CZECH REPUBLIC BEATS SOUTH AFRICA IN FINAL DANONE NATIONS CUP WORLD FINAL GAME

South Africa finished 28^th on the Danone Nations Cup World Final log after being beaten by the Czech Republic 4 – 0 in their final play-off game.

For the Barkerville Junior Secondary School Under 12 teams the experience in Spain was pretty overwhelming considering from where they come. However, they have all admitted that the week in Spain has been a life changing experience.

While they overwhelmingly agreed that being in a position to watch children of their own age playing football and how they approached the game was the highlight of the trip,  Zinedine Zidane suddenly appearing in their change room after their final game came a very close second..

The youngsters played their final game at the Bernabeu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, today thanks to an agreement that was concluded by non other than the great Zidane himself:  “I wish to thank the Club sincerely for allowing us to play the Danone Nations Cup in their stadium.  I know this is normally not allowed due to setting of a precedent and ruining the grass, and I am proud to have been instrumental in making this tournament happen here in Spain this year,” said Zidane at a press conference.

Being a world cup for kids it was the kids reporters from the various countries that opened the press conference and South Africa’s Marvelous Nelwando was the first to pose a question to the great man, who opened by saying:  “By the way, I want you all to know I never scored in Bernabeu!”

His message to the kids focused on them being too young to dream of being professional footballers: “I insist on Fair Play.  Just playing in this stadium is a dream come true.  I know that many of the players will be tempted to take it seriously, but this is wrong.  I further know that the kids can’t help but feel a little nervous playing in  the stadium, but I cannot stress more how important Fair Play and having fun at this age is.”

Zidane, who works at Real Madrid, admitted that being here today he was wearing three hats:  First as a father, second as a Real Madrid scout as he said that some of the kids had skills that were ‘breathtaking’ and thirdly as the Danone Nations Cup God Father, which he has been for the past 10 years:  “I am so proud of how the tournament has evolved – from 4 to now 40 participating countries.  I am involved in many project but this one is close to my heart.”

Brazil beat Thailand 3 – 1 to be crowned the 2011 Danone Nations Cup winners!

The boys from Barkerville Junior Secondary School will go back to Mount Frere on Wednesday having experienced an opportunity that most children only dream of.  Their aim is to take their learnings back home and make a difference in their communities. 

POPULAR WITH THE 39 DANONE NATIONS CUP COUNTRIES

The Barkerville Junior Secondary School Under 12 teams, currently competing in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in Madrid, Spain, will play for position 25 – 28 at the home of Real Madrid Football Club tomorrow, Sunday, 9 October and will be watched by the legendary French international footballer, Zinedine Zidane.

Considering there are 40 competing countries, and putting the current situation of the school in perspective, this is an amazing achievement for these youngsters and they will be coming home as heroes.

Barkerville is based in a tiny rural village in the Mount Frere Region in the Eastern Cape where there is limited water supply and almost no electricity meaning the boys have not even had the privilege of watching professional football on television.  For them Europe was known as possessing a passion for football similar to South Africa.  Furthermore, the youngsters had never flown on a plane and the food they were exposed to has taken some getting used to!

And so the 2011 Danone Nations Cup World Final started with a win against Germany 2 – 1 which left the South Africans elated and feeling invincible. But their second game was against Canada, the team that will be playing for top honours in the Final, and they were beaten 3 – 0 followed by a 1 – 0 defeat against Bulgaria drawing 1 all with Algeria to end fourth in Group H. This did not go down well for a team from a country that has a culture of ‘win at all cost’ and they were a little down.

But the boys arrived at the Stadium on Day 2 with renewed confidence, excitement and a zest for life.  The reason for the confidence?  Not because of what was happening on the field, but what happened off the field.  South Africa was one of the main attractions for many other teams including Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria (the latter team sat at the side of each South African game cheering them on even though they were in the same Group and were their direct competitors).  Then there were the other teams from Africa including Tunisia and Senegal who sat on the side of the field screaming for ‘Africa’ whenever South Africa played.

While enjoying the attention, the South Africans were wondering why they were getting so much -  and then it became clear - the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  All these youngster from the 49 other participating countries were football fanatics and all had watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup on television.  They all knew how to sing the Waka Waka and were pestering the South African team manager to teach them how to sing Shosholoza.  Within one day the Argentineans and Brazilians were experts and were heard singing this South African traditional song throughout the day.

Another point of interest is the size of the South African players which is pint size compared to most of the more developed countries estimated to be caused by poor nutrition. The only other country that had kids smaller than the South Africans was Haiti.   “Danone is fully aware of the effect that poor eating habits at a young age, which in South Africa relates to poverty, can have on growth which is why we are looking at introducing an affordable product into the market that has exceptional nutritional properties,” said Sandra Dorville, Communications Manager of Danone Southern Africa.  “Poor nutrition as a young age restricts bone growth which is a problem in developing countries and we would like to make a difference in the South African landscape.”

The Danone Nations Cup World Finals continue tomorrow, Sunday, 9 October.

RESULTS:

South Africa   2  Germany 1
Bulgaria 2 Algeria 0
Germany 4 Bulgaria 0
South Africa 0 Canada 3
Algeria 1 Canada 1
South Africa 0 Bulgaria 1
Canada 2 Bulgaria 0
Germany 2 Algeria 0
South Africa 1 Algeria 1
Germany 0 Canada 2

FINAL LOG:

Canada
Germany
Bulgaria
South Africa
Algeria

PLAY-OFFS:

South Africa 1    Spain 1 (Spain won on Penalties)
South Africa 0   Italy 0 (South Africa won on Penalties)
South Africa 0 Turkey 2

Danone Nations Cup World Finals - Sakhuxolo Ntshikilana makes friends with the team from Brazil

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Spain- Barkerville Asivuyise Ndzamela

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Spain- Barkerville Thando Mzotsho

South African team learns from the Danone Nations Cup World Finals

Barkerville Junior Secondary School, representing South Africa at the Danone Nations Cup World Finals happening in Madrid, Spain, might not be in the running to win the tournament, but are relishing the opportunity and learning some valuable football lessons.

“The highlight of my trip to Spain so far is watching how other countries score goals,” said Barkerville Captain, and striker, Sakhuxolo Ntshikilana. “I our first goal this morning against Germany, but we missed a lot of opportunities in our next matches, particularly against Algeria and Bulgaria when we failed to convert.  I have been watching the other teams score goals and I will definitely go back home to Mount Frere a better player.”

The Barkerville boys come from a poor rural community in the Mount Frere Region in the Eastern Cape where there is limited electricity and therefore they are not even able to watch football on television.  “We follow football on the radio and watching the other 39 countries play has been fascinating to us,” said Ntshikilana.  “What I also love here is the friendship that all the countries have shown us, particularly Argentina.  They even came to our team manager and asked her to teach them how to sing Shosholoza and they sang and cheered us on during all our matches.  I couldn’t believe it and it was such fun.”

The competition continues tomorrow, Saturday, 8 October with the positional play-offs.  South Africa will play another three games and their final one will be at the famous home of Real Madrid in the presence of the legendary French international, Zinedine Zidane.

RESULTS:

South Africa   2  Germany 1
Bulgaria 2 Algeria 0
Germany 4 Bulgaria 0
South Africa 0 Canada 3
Algeria 1 Canada 1
South Africa 0 Bulgaria 1
Canada 2 Bulgaria 0
Germany 2 Algeria 0
South Africa 1 Algeria 1
Germany 0 Canada 2
 
FINAL LOG:
Canada
Germany
Bulgaria
South Africa
Algeria

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Germany - Barkerville Captain Sakhuxolo Ntshikilana and Asivuyise Ndzamela

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Germany - Barkerville Sandise Damane

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Germany - Barkerville Siphosakhe Dyantyi

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Canada - Barkerville Captain Sakhuxolo Ntshikilana

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Canada - Barkerville Captain Sakhuxolo Ntshikilana and Qhamani Mandlevu

Danone Nations Cup World Finals SA vs Canada - Barkerville Siphosakhe Dyantyi

PAST GOOD RESULTS SAW SOUTH AFRICA SEEDED IN DANONE NATIONS CUP WORLD FINAL DRAW

South Africa is the only country to have won the Danone Nations Cup World Finals, the biggest football tournament for children between the ages of 10 and 12 in the world, three times and for this the team was rewarded by being seeded in the Draw for the 2011 Fixtures which took place in Madrid, Spain.

But Barkerville Senior Secondary School, who will be representing South Africa,  will not have an easy ride to get to the Final.  Their first opponent will be  Germany at 10am tomorrow, Friday, 7 October.  To the youngsters this is  a little daunting, not because they have seen their opponents in action, or even know anything about the team’s performance, but merely  from reputation as Germany is known as a powerhouse football nation.

But the team management are more daunted by their second opponents, Canada, who the youngster will play at 11.20.  “The team might have two girls in it, but about half the team comprises African Canadians who are enormous,” said team Manager, Primrose Lwana.  “They just tower over the Barkerville boys.”

But the South African Schools Football Association CEO, Steve Pila, gave the boys encouragement and told them to go onto the field, play the best they can and just have confidence.  “After all, look at last year when Bree Primary, the 2009 Danone Nations Cup South African representatives, played against Switzerland in the Final.  They towered over our boys who dribbled around them leaving them frustrated.  Bree were the ultimate winners.”

Barkerville will then play Bulgaria at 2.20pm with Algeria being their final opponents in the Pool section at 5pm.

In accordance to the FIFA Rules and Regulation for teams competing at this age group, games will be 15 minutes long except for the final where the teams will play for 20 minutes.

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