What started out as a small initiative in 2006 has now grown into one of the flagship school tournaments in the country – the Build-It under 13 soccer and netball festival.
In the past this event was referred to as a ‘tournament’ and it was only limited to soccer for under 13 boys. It has since become the talked about festival on the school’s sporting calendar and has exceeded all expectations.
Credit should go to the commitment and dedication from the Spar Group and Build-It in particular who kept their promise made years ago – hence the Build-It Festival is flourishing in all nine provinces.
Sponsors, stakeholders and role players were also ‘forced’ to equal the playing fields with the introduction of netball development for under13 girls. This also created huge interest and hype amongst young girls at school level as they too were catered for with the netball code.
This year, the Aristea Primary School in Kuilsriver will play host to the first of eight festivals in the Western Cape.
The spectacle kicks off on Saturday at 09:00 at the school’s premises.
Prior to the much-anticipated matches on Saturday, there will be a coach’s seminar on Friday at the Build-It Cape Gate Store starting at 16:00.
This will be conducted by Safa Cape Town’s technical director, Boebie Solomons along with his fellow Cape Town Legends.
Meanwhile, Les Pillay from Build-It Brand Equity has made no bones about his excitement for these festivals.
“What excites me the most is the success stories that have emerged from these festivals over the years,” Pillay explained.
“There are about three or four players in the AmaZulu team that came from our programme. We run the programme in Swaziland every year. There are eight players from their national team that are direct descendants of the Build-It u.13 tournament.
“Another aspect that excites me is the fact that those independent store retailers understand the importance of engagement with the communities where they trade. And there is only one sport that talks to the masses in the country… In recent years netball has also been added to get more female engagement and participation.
“I’m also excited about the level of support I receive from the Safa guys such as Bennett Bailey – not only in Cape Town but nationally as well. They are the custodians of football and running the programme without them is basically impossible.
“Another thing Safa has done well is that they have not only been using this event for a soccer or netball tournament where kids run behind a football, they have made it a festival.
“They’ve also used it as a platform for messaging: the fight against gender-based violence; you’re messaging against gangsterism, drug abuse and school bullying.
“So, there is a lot of messaging taking place to create more awareness at these events and that definitely excites me,” Pillay concluded.
