The 2017 SAFA Beach Interprovincial Football Championship is in full swing in Richards Bay, KwaZulu Natal.
The event, which is funded by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust, kicked off on Wednesday, 10 May 2017 and will come to an end on Saturday, 13 May.
“We are honoured to host this wonderful event, which is not very familiar to us. But we appreciate the opportunity that has been given to us and we are making plans to develop this sport to be one of the most followed, not just in the province but the whole country,” said Ghana Mbanjwa, President of the SAFA King Cetshwayo region.
“We should not end here. When the event is over we should go back to our provinces and work hard to make this a sport of choice for many. We don’t want this to be a once-off but an on-going development.”
Eight provinces are taking part in the tournament – North West, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Free State.
Northern Cape pulled out of the event before the start.
This means teams have been divided into two streams consisting of four teams each
Group A has North West, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, while Limpopo, Western Cape, Free State and hosts KZN are in Group B.
Each teams will play three matches on Day 1 & 2 of the group stages before the semi-finalists are decided.
There were goals galore on the first day, a total of 56.
Defending champions Mpumalanga were the big scorers, winning 10-1 against a lacklustre Gauteng. The clash between Eastern Cape and North West ended in a 5-3 victory for the coastal side, while the hosts won 4-2 against Free State.
Limpopo and Western Cape could not produce a winner as it finished 3-3.
In their second matches of the day, Gauteng bounced back from the morning loss to beat Eastern Cape 5-3.
KZN made it two out of two with a 4-1 win over Western Cape, and booked their place in the last four. The home side has now scored eight goals in two matches.
Mpumalanga and North West could only manage a 3-3 draw while Free State got their first points of the day with a 5-2 win against Limpopo.
2017 SAFA BEACH FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
RICHARDS BAY, KZN
9 – 13 MAY 2017
Group A | Group B |
A. NORTH WEST | E. LIMPOPO |
B. EASTERN CAPE | F. WESTERN CAPE |
C. GAUTENG | G. KZN |
D. MPUMALANGA | H. FREE-STATE |
RESULTS:
DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2017
- NORTH WEST 3 – 5 EASTERN CAPE
- LIMPOPO 3 – 3 WESTERN CAPE
- GAUTENG 1 – 10 MPUMALANGA
- KZN 4 – 2 FREE-STATE
- EASTERN CAPE 3 – 5 GAUTENG
- WESTERN CAPE 2 – 4 KZN
- MPUMALANGA 3 – 3 NORTH WEST
- LIMPOPO 2 – 5 FREE-STATE
GROUP STANDINGS
Group A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
Mpumalanga | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
Eastern Cape | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
Gauteng | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 3 |
North West | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 1 |
Group B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
KZN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
Free State | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
Western Cape | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 1 |
Limpopo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 1 |
FIXTURES
DAY 2 – THURSDAY, 11 MAY 2017
- NORTH WEST vs GAUTENG – 10H00
- LIMPOPO vs KZN – 10H40
- EASTERN CAPE vs MPUMALANGA – 11H20
- WESTERN CAPE vs FREE-STATE – 12H00
DAY 3 – FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2017
SEMIFINALS
- WINNER GROUP B vs RUNNER-UP GROUP A – 10H00
- WINNER GROUP A vs RUNNER-UP GROUP B – 11H00
DAY 4 – SATURDAY, 13 MAY 2017
3RD/4TH PLACE PLAY-OFF
- LOSER #MATCH 13 vs LOSER #MATCH 14 – 11HOO
FINAL
- WINNER #MATCH 13 vs WINNER #MATCH 14 – 12H00