Tumben FC took home the prize for the under 17 Wawen’s Cup soccer tournament after defeating PS United FC in the grand final showdown with two goals to one.
Tumben FC walked away with two trophy cups and a cash prize of K1, 500 at the LSA oval in Morobe Province.
Team Manager Mr. Philson Rudolph said the team is grateful for their first ever achievement in the tournament.
“The boys live at the Bumbu settlement and this place is known for a lot of social issues and problems that happen around the community,” said the team manager.
“Me as the team leader of the team and everyone else in the team are taking this approach to change the bad picture that people usually have about our settlement.”
“On that note, we also taking this same approach into sports to help these youths change their perception and way of thinking and so they can make better choices in life.”
Mr. Rudolph explained that it was not easy for them doing preparation towards the competition with ongoing ethnic clashes in their community.
“We had disturbances to our training but that did not stop us, we kept on to our goal make sure boys are well and present for training.”
“The team had strong determination and believed that they also capable as others.”
He further stated, their preparation began in November and all through those times, he was urging the team members not to quit or give up.