Press release -
20th Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge Kicks Off
Key Announcements:
- The 20th edition of the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge will take place from 1-23 December 2023.
- The men’s open category and u17 categories are full, but some spaces are available within the women’s categories and teams are encouraged to urgently secure their spots into Soweto’s number 1 diski tournament.
- Entries for the women’s categories close on 24 November 2023.
Discovery and the South African Football Association (SAFA) will host the 20th edition of the Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge from 1-23 December 2023. The grassroots diski tournament will welcome nearly 3000 players from far and wide. Hosted again this year by Shapa Soweto, this extremely competitive, highly anticipated and one-of-its-kind football festival is one that many note as a tournament unmatched in passion and spirit.
Deon Curtis, Senior Marketing Manager for Sponsorships at Discovery, says that the 120 team, three-week tournament strategically aligns with Discovery’s core purpose of making people healthier and enhancing and protecting their lives.
“There’s something for everyone in this tournament, providing a professional platform for promising players to perform. Communities rally in support of the diski talent on display and as Discovery continues to invest in school sports and the communities in which we serve, this tournament is one of many that speaks to our goal of getting more people active.”
Established in 2002, the 2023 tournament registrations are almost at full capacity with only a handful of spots available in the women’s categories.
Phil Mogodi, SAFA Johannesburg President, says that this tournament is one that aspiring players dream of winning.
“This tournament is proud to have hosted the likes of Sibusiso Vilakazi, Percy Tau, Portia Modise, Lyle Foster, Ronwen Williams, Andile Dlamini and many more. It’s the festival for those wanting to follow in the footsteps of our country’s greatest footballers, and every single year the competition is more tightly contested than the year before. I’ve said before, and I shall do so again: Participating in a tournament of this nature is unquantifiable and an absolute essential to any serious footballer in my opinion. The player coming into this tournament is much more refined, skilled, determined and knowledgeable come final whistle; and that’s our goal here.”
To join the live action, we encourage football fans to follow @Discovery_SA Facebook page and show their support for the teams using #DWSSC. All spectators are welcome, entrance is free.
For rolling updates on fixtures, follow the Discovery South Africa page on Facebook.
/ ENDS /
Written for and on behalf of Discovery by Caroline Malan – The PR Machine – caroline@theprmachine.co.za.
For media queries: Caroline Malan – caroline@theprmachine.co.za
For tournament queries:
Phil Mogodi pmogodi@clinix.co.za or Peter Thuntsane thuntsanepeter@gmail.com
Event details:
Name: Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge
Dates: 1 – 23 December 2023
Venue: Shapa Soweto, formerly known as The Nike Football Centre in Klipspruit, Soweto
Format: Round robin, knock out stages from quarter finals
Teams: Open Men Category: 64 teams | Women Category: 16 teams | u17’s Category: 40 teams
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About Discovery
Discovery Limited is a South African-founded financial services organisation that operates in the healthcare, life assurance, short-term insurance, banking, savings and investment and wellness markets. Since inception in 1992, Discovery has been guided by a clear core purpose – to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. This has manifested in its globally recognised Vitality Shared-Value insurance model, active in over 40 markets impacting over 40 million lives. The model is exported and scaled through the Global Vitality Network, an alliance of some of the largest insurers across key markets including AIA (Asia), Ping An (China), Generali (Europe), Sumitomo (Japan), John Hancock (US), Manulife (Canada) and Vitality Life & Health (UK, wholly owned). Discovery trades on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange as DSY.
Follow us on Twitter @Discovery_SA
About the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge:
The Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge plays an important role in developing and growing soccer players within the Soweto community. The tournament encourages members of the community to lead healthier, more active lives. The tournament started in 2002 and has been able to grow year on year, in exposure and player participation.
