Vakhegula open historic International tournament with a loss
The Grannies international football tournament hosts Vakhegula-Vakhegula opened their campaign with a 3-2 loss against their USA counterparts in Nkowa-Nkowa, Limpopo on Sunday.
The tournament was attended by amongst others MECs from the Limpopo government, representatives from SAFA, participating nations and a full-capacity crowd. It will run until Wednesday, 29 March with 20 teams battling it out for the trophy.
HISTORIC GRANNIES INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT TAKES CENTRE STAGE
It was an incident-free day despite a 58-year-old Zambian player who was rushed to hospital after feeling dizzy while seated amongst the crowds.
US Defender Kim Brooks who is 59 has shared her experiences of the first day of the tournament.
“This was a really fun game, the Vakhegula grannies have some real speed and caused a lot of threat on us.
“We have practices on Sundays and usually play practice matches on Monday nights, Sometimes on Wednesdays.
“The people have been wonderful, we have been welcomed everywhere which is great.”
VAKHEGULA-VAKHEGULA START TOURNAMENT WITH A LOSS
Vakhegula striker Thelma Ngobeni who is also known as “Majoro” scored both goals for the South Africans. The 59-year-old says had she not messed up she could have got a hat trick on the day.
“I had the spectators happy so I thought I had already scored then I stopped. That’s where I messed up. That’s where we were supposed to score but we will try again. The trophy is staying in South Africa, I am sure of that.”
“It was not an easy game but I am just happy that we managed to score. We also showed that we can play.”
The matches will resume on Monday, 27 March from 08:00 until 18:00.
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