Paul Academy and Mercy Academy were the big winners at the King of Glory Provincial Sports tournament, which was held at Bunkers Hill at the weekend.
Ngqeleni side Paul Academy beat Young Lions in the seniors final, while Mercy, from Mthatha, defeated Future Boys in the U17 final.
The defending champions were Kilimanjaro from Buffalo Flats (seniors) and Coastal All Nation (U17).
The tournament had an entry of 32 senior teams and 16 U17 teams, as well as 16 netball sides.
"As the King of Glory Foundation, we are very happy about the number of teams that came and were part of the tournament," Sbusiso Nodada, the brains behind the competition, said.
"These young people came with great expectations and high hopes, and we delivered as promised.
"Starting from Friday with the opening ceremony, Saturday and Sunday with games, everything was well organised."
African soccer champions Mamelodi Sundowns sent a delegation of two coaches to the tournament after being impressed with what they saw last year.
Nodada said the coaches had identified some players who would go for an assessment at the club's academy structures.
"The level of competition was very high; teams were very disciplined; even our guests were very impressed," he said.
"Again, Sundowns has identified great talent and very soon we will be sending our boys to Johannesburg for further assessment.
"We also had special guests from Sport and Social Change Network Africa (CEO Allan Williams and COO Hendrick Modise), CPF chair Lwandi Ngebe, Andile Jali and members of the Mbhashe municipality.
"All these special guests played a huge role in encouraging and motivating these young people."
In the 2025 edition, Downs scouted centre-back Lwandile Godloza, who is now operating in their developmental ranks and is working on cracking the Diski Challenge team.
Lakham Gqongo and Ukhonaye Magele, who were part of the SA U20 Cosafa Cup-winning team in Mozambique, also participated in the King of Glory tournament.
