The under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup,
sponsored by Sanlam and the Motsepe Foundation, has reached the provincial
final stage with Free State hosting the first. The final will take place
at HTS Louis Botha High School in Bloemfontein at 9am on Saturday, 8 August.
There is plenty at stake as the winners of
each of the provincial titles will get R100 000 to spend on educational and
sporting projects at their schools, and the top two sides in each province will
go through to the national finals in October where there will be even more
funding up for grabs, including a whopping R1million for the eventual overall
winning school.
There will be six schools vying for the Free
State provincial title on Saturday. The occasion will double up as a
legacy project hand-over ceremony for the host school. HTS Louis Botha won the
Free State title in 2013, and came second at the national finals that year, for
which they were granted R600 000 in funding.
On Saturday the school will take official
possession of the ablution block, change rooms and tuck shop that they built
with the R700 000 in total funding they were given.
The teams participating in the Free State
finals are: Grey College-Motheo District, HTS Louis Botha-Motheo District,
Concordia High School-Lejweleputswa District, Dr Reginald Cingo Secondary
School- Fezile Dabi District, Manthatisi High School-Thabo Mofutsanyane
District and Ikanyekgeng Combined School-Xhariep District
As the Motheo District is hosting the finals,
there are two schools from there in the finals – the hosts, HTS Louis Botha,
and Grey College.
Ludwig Koekemoer, Grey College, sports
coordinator, is thrilled that after four years of participating in the
competition, they have finally made it to the provincial finals.
“Last year we got knocked out at the regional
finals stage and this year we vowed to move a step further in the tournament
and the team did exactly that,” he said. “We have been working hard for this
from the beginning of the season and have done well in the competition.”
Grey played 15 games in the tournament this
year and have scored 34 goals and conceded 6. Koekemoer said. “The team is
disciplined, we are fortunate to be working with a group of boys that are so
focused and determined.”
As this is their first time in the finals,
Koekemoer said they don’t know exactly what to expect, but they do know it will
be very competitive.
“We played against HTS in the regional final
game and they beat us 2-1, they have beaten us a number of times this season
and have a very strong team with players affiliated to Bloemfontein Celtic so
they are used to playing at a high level. But with that said, it does not mean
we will go down without a fight. We will take each game as it comes, with no
pressure imposed on the players.”
Grey has a good all-round team this year,
Koekemoer said, but the singles out 2 exceptional players. “Musa Rampa is a
brilliant striker who has scored 12 goals so far; and goalkeeper Karl
Steenkamp, is a young player with plenty of talent. I believe the talent scouts
that I believe will be at the provincial finals will be impressed.”
The dates and venues of the provincial finals
are:
8th August Free State - HTS Louis Botha
(Bloemfontein) 10th August Gauteng - Nike Centre (Soweto) 15th August Eastern
Cape- Walmer High School (Port Elizabeth) 22nd August Limpopo - Mahwelereng
Stadium (Mokopane) 29th August Northern Cape -Robert Gunda Stadium (Upington)
5th September Western Cape -Nyanga Stadium (Cape Town) 12th September North
West - Montshiwa Stadium (Mahikeng) 19th September KZN - Northdale Stadium
(Pietermaritzburg) 26th September Mpumalanga - Kanyamazane Stadium (Nelspruit)
5th to 10th October National Finals – Nike Centre (Soweto).
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