PRESS RELEASE
The under-12 Danone Nations Cup competition is under
way, and entries have poured in from all over the country.
Many
regulars are back again this year, but what is exciting is the number of
newcomers who have joined in the competition.
Among
the schools who are entering for the first time are three from KwaZul-Natal:
Prince Dabulamanzi Secondary Primary School, Muzikayise Primary School and
Muzomuhle Primary School
Prince
Dabulamanzi Secondary Primary School is named after the well-known Zulu military commander in
the Anglo-Zulu War
and is located in uLundi in the Zululand region.
Their
manager/coach is Siyabonga Zwane. He is a teacher at the school and, although
he has no formal soccer coaching qualification, he has a Level 1 Coaching
certificate in cricket and rugby and is the school’s sports and social
coordinator.
He says
they are using their first year in the competition as a learning experience to
gauge the level of play and to learn more about the tournament.
“I see
the philosophy of the tournament is to encourage healthy eating habits,” he
says. “That’s something we strongly support. We have our own food gardens which
the boys have to look after.”
Joining
them in the competition this year is Muzikayise Primary School from Newcastle
in the Amajuba region.
Coach
Nhlalzekho Nxumalo explains that this is the first year that the school could
enter because they school formerly only went up to grade 4. Now they have
seniors who are old enough to play.
Nxumalo
has been teaching Maths at the school for the 5 past years. He explains that
the teachers all get together on weekends and play games against the local
police, taxi and other community teams. This keeps them active.
He
follows the DNC Facebook page to get more information about the tournament and
learns about coaching via the internet and from reading books.
“We
have been hard at training, but because we have no experience in the
competition, it’s difficult to say how we are going to do,” he says.
Muzomuhle
Primary School from uMlazi B Township in Durban are also in the Danone Nations
Cup for the first time.
Sbu
Mchunu, the coach, found out about the competition in the Eyethu uMlazi
newspaper and he sold the idea of participating to the school.
Mchunu
is a parent there and part of the School Governing Body. He is involved in the
daily activities at the school and now he is also the coach of the team.
He says
he has selected the team and 80% of the players play for local soccer clubs in
the uMlazi Local Football Association.
“They
have all played in tournaments before, so they should be able to adapt to this
one,” he said.
Muzomhule
Primary has produced a professional footballer in Prince Nxumalo who scored in
his debut match for SuperSport United. He is currently at Ajax Cape Town and is
the club’s top goal scorer this season.
About Danone
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.
One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup
tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through
this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires
millions of children all over the world
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