All six Free State Regions will be staging their Sanlam Kay Motsepe Cup Regional Finals on the 07 May, to establish who will represent each region in the Provincial Finals on the 14 May at the Parys Sports Field.
A win for Harmony High School, a soccer academy representing Lejweleputswa Region, will put them into the Provincial Finals for the fifth year in succession. They have progressed to the National finals every time, being crowned champions in 2007, finishing in third place in 2008 and 2009 and second in 2010.
The Virginia team is currently at the top of their regional league and coach Pitso Mokoena said that it is not going to be an easy task for his team this year after four of their key players were snapped up by Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic at the end of last year, after having been spotted at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Cup.
“I started at a slower pace this season as I have seven new players who need to get used to our systems and playing with the rest of the team,” said Mokoena. “I do not want to put pressure on the boys yet as I just want them to enjoy playing in the team. We have a long way to go before the Provincial finals and I will step up the pace as we go along as I would like to improve on our second place finish last season.”
Meanwhile, Ntsu High School from Thabo Mofutsanyana Region is doing well so far this season, having comfortably won their four Regional matches so far. These third-time participants in the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Cup beat L K Ntelabathi Intermediate School 8 - 0, Witterburg Hoërskool 9-1, Thabo Thokoza Secondary School 6 - 2 and Moriting Wa Thuto High School 4 – 0, to book their place in the Regional Finals.
Team Coach, Michael Masooa, is pleased with his team’s success to date: “We look at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup as the tournament we want to win every year. We are now through to the Regional Finals and the boys are well organised and confident but the battle is not yet won and there is still a lot to be done in terms of mental and physical preparations. We are looking forward to the challenge and are pretty confident that we will make it to the National Finals for the fourth time.”
Three of Ntsu’s players joined PSL’s Free State Stars development academy six months ago, which has further helped the school on their road to success. “Joining Free State Stars is a great opportunity for me,” said midfielder, Nkululeko Jele. “Although I haven’t been there long, I have learnt a lot and I am hoping this knowledge will guide me and the rest of the team in the Regional Finals. I would like our team to do well and do the school proud. I have enjoyed my time at school and would like to go down in the history of the school as a high achiever on the football field.
Jele adds with caution: “Although we have done well thus far I will not be complacent and will treat all opponents with respect as it is not over till we have the trophy in the cabinet. However, I do believe we have a better than average chance of getting into the National finals.”
17 year-old Jele cites teammates, right-wing Hadio Nhlapho and captain, Sethoa Mofokeng as key players: “Both players were with the team last year, they know the kind of challenges we will be facing so their advice is invaluable to the team.”
However, a school that has the potential to upstage all others and go all the way to the Finals is sports academy HTS Louis Botha from Bloemfontein (Motheo Region).
HTS Louis Botha was established in 1878 as a sports academy producing stars such as Alan Donald (Cricket), AJ Venter (Rugby) and Kagiso Kumbane (Olympic athlete). While the school has not been particularly strong in football, this situation is changing rapidly and 2011 is proving a very successful year already.
One of their key players is goalkeeper, Sizwe Ngoma. This youngster was contracted to Sundowns last year but the school the Club selected for the youngster this year is unable to provide the subjects he needs to study engineering so he was released from his contract, returning to HTS Louis Botha. This is a youngster with huge potential and he should become a Bafana player within the next couple of years.
The winning school gets R1 million, runners-up R700 000, third prize is R500 000 and the school finishing in fourth place receives R400 000. This prize money excludes the R100 000 that each Provincial winner gets. No prize money is handed over to the school in cash but is spent on legacy projects identified by each school. The schools that finish in first and second place in the Provincial Finals both go through to compete in the National Finals.
“The Sanlam Kay Motsepe Cup falls within our corporate social responsibility programme,” said Frank Louw, Sponsorship Manager, Sanlam Group Marketing. “While we see it as contributing to the development of South African football at school level, we also use the opportunity to reach as many youngsters as possible and promote healthy and productive lifestyles. This is a crucial age as youngsters are about to enter the vital post-school stage of their lives. We will be sending Sanlam representatives to as many games as possible guiding the players and fans on the importance of financial health and planning.”
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