NAKFA heads issue annual challenge

TWILIGHT FOOTBALL

Semifinal draw

The winners of the 2012 NAKFA Cup and Plate will be found tomorrow evening after the semifinals took place in mild conditions on the Kaitaia College top fields last Wednesday.

Thus games taking place in the semifinals on Wednesday, December 19, were as follows. At 6.15pm, Cup: Fulton Fury v Formidable (green field), Rest of the World v Offsider; plate - The Cross Ones v The Alrights, Taking it Slowly v Ahipara Aces. The finals will take place at 7.45pm and if scores are tied at the end of time, each match will go straight into penalty shootout following which, some team will be taking home the NAKFA Cup, the most prized silverware in Northland football, for Christmas.

It is the 10th consecutive year the 7-a-side social summer football tournament has been contested. That its popularity has proved undiminished and indeed, continued to grow was seen with organisers reluctantly turning away several teams once the eight-team maximum cap in both social and open divisions had been filled before the tourney began on October 24.

There are two aspects to the annual NAKFA (Northland Age Kaitaia Football Association) competition: a seven-week league season where every team plays two games in its respective division to vie for either of the two championships up for grabs, and the Cup and Plate competitions where all 16 teams lumped together in a knockout draw for the final two weeks of the event.

Part of the proceeds from team fees are used to purchase footballs to go under the Age Christmas tree for underprivileged families which are being picked up for distribution by the Salvation Army later this week. As per custom, NAKFA officials challenged other Far North sporting groups to do likewise. Anyone unable to make the trip were also reminded support could be given to the Salvation Army online.