The best of Mpumalanga school football will be seen at the Kwanyamazane Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday, 21 May, as the top four schools compete in the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Finals.
The school that wins on Saturday will not only take home R100 000 as the Provincial champion, but will also go on to represent Mpumalanga in the National finals happening from 13 – 17 July. The school that finishes in second place will also goes to go to the National finals.
The Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup is open to all High schools including rural, public, private and independent schools. The ultimate winner will get R1 million with R600 000, R500 000 and
R400 000, respectively for the second, third and fourth placed schools. Each Provincial winner gets an additional R100 000. Prize money is used to fund legacy projects identified by the school.
Three of the teams that will compete for the Mpumalanga Provincial title are:
East High College of Excellence (Ehlanzeni Region): Established in 1994, East High College of Excellence in Nelspruit is well known for producing outstanding results in the classroom, but when the new Principal, Abel Nkuna, came on board four years ago, he wanted this excellence to spill over onto the sports fields and introduced the East High Sports Academy. The school has not been particularly strong on the football field however has unearthed some individually talented players such as Free State Stars central midfielders Bongani Nyathi and Mandla Shongwe who currently trains with Golden Arrows and Speedy Mabaso who is currently with Orland Pirates. Winning the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup will not only put this academy on the map, but will also serve as a stepping stone for some of the players.
Sofunda High School (Nkangala Region): Hardwork and team work is what 17 year old Malupi Ranthoo believes has earned his school a place in the Provincial finals. “We came into the tournament as the underdogs and for us to have made it to the Provincial finals shows that we are just a step away from victory,” said the young captain. Sofunda’s chance to compete in the Provincial finals came after beating last year’s Provincial winners, Phaphamani Secondary school 2- 1 in the semi-finals at last weekend’s regional finals. They then played Kriel High School, another school that does well on the football field, and beat 4 – 2 to become the Regional winners. Judging by the confidence and character shown a lot is expected from this Middelburg team.
Mahlale Secondary School (Bushbuckridge): Situated in the dusty area of Welverdeen village, Mahlale high school does not have a football field to practise on and the team has to travel many kilometres to the community centre where they play on sand meaning that if there is rain the practise session is cancelled. Getting to compete in the Provincial finals is a dream come true to this young team who are hungry for success. The Mahlale boys have vowed to show what they are made of: “This is a biggest achievement for the boys and we are hoping to go further in the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup. If we win R100 000 this will help the school tremendously as there is just so much we need, such as a sports field,” said team manager Pretty Masemula.
Gert Sibanda Regional winner is still to be decided. Games will take place on Thursday, 19 May, 2011.
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