, play and support one another,” he said.
