Molepolole — Fourteen social football teams and 16 pool table teams will battle it out in a tournament sponsored by Molepolole South MP, Mr Kabo Morwaeng during the coming public holidays.

The football games will be held at Lewis Primary School grounds in Molepolole while pool table games will be held at Kgari Sechele School Hall.

Launching the sponsorship on July 9, Mr Morwaeng who is also minister for State President said he had forked out P42 000 for the tournament and urged players and organisers to ensure the tournament ran smoothly.

Originally the tournament started with eight football teams but this year they have grown to 14 with pool games having just been introduced.

However, Mr Morwaeng said most of participants were people aged over 35 years and were looking at ways they could keep fit as well as interact with their peers.

He said the tournament was meant to help them network and build lasting relationships.

Mr Morwaeng further said during the tournament participants would be encouraged to share ideas and address social ills such as gender based violence (GBV), rape and alcohol and drug abuse.

"We should encourage one another to remain free from drugs, hence these are not just games," he said.

The minister said the pool games could be played everywhere and not just in bars, hence they were promoting the games as a sport like others.

The minister promised an even bigger event and encouraged Molepolole residents to attend the games in large numbers, saying this would encourage investors and further, boost the Small and Medium Enterprises who would set up stalls during the tournament.

He encouraged teams to continue to play with a spirit of fair play, adding the games had never experienced violence since inception.

Each team was given two balls to be used during the tournaments as well as a stretcher for injured players and the minister said an ambulance would be available during the games.

Dikgosi and councillors from Molepolole South constituency who attended the launch pledged support for the tournament to be successful.

BOPA