Tshiozwi Barcelona were crowned as the champions of the Quality Care Hospital youth soccer tournament when they beat Sinthumule Dangerous Stars 4-2 in the final at Tshiozwi on Saturday.

During the prize-giving ceremony, Cllr Elisa Tambani of the Makhado Municipality said that young children must be given the opportunity to develop their potential. She added that sport can build unity among people and that she was impressed by the way the competition was run.

Barcelona received R1 000, gold medals and a floating trophy. The runners-up, Sinthumule Dangerous Stars, received R 500 and silver medals and Tshiozwi Dynamos were given bronze medals for endeding in the third position.

The top goal scorer and keeper of the tournament awards went to Tshedza Mutandari and Phumudzo Ndou of Barcelona. Leornard Thoka of Dangerous Stars was crowned as the player of the tournament.

The manager of Barcelona, Mr Gwasda Nedzamba, said that it was important for future stars to be identified at grassroots level. He applauded the sponsors for helping to identify the talent in the region.