The 19th Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge: Soweto’s favourite football festival ready for kickoff
The 19th edition of the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge will take place from 1-23 December 2022.
Key Announcements:
• The 19th edition of the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge will take place from 1-23 December 2022.
• Whilst the men’s category is full, some spaces remain for the u17 and women’s categories. Teams are encouraged to urgently secure their spots into Soweto’s number 1 diski challenge.
• Entries close on 30 November 2022.
Discovery and the South African Football Association (SAFA) have once again partnered for the 19thedition of the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge. Hosted at Shapa Soweto, the highly anticipated, unrivalled in spirit, extremely competitive and one-of-its-kind football festival sets the township alight annually – this year in anticipation of nearly 2800 players.
“This grassroots diski tournament was established in 2002, and strategically aligns with Discovery’s core purpose of making people healthier, enhancing, and protecting their lives,” says Deon Curtis, Senior Marketing Manager for Sponsorships Marketing at Discovery.
“After a pause in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the tournament returned last year, and although there were some challenges; the Omicron Variant and rising number of cases then, it was a success. We are excited that this year will also go ahead and expect minimal to no disruptions, but for the games to get going in a safe space for everyone, considering that the pandemic is still with us,” says Curtis.
“Discovery continues to invest in school sports and soccer at grassroots levels and this tournament also proves that communities can get active in the most accessible way, making exercise fun and engaging,” he adds.
From left to right: Senior Marketing Manager for Sponsorships Marketing at Discovery, Deon Curtis, Supersport United Head Coach, Gavin Hunt, SAFA Johannesburg President, Phil Mogodi, Banyana Banyana goalkeeper, Andile Dlamini, and professional football legend, Siphiwe Tshabalala pose for a picture at the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge media launch held in Sandton on Wednesday, 23 November 2022.(Photo by Backpage Media)
The tournament allows scores of participants, young and old to compete on the pitch.
Registrations for the 104 team, three week, round robin, grassroots diski tournament are almost at full capacity with only a handful of spots available in the women’s and u17 categories.
Phil Mogodi, SAFA Johannesburg President ,warmly welcomes fans from far and wide to attend and follow in the footsteps of footballers Sibusiso Vilakazi, Percy Tau, Portia Modise, Lyle Foster, Ronwen Williams, Andile Dlamini and many more.
He says that the impact of this tournament extends far beyond the football fields;
“Participating in a tournament of this nature is unquantifiable and an absolute essential to any serious footballer in my opinion. It’s an important part of a players journey – growing in leaps and bounds, players are more mature, skilled, motivated and determined on the other side of this tournament.”
To join the live action, we encourage football fans to follow @Discovery_SA and show their support for the teams using #DWSSC. All spectators are welcome, entrance is free.
