08 Apr 2014

Mufasa 5-a-side organisation will host a five-a-side soccer championship at Kopong K.U. grounds from April 19-20.

Teams from Kopong and surrounding areas will battle it out to for the trophy and a cash prize of P2 000.

The competition will have a maximum number of 32 teams and each team will comprise a total of eight players. Out of the eight players, six will be on the pitch while the remaining two will be used as substitutes. The teams have to be in group of four in the first stages.

“We realised that a lot of people who are not part of big football teams cannot play football therefore five-a-side tournament will cater for them” said the chairman of Mufasa 5-a-side organisation Thabiso Ntlole during an interview.

He said they had organised five-a-side tournaments before at the University of  Botswana thus the upcoming one would not be a new thing altogether. He added that anyone could come with their team and register in time because the teams had to go through a pre-match orientation first.

The registration for the senior teams was P200 while the juniors register for free. Ntlole also emphasised the rules of a five-a-side tournament are different from the normal games. The game is played in 10 minutes and the players are not allowed to tackle because it is regarded as a game of skill.

“We want people to know about five-a-side because it is part of football and it is a very easy way to develop skill” he said. He also said people who played in upper football divisions was also allowed to join and improve their skills.

The tournament will comprise junior championship of 16 teams in total. The registration for the tournament will be closed on the April 15. Mufasa started organising 5-a-side tournaments last year has had three thus far. The tournament is sponsored by Builders World, Marvin Sports and Aktiv Sports. Ends