adminThe tournament, inaugurated last year, will see Bulawayo women soccer rivals, Inline Academy and New Orleans curtain-raising the tournament before Plumtree Academy locks horns with Bulilima Select side in a knockout match to decide the team that will face the winner between Division Two sides Highlanders Under-19 and NRZ Tigers.
The international flavour will see Plumtree Social team clashing with Botswana Border while influential and one of the most flamboyant social soccer sides in the country, Amavevane, will lock horns with Botsalano from Francistown.
A dream social teams final that will see perennial rivals Amavevane and Plumtree Social team clash is on the cards with the hosts so eager to clip Amavevane’s wings, especially after the Bulawayo side literally taught Plumtree Social a lesson with three victories in the last three meetings.
The latest win for Amavevane was on Unity Day when they won 2-1 in the Red Wood Invitational.
In the after-match gathering, Plumtree Social team promised to turn the tables in the event that they meet Amavevane.
Organisers of the now popular tournament have said all was now in place and teams as well as spectators would have memorable Christmas eve celebrations.
“We are ready to play host to the second edition of our tournament, all we are waiting for is for the teams to arrive and then the ball will start rolling,” said the chairman and spokesman for the organising committee, Faith Dube.
The budget for the event has been set at $30 000. Last year’s tournament was sponsored to the tune of R200 000 by the Kombani Lodge owner, Charles Moyo.
Plumtree Academy were the winners of the tournament after they beat Highlanders Under-19 with a solitary goal. They walked away with R6 000 while the losing finalists got R2 500 with the Player of the Tournament,
Zengempilo Khuphe of Plumtree Academy got R500.
A number of soccer luminaries including Willard Mashinkila Khumalo, Madinda Ndlovu, Amin Soma Phiri, Mkhuphali Masuku, Dazzy Kapenya, Ephraim Chawanda and a host of practising Premier Soccer League coaches are expected to grace the event.
Online Reporter