Local soccer champions Benny’s Care Soccer Academy aim to bring the trophy home when Limpopo host the Metropolitan U/16 championship next week. It will be held at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

The tournament will honour a former player of Benny’s, Andani Kutama, who collapsed on the pitch and died in Durban during last year’s tournament.

The coach of Benny's, Mr Justice Matloga, expressed his joy with the school’s performances this year. He added that their preparations were well underway “and my boys are looking forward to this challenge,” he added. He warned his team that they must score more goals if they wish to progress further.  “The players are  young and inexperienced but have been playing for a few years now, so they know each other well. I can see them getting more and more confident as the days progress,” he added.

The brand manager of Metropolitan, Ms Belinda Faulkner, said football had the ability to develop and unite people and had also shown itself to be a fantastic medium through which young people could learn the values of discipline, team work and good health, all while having fun. “We have always believed that football development cannot be effected in isolation and, to tie in with our holistic approach, we have devised a Life Skills programme that forms a key component of all Metropolitan-sponsored events, aimed at equipping the youngsters to handle some of the challenges they may face on their way to becoming the superstars of tomorrow.”