adminFreedom Mutanda
THE Nyunga community in Chipinge District is expected to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Solomon Goko’s death with an assortment of sports activities and cultural dances at Nyunga School.The honorary president of the Solomon and Joyce Goko Trust, Joyce Goko, will grace the occasion.
Maxwell Chaya, the tournament director and Anna Mkandla, sister to the late Solomon Goko, went through the previous edition’s highs and lows recently when the two co-chaired a preparatory meeting for the Goko Sports Gala at Nyunga School.
Sports directors and headmasters from 12 primary schools and secondary schools attended the meeting to chart the way forward for the 10th anniversary Goko Sports Gala to be the best ever.
“Ladies and gentlemen gathered here are obviously passionate about sports and culture. With that in mind, it is important to plan our event well before the actual day of performance.
“Last year, we had a problem with time management resulting in the event spilling over to the early hours of the evening. Accordingly, in our deliberations, we must be as forthright as possible for the end product to be as perfect as possible,” Anna Mkandla, chairperson of the Solomon and Joyce Goko Trust, said in her opening remarks.
It was also agreed during the meeting that cheating has to be rooted out from the grassroots.
Sports co-ordinators and headmasters were tasked with ensuring that students of the right age participate.
Vetting will start from the quarter-finals onwards.
Gift Dhliwayo, Goko High School headmaster noted that talent identification was one of the key reasons the sports gala was established.
“Scouts from clubs have to be invited. Some of our children could benefit immensely from this exposure. The sponsor can actually establish an academy that caters for many sporting disciplines. Rural areas have always been looked down upon in terms of talent identification and development, but that retrogressive thinking must be corrected.”
Mutema Primary School head, Mafura Mafura, said schools must not run away from implementing ministry policy in as far as soccer boots use is concerned.
“If you allow players to play without the required soccer boots, you are exposing them to injury. To add on, players have to learn to play with soccer boots on for they will fail trials if they always play without the required soccer shoes,” he said.
Some of the schools that will take part in the games include Nyunga, Bangwe, Maunganidze, Mutema, Manesa and Charuma, Goko, Devuli, Birchenough Bridge, Nyamure, Tanganda and Musani.
The games will be played on a round robin basis.
Secondary schools were grouped according to geographical location and they will start in the semi-finals on July 11.
Chipinda, Goko and Musani battle it out at Goko High School, while Chipangayi, Gideon Mhlanga and Mutema fight it out at Gideon Mhlanga on the same day.
At the finals, there will be two schools and two community teams that will entertain the crowd with traditional Muchongoyo dances.
Online Reporter