The Kabhokweni Stadium in Nelspruit will host the under-15
COPA Coca-Cola Mpumalanga provincial football finals on Saturday, 16 June. The
four regional winners in the province will be competing for the provincial
crown and for a place at the COPA Coca-Cola national finals in Johannesburg
from July 12 to 14.
The schools that will be competing are: Lehlasedi High
School (Bohlabela region); Nansindlela Combined School (Nkangala region);
Lindile Secondary School (Gert Sibande region); Tikhontele Secondary School
(Hlanzeni region) and the action kicks off at 10am on Saturday June 16.
Lindile Secondary School from Wesselton Township in Ermelo
is not new to COPA Coca-Cola having reached the provincial finals in 2009, only
to be knocked out in the final game.
Coach, Thulani Nkosi, has been in charge of the team for
three years now. He believes COPA Coca-Cola has helped the school interact more
with their neighbouring schools because now they all train during the week and
play matches against each other over weekends which is something they don’t
normally do.
Nkosi singles out defensive midfielder Zanele Kuhlase as one
of his key players. “He makes good runs from the back and covers well for the
other defenders,” Nkosi says. He is also expecting big things from his captain
and goalkeeper Andile Motha. “He saved two penalties in the regional playoffs
and reads the game very well. He is a natural leader.”
Andile Motha sees the provincial playoffs as a great
opportunity to meet other players. “The best part of the tournament is playing
against other teams from around the province that we have not seen before. This
is the best way to help us develop into better players.”
Lindile’s strongest opposition is likely to come from
Tikhontele Secondary School from the Hlanzeni Region. The School is situated in
Mbombela Village near Nelspruit and is in the COPA Coca-Cola provincial finals
for the third time. They were knocked out at this stage in 2009 and again last
year.
Team manager Nkosana Mhlongo believes winning is not the
most important thing. “You benefit just by competing,” he says. “We have never
been crowned the provincial champions before but it is the experience that
counts and the two sets of soccer kits we have which we use all the time.”
Goalkeeper Surprise Mahumane is one the side’s star players.
“He has great reflexes, and is a good ball distributor,” said Mhlongo.
Defender Musa Ndwandwe is another player that the side will be depending on for
a good performance on Saturday.
“I will be doing my best on Saturday because I want to go to
the Nationals in Johannesburg to stand a chance of being scouted by one of the
PSL teams,” says Surprise Mahumane. “It is my dream is to play football
professionally one day.”
The winning school on Saturday will join Kabelo Secondary
School from Limpopo; Are-Fadimeheng Secondary School from North West;
Johannesburg Secondary School from Gauteng; Masibonisane High School from
KwaZulu-Natal and Robinvale High School from the Western Cape at the COPA
Coca-Cola national finals in Johannesburg from July 12 to 14. The other
provinces will be identifying their champions over the next few weeks.
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