Wits Men’s Futsal Team has reached a new level
THE WITS men’s futsal 5-a-side team has qualified for the Gauteng Futsal League tournament playoffs for the first time since it was launched in 2016.
The tournament is only made up of teams based in Gauteng such as Ekurhuleni United, Stars of Africa, Joburg City Futsal, Vaal Professionals, as well as Wits which is the only university team in the league. Wits qualified after their game against the log leaders, First Team from Pretoria, on February 12.
Wits Futsal coach, Leon Shangase, who started coaching the team in August last year and is also a player, said that although the team struggled, he was pleased with their improvement. “This is the first time we take part in the playoffs and we want to compete and win. I think the players and I relate better and the interaction in the team will help us get far in the competition,” said Shangase.
Wits Futsal Sport Administrator, Bevan Fenner told Wits Vuvuzela that the team had done very well in the league. “Wits is number two on the log and now we look forward to preparations for the playoffs.
Captain of the team, Thamsanqa Martins, told Wits Vuvuzela that Shangase had done a great job with the team as a young coach. He added that the players had a lot of respect for Shangase.
“What we need to do now is shuffle the squad. Some players do not need to play during the playoffs because the game is quite quick and some of our players are still a bit slow,” said Martins.
Fenner told Wits Vuvuzela that the playoff dates were being finalised and were expected to start later in March. “Specific dates and fixtures will be announced,” he said.
Back at home, the Wits league, which consists of teams such as David Webster, Student Diggz and Barnato, begins on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at the Wits Futsal courts.
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