The North West provincial contenders for the Sanlam Kay Motsepe
Schools Cup will be battling it out at the Montshiwa Stadium in Mafikeng on
Saturday June 23, starting at 9am.The
schools participating are the winners of the regional playoff competitions that
have been going on in the province for the last three months. The winning school gets R100 000 and a
place at the National Finals.
Among the contenders for the title is Eletsa Secondary School from
Letlhabile Township near Brits in the Bojanala Region. This is the sixth time the
school is participating in the tournament and the third time they have made it
through to the provincial finals.
Eletsa coach, Goodman Ramakobye, has been with the school team since
2008. He says that even though he still has five players from last year’s team,
they need to work on their fitness levels to be consistent throughout the day
on Saturday.“It was fitness that let us down last year,” he says.
According to Ramakobye, defender FanaSibande, who was part of last
year’s team, is a key player for them. “He defends well and also supplies the
strikers with good crosses.” Eletsa’s goalkeeper, Thabiso Marima, is a good
team motivator who saved two penalties in the regional finals.
Also in contention on Saturday is Gaopalelwe Secondary School from Boitumelong
near Bloemhof in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Region. This will be the
school’s fourth time in the competition and the first time they have made it
through to the provincial finals. Coach Josias Koalane is excited to finally
represent his region at the provincials. He believes this will be a great
experience as they have only been exposed to playing with their regional
schools.
He will be depending on striker
Moleleji Kadi, the team’s current top goal scorer with 12 goals, to do the
business for them on Saturday.
But the team to beat will be current
North West champions, Sol Plaatje. Coach
Clifford Shale, who has a South African Football Association (SAFA) Level 1
coaching certificate, said: “I have six
players who competed in the competition last year, but the team need to work on
their mental awareness and be able to deliver under pressure because they lose
focus very easily and lose momentum once they have conceded a goal. I have been
working on this by playing friendly matches with the local football academies
and allowing them to attend football classes every Wednesday.”
The final contender on Saturday is Seiphemelo
Secondary School who won the provincial title in 2010.
The winners and runners-up on Saturday will both be travelling to
Bloemfontein from October 2 to 6 where
they will meet
the top two sides of the other eight provinces to compete for the Sanlam Kay
Motsepe Schools Cup National title and the R1 million that goes with it.
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