Sixty-seven matches for Madiba soccer tournament scheduled for July 2017

Following the inaugural #67 Matches for Madiba soccer tournament powered by Discovery Soccer Park and sponsored by Octagon Chartered Accountants in honour of Mandela Day last year, these partners will again join forces in staging this event as part of efforts to do 67 minutes of good for Madiba.

 #67 Matches for Madiba is a 67-match, five-a-side soccer tournament hosted on behalf of the Smile Foundation – the NGO established at the personal request of Madiba to help a young girl to smile again – with all funds raised going to assist children in Gauteng with facial anomalies in need of corrective surgery.

This year, #67 Matches for Madiba will be held on Sunday, 16th July 2017 ahead of international Mandela Day on Tuesday, 18th July 2017 at the Discovery Soccer Park Wanderers. Aside from all the generous corporate teams, the tournament will also feature a celebrity team comprising Smile Foundation Executive Chairman Marc Lubner, numerous Smile Foundation board members, Loyiso Bala, Sam Cowen and Fiona Nay.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knock-out rounds, with the final two teams battling it out for the main prize of R10 000. In addition to this cash prize, R10 000 will also be awarded in the name of the winning team to the Smile Foundation. The cost to participate is R2500 per team.

The tournament kicks off at 8am sharp on Sunday, 16th July.

The funds raised from #67 Matches for Madiba in 2016 were used to facilitate free reconstructive facial surgeries for several children in Gauteng. “We’re proud to announce that this year’s funds will once again go to helping to deal with the backlog of reconstructive paediatric cases in the province. There is such a huge need for assistance here, so the proceeds from the tournament play a critical role and go a long way to helping these children. We are very grateful to our generous sponsors Discovery Soccer Park and Octagon Chartered Accountants,” says Hedley Lewis, Executive Director Smile Foundation, of which Nelson Mandela is the chief patron.

“The addition of a celebrity soccer team gives impetus to this already fantastic event, and furthers its worthy objective of helping children in need. We were blown away by the wonderful community support shown to #67 Matches for Madiba last year, and are delighted to host the event again in 2017,” says Ryan Kalk, CEO of Discovery Soccer Park.

“We are happy to once again be involved in this great initiative,” says Waldek Wasowicz, Partner at Octagon Chartered Accountants. “It provides a fantastic opportunity for people to come together and do something fun, for good, in the true spirit of Madiba. What better way to honour his legacy than through an event like this?”