Ntuthuko Maphumulo soccer
The type of South African soccer that has entertained township fans for many years has been called diski. It’s based on short-passing, flair, passion and a love of the game and it’s known as samba football in Brazil.
MTN last year launched a six-a-side version of the people’s game and named it diski nine nine.
MTN national sponsorship manager Wayne Tlhagoane said: “Diski is the soccer the fans play, and as a result, we felt it made sense to put a programme in place that would be seen as an incentive to young soccer players to compete in a local, national and international diski tournament.”
On June 15 and 16 the Moletsane sport centre in Soweto will be abuzz with the diski national finals, which will see under-16 and senior teams trying to win themselves tickets to Rio de Janeiro. The winners fly to Brazil next month to compete in the world six-a-side tournament from July 26 to August 2.
Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde Balfour will attend the tournament for a few minutes and it is expected there will be club scouts present.
The hot favourites are Bari from the Free State, Spice from Durban, Abafanyane and Dangerous Darkies from the Western Cape, Manyora from Northern Province and Magents from Gauteng.