Teboho Setena
This year’s Future Stars Tournament, organised by Bulenani Nikani, captain of Polokwane City FC, attracted 24 teams. Clubs came from as far as the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, while those from the Free State were in the majority – ten in total.
This was the fourth year the former Mangaung United FC captain staged the football tournament as part of Youth Month in his hometown Bethulie, in the Xhariep district. This year’s competition was played over three days, from 14 to 16 June.
Dynamos FC from Phillippolis emerged as the overall winner. The team took home a whopping R35 000 in prize money and a floating trophy, plus gold medals.
The newly crowned champions battled for the title against home rivals, Green Lovers. The latter settled for a silver medal and R15 000 in prize money for their effort.
The third prize of R7 000 went to Young Ideas from Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape.
The participating 24 clubs received full sets of playing kit as an incentive for their participation.
“My plan is to have 32 teams next year. I started with 16 clubs, and this year the number rose to 24, inspiring my aspiration for mass youth participation,” said Nikani.http://Premiership side Polokwane City captain Nikani
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