12 Jun 2018

The Pick N Pay branch in Francistown has demonstrated its community spirit by hosting an under 15 football tournament for 16 primary schools at Gerald Estate on June 9.

Speaking at the event, Kgosi Paul Motshwane said it was evident that sport was a sector that could fight unemployment amongst the youth. “Just like tourism being the new engine fanning the economic drive, so is sport the new paddle rocking the canoe of unemployment,” he added.

However, Kgosi Motshwane complained that some parents were still behind in supporting their children in sport.

“If your child is interested in soccer, buy him/her soccer boots,” he said. He said Batswana should start to take sports seriously.

He also advised that FIFA rules must be applied at every level so that aspiring football players could know from the beginning “what is expected of them in the field.”

Kgosi Motshwane also pledged P1 000 to Tagala Primary School to buy traditional dance attire for the school dance group.

He thanked Pick N Pay for its generosity in developing sports at the grassroots level and called upon other companies to follow suite.

Galo Mall branch manager said the tournament aimed at unearthing talent at the grassroots level.

He said they managed to organise the tournament through a competition in which a customer would buy grocery of over P150 and select two primary schools of his/her choice, and that a raffle was used to select the top 16 schools to participate in the tournament.

However, he apologised that the chain supermarket could not provide football kits due to the late submissions of school logos from participating schools.

The finals saw Monarch Primary School in Francistown winning the tournament 5-4 against Tagala Primary School through a penalty shoot-out. They went home with a trophy and gold medals.

 The school also won goal posts and two soccer balls.

The second position went to Tagala Primary school winning a trophy and silver medals.

The chairperson of Pick N Pay kick-off tournament, Clint France said the tournament went as planned and that participating schools were happy with the event which the store planned to hold annually.

He said through the tournament, the store aimed to give back to the community to develop sports in the country.

The store spent P30 000 in the tournament exclusive of tournament attire. ENDS