Five-A-Side family celebrates Uhuru

INDEPENDENCE Day is a national event that should be celebrated by every Zimbabwean and in that regard, the Southern Region Five-A-Side League has seen it fit to consider uniting through a tournament that will feature all their teams.

They want to host a big celebration of the country’s 44th Independence commemoration.

The celebrations are on Thursday next week.

Five-A-Side league chairman Philani Banda said it is prudent to have such events as they help the young, the old and general sporting enthusiasts to reflect on national issues in a relaxed atmosphere.

The tournament will be held at Bulawayo’s Grassroots Soccer Football for Hope Centre in Gwabalanda.

“It is sensible to have such tournaments on the country’s special day. Our country’s Independence did not come easy. So, by having such a sporting event, I think people will be provided a platform to reflect on what transpired in the past in an open and relaxed atmosphere,” said Banda.

He added: “We are expecting all the seven teams that make up the Southern Region Five-A-Side League to take part. We are still working on prizes and I think we will be able to announce them on Sunday.”

The Southern Region Five-A-Side League is made up of Amabhubesi, BMW, Hope A, Hope B, Fox, Zone 8 and, T and S.

Banda revealed that two select sides from the Southern Region will today leave for Harare where they will take part in a tournament that will feature their Northern Region counterparts at Stodart Netball Complex.

Five-a-side football is a version of mini-football, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from association football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration.

Matches are played indoors, or outdoors on artificial grass pitches that may be enclosed within a barrier or “cage” to prevent the ball from leaving the playing area and keep the game constantly flowing.

Five-a-side football is an informal, small-sided game with flexible rules, often determined before play begins. The penalty area is semi-circular and only the goalkeeper can touch the ball within it. There are no offside rules, headers are allowed, and yellow and red cards work similarly to traditional 11-A-Side football.

Banda said the select sides are composed of 10 players for the Under-21 team and the same number of players for the senior team.

“A total of 20 players, that is 10 for the Southern Region Under-21 select team and 10 for the senior select team will make the trip to Harare on Friday. It was a tournament that was supposed to be held last weekend but it was cancelled at the last minute because of some logistical challenges,” said Banda.

“The tournament is meant to provide a competitive platform to the players as we seek to assess players that will make up our national team set to take part in assignments that are scheduled to take place in the near future.”

During Easter, the Southern Region Five-A-Side League held a seven-team tournament that was played at Grassroots Soccer Football for Hope Centre in Gwabalanda, Bulawayo.

Hope B emerged as the winners after beating BMW 5-3 in the final match of the competition. For their wonderful and untiring efforts, Hope B went home with US$150.

BMW got US$50 as their consolation prize. -@FungaiMuderere