To ensure that they remain focused on increasing their presence within the community, and to help young soccer players reach their full potential, Kouga Mini Soccer will host the Sea Vista five-a-side soccer tournament at Sea Vista Sports Field on May 27.
Using his passion for five-a-side soccer as a springboard for training and development of both young children and young adults in Humansdorp, and the greater Kouga area, Ashinell Dearling established the Kouga Mini Soccer team in 2018.
With a formidable team behind him, Dearling and his team members have hosted many five-a-side soccer events, soccer camp programmes and soccer training.?
The organisation’s team consists of Dearling (president), Chrizelle Leander (timekeeper and administrator), Vernoline Adams (score keeper and administrator) and Fayron Williams (score keeper, administrator, and security member).
“Through our sport organisation, we have offered one-on-one training programmes to interested players and we have hosted major events in the Kouga region since the organisation’s inception five years ago,” said Dearling.
One of the first events hosted was a five-a-side soccer fun day in 2018, for about 500 young children and young adults at Kruisfontein Sports Complex.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic Dearling, who is a semi-retired rugby referee and the chairperson and founder of Kouga Women’s Rugby NPO, said that they lost a lot of their players and soccer teams to gangsterism and substance abuse, while many others relocated.
Despite this setback, the organisation continued to host multiple successful events.
In 2022 they hosted a five-a-side event at the Democratic Alliance (DA) Youth Day, while in March this year they organised their biggest five-a-side event at the inaugural Humansdorp Festival, which was hosted by the KhoiKulcha Foundation.?
Dearling said that at the event they had 14 teams competing in the junior and senior group, and were sponsored by Score Energy Drink.
“At the Humansdorp Festival we had more than 1 000 community members from the surrounding area in attendance, and as the festival gained momentum the number of people in attendance grew. We witnessed history in the making at the first annual Humansdorp Festival,” said Dearling.
In addition to the successful Humansdorp Festival, the organisation was also invited by the Eastern Province Coastal Touchies Association to assist in organising the five-a-side soccer game at the annual Kouga Easter Festival in April.
Dearling said that during the festival they had about 20 teams competing in the junior and senior groups.
Through the exposure young soccer players have received from these events, he said that many of the players from their organisation have gone on to play in soccer leagues hosted by the Kouga Local Football Association, while some of the players have been promoted to the SAB League in the Local Football Association.?
The organisation’s next event will take place on May 27, at Sea Vista Sports Field which Dearling said they are looking forward to.
He said that the five-a-side soccer tournament will kick off at 09:00, and age groups 14 to 17 (junior) and over 18s (seniors) are encouraged to participate in the event.
Each team is expected to have eight team members and the entry fee is R200 per team.
Dearling said that there will be a cash prize for the first and second teams in both divisions, and Score Energy Drink soccer kit for the winning teams, a trophy and medals.
For more information about the tournament, contact Matt Davis On 072 992 1097.
Dearling said that they are currently in the process of affiliating their organisation with the Kouga Local Football Association, which will give the players the opportunity to play in local and national football leagues.
He said that his organisation would like to thank the sponsors who have added to the success of the various events that they have hosted, which include St Francis Marine, Score Energy Drink, local businesses and community members, to name a few.
- For more information visit the Kouga Mini Soccer on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Also contact Ashinell Dearling on 084 692 5280 or email kougaminisoccer@gmail.com.
– ISSUED BY KOUGA MINI SOCCER
