Primary ISAZ U9 and U11 Football at Simba School

Chengelo Primary were up at the crack of dawn on Saturday March 26th to travel to Ndola for the Under 9 and 11 ISAZ Football tournament, hosted by Simba School. There were six schools competing in the 7-a-side matches and Chengelo had footballers in every category: girls and boys in the under-9 and under-11s.

After a turbulent start to the journey, we arrived at the start of the first matches for the under 11s. With only 5 pupils in our 7-a side boys team, the boys showed tenacity, despite an early goal from the competing team. Once more players arrived, they showed their skill and worked well to pass effectively. The under-11 girls initially struggled with confidence on the pitch, but after a team talk and new positions, they put great pressure on the teams they played against.

In the Under 9s, both the girls and boys put in a valiant effort on the pitch. The under-9 girls had strong defence and this helped them to control the matches. The U9 boys successfully qualified to the semi-finals which was sadly lost through penalties. They then played for 3rd or 4th place. The score was level at 0:0 until an incredible goal by Asiah in the last few minutes of the game!

Overall positions were as follows:
U9 Girls 3rd out of 6 schools
U9 Boys 3rd out of 6 schools
U11 Boys 5th out of 6 schools
U11 Girls 4th out of 6 schools

It was also a busy day for all the adults with Mr Tembo refereeing for several matches and Ms Kafwimbi sharing coaching with Mr Isaac and Mrs Machaliwa. The children showed such determination and teamwork throughout the day.

A huge thank you to Simba School for hosting the event. Congratulations to all the footballers and Mr Saint for organising the day!