- Eretsha crowned champions in football, Seronga in Netball
The usually quiet village of Gudigwa, the last on the eastern panhandle came to life over the weekend, with football and netball teams along with supporters from other Okavango Community Trust (OCT) villages of Seronga, Gunotsoga, Eretsha and Beetsha converging for the annual Great Plains Conservation Goals tournament.
The tournament, sponsored by Great Plains Foundation, goes beyond just sport as it encapsulates wellness and conservation aspects covering the teams from the panhandle of the Okavango Delta, – an area where the latter subject stands key.
According to the Foundation, Conservation Goals involves sporting competitions and training clinics in the OCT, ‘blending impact-driven conservation with effective community engagement. The project is designed to use the intrinsic nature of team sport to build positive community dialogue around conservation.’
From Friday through to Sunday, the teams battled it out for the coveted title – championship in both Netball and Football. As would be expected in competitions of this nature which pit neighbouring villages – competitive rivalry always rears its head and at stake was individual village pride!
It would later boil down to the best prepared and focused team to triumph. Played on a point system, every team got the opportunity to show its prowess and at the end the best teams lifted the trophies – Seronga for Netball and Eretsha for Football.
Of much interest was Eretsha Football team who went from a humiliating 4 – 0 defeat at the hands of Seronga in their first fixture, to mastering a bold comeback and become the Champions of the tournament.
The hosts, Gudigwa were left licking their wounds – having failed at home ground advantage – and much to the disappointment of the teams’ large following. The teams had to endure the hectic fixtures which started at 7 am daily for the three days, and the supporters did not fail at rallying their support behind their teams.
In Netball, Seronga emerged the champions – leading the pack with 8 points, followed by Beetsha with 6 points, Eretsha with 5 points Gunotsoga 2 points while Gudigwa trailed with just a point.
Eretsha were crowned the champions in football with 9 points, Seronga came second with 8 points, Beetsha came third with 5 points, Gudigwa was on forth spot with 5 points while Gunotsoga trailed without a point. The prize monies for the winning teams were P10 000 for the champions, P5 000 for second, P 4000 for second, P3500 for fourth position while the last placed walked away with P2500.
The champions initial prize monies were P15 000, before donating P5 000 to the conservation clubs in their respective Primary Schools, leaving them a take home of P10 000.
Despite some acts of indiscipline which were condemned by Kgosi Divere Ndando of Gudigwa, the tournament was a success.
In his reflections of the annual tournament, Okavango Community Trust (OCT) Chairman Lekgowa Moediemang commended the initiative for advancing the interests of the youth in the area.
With youth unemployment skyrocketing, the area’s young people tend to get swayed into some social ills like drug and alcohol abuse, and the tournament has helped mould them better with a focus on sport, wellness and conservation.
Moediemang has since called on the organisers to consider catering for other sporting codes, and not just netball and football as is currently the case. This, he said would ensure a larger number of young people participate in the tournament.
