Johannesburg - Music pumping, boerie on the braai and the #ForeverFaster flag flying high, the excitement and tension at Westbury Stadium was palpable as the finalists took to the pitch at the annual Steven Pienaar Community Tournament, with the Rebels defeating Yebo Yes by 5 goals to 4 on penalties in the showpiece Seniors’ final.
This year the tournament attracted 132 entries across categories, from under eight to under 20 with Seniors and Masters categories available for senior players. The incentive is greater than local bragging rights, with R12 000 up for grabs for the winners in the age categories and R7 000 going to the runner up team. Prize money in the Seniors category is R50 000 for the winners with R25 000 going to the losing finalists.
Returning to support and visit his old neighborhood Pienaar chatted to young footballers on the sidelines and even took the time to display some trickery with the ball, which was met by enthusiastic applause. “I want to get a new Steven Pienaar out of this community, not a lot of people come around here and look for talent and this is a platform for the children to show their skills,” expressed Pienaar.
The Everton midfielder and former Bafana Bafana star sponsored the tournament for the past 10 years along with his sponsor PUMA, who came on board in 2012 and sponsor new kits to all the quarter finalists across all divisions.
PUMA Marketing Manager Brett Bellinger commented: “It is great to see how the tournament continues to grow in size and popularity. We are very proud to be a sponsor of Steven and this great initiative and hope to see some of these young players in our provincial and national team one day.”