Minister Solly Malatsi’s football tournament continues to expose Limpopo talent

Speaking to SABC Sport during his SM Legacy Foundation tournament in his home village of Ga-Dikgale, 40km outside Polokwane, Malatsi says PSL clubs in the province must improve their scouting network.

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He points out how the Limpopo schools have dominated the Kay Motsepe Schools tournament in the past two years.

''You look at every PSL team - there's a Bafana Bafana player, but my criticism of the Limpopo clubs is that they don't do enough scouting, you will see Limpopo players in other Provinces and other teams, it is disappointing. Even at junior level, I was at the Kay Motsepe Schools Championships yesterday. The two teams from Limpopo that went to the final this year - provincial final, were in the top three. 

Northern Academy was one in the Province, Chikota was number two, under-19 in Limpopo, they were number three nationally. Limpopo has won Kay Motsepe back to back, what does it say - it means there's quality players. These teams need to build partnerships with us, if they want us to help with logistics, we will make provision for that. Come and see this talent, and let the scouting be done in a fair way because I think we have kids who can fit easily in the under-20 national team,'' said Malatsi.

In the Bafana Bafana squad that returned with a bronze medal at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Côte D’Ivoire earlier this year, Limpopo had the biggest representation with six players.

However, one PSL club from Limpopo that has heeded Malatsi's call is Sekhukhune FC.

The club was represented by its newly appointed Head of Performance Analysis and Technical Scout, Sinesipho Mali.

Malatsi hopes this is the start of a progressive partnership with Babina Noko.

''Sekhukhune, we just reached out to them because we know that teams have this department. Also knowing that the Head of High performance and scouting at Sekhukhune plays a contribution at national level. Come and see the talent we have and I am confident that he will leave here impressed with some of the talent we have. 

For senior teams we have teams from Gauteng, teams from Giyani, we want these kids to have a fair chance. I want to make sure that their talent is exposed, and with our partners Lucky Star we can create an even bigger platform,'' added Malatsi. 

Malatsi, an avid football fan who was previously the Shadow Minister of Sports for the Democratic Alliance has been running the SM Legacy Foundation tournament for the past seven years.

The 38-year-old, who has been a member of Parliament since 2014, has more on what drove him to start this tournament.

''I started playing football here on this field and over the years the community football club died. We then realised that there are no proper run tournaments here that give rural boys proper competition. So we started the tournament seven years ago, wanting to learn how to put together a proper tournament and raise sponsorships and there was an interest. We then started elevating football here, including women's football,'' he expressed.

The SM Legacy Foundation tournament finals will take place this coming Sunday at Ga-Dikgale.

 Malatsi says running a tournament can also be draining financially, but they have been fortunate to attract a few sponsors and invite scouts intending to expose the rural talent to professional clubs.

The SM Legacy Tournament has three categories: the U21s, the women’s section, and the seniors.

Malatsi says there’s already talent that has been exposed to professional teams.