Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Can Bree Primary do it a third time – win the Danone Nations Cup Gauteng Finals?

The Gauteng Provincial Final of the Danone Nations Cup will take place at the Eldorado Park stadium this Saturday, 18 June and will be contested by eight schools – one being Bree Primary school, the only school to represent South Africa in the World Finals twice, being crowned World Champions in 2009.

South Africa currently holds the record for winning the Danone Nations Cup World Finals more times than any other country since the inception of this, the biggest tournament for children between 10 and 12 years old in the world.  The first win happened in 2003 with a team made up of the best Under 12 players in the country and was captained by Kamohelo Mokotjo, now 20 years old and playing for Feyenoord in Holland.


Bree Primary represented South Africa in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in 2008 finishing in 9th position and in 2009 the school were crowned the world champions after beating Switzerland      2 - 0.

Dave Kalicharan, principal of Bree Primary, says that his team will do their utmost to win on Saturday to get to play in the National Finals:  “We are busy preparing for this year’s Danone Nations Cup, and everything is nicely underway,” he says. “The side is highly motivated, having been playing in under-14 and under-15 leagues as part of our preparations. We’re going for gold again this year, and it all starts with the Provincials in Eldorado. Needless to say, we are very excited.”


Bree’s confidence may rattle the nerves of the other seven teams that have set their sights on heading to Madrid, Spain, for the World Finals in October. But major upsets are always a possibility when it comes to the beautiful game and it is not over until the referee blows the final whistle on Saturday.

Groupe Danone started the competition to promote children’s overall wellbeing and health. “By bringing healthy food and some good healthy fun together, children learn about life,” says Sandra Dorville, communications manager of Danone South Africa. “Football as a universal sport is the perfect way to promote values like fair play, the pleasure of the game, team spirit, sharing -and above all- human values like openness, and respect.” The teams that make it to the world final will also have the opportunity to interact with three-time FIFA world player of the year, Zinedine Zidane, who is the official ambassador of the competition. Most countries also have big names as ambassadors: Andrés Inniesta, Peter Crouch, and Neil Tovey - to name a few.

Gauteng is the final Province to host their Finals which kick-off on Saturday at 9am.  Bree primary will be the team to beat on Saturday - be sure to come watch the action that will have you on the edge of your seat.


The participating schools include:  Sunnyside Primary from Pretoria, Ukhanyiso Primary (Ekurhuleni), Makapane Primary (Boipatong), Satebuso Primary (Orlando West), Diodi Primary (Senaoane), Kgotlelelang Primary (Mabopane), and Benoni West Primary (Benoni).


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ABOUT DANONE

Danone entered the South African market in 1998 through a joint venture created with Clover SA. In January 2010 Danone acquired 100% of the Danone-Clover joint-venture and Danone Southern Africa was born. With 47% market share, Danone Southern Africa is the leader in the fresh dairy products and desserts.

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.


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