DISCIPLINE, HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION IS WHAT SINAMUVA PLAYER BELIEF HELPED THE SCHOOL WIN A TRIP TO POLAND

Young 11 year old, Nkazimulo Cele, from Imbali Township in KZN, scored the winning penalty that helped his school win a trip to Warsaw, Poland in September to participate in the 2012 Danone Nations Cup World Finals with 39 other countries.

Sinamuva Public Primary School was crowned the Danone Nations Cup South Africa champions in June after a tough four months of qualifications.  “We were told by our coach (Khoane Khonza) to never feel intimidated by the more experienced teams we faced in the qualifications, especially in the National Finals and I believe this attitude helped us become the best Under 12 team in South Africa,’ said Cele.

“This, together with hard work and determination resulted in me being the first person in my family to travel on a plane and go overseas,” said an excited Cele.

Cele only started playing football two years ago.  ‘Athletics was my favourite sport and in 2010 my coach could not accompany me to an event and sent our football coach with me instead.  He asked me if I would be interested in playing football and since then I have developed a strong passion for football.”

Life is not easy for Cele, who lives with his grandmother and sister as his mother is a chef in the Eastern Cape and only comes home once every couple of months.  Sport is what keeps him active and healthy, but he realises that education is key if he wants to become a South Africa leader in the future.

“My sister finished school last year and is working at a local store selling paraffin because there is no money for college.  I can see she is not happy and that is why I am going to do well at school and make sure I go to university and get a degree.  I will then help her to achieve her goals,” said Cele, who has a maturity beyond his years and excels in maths and English.

Coach Khonza sees Cele as a key player in the team due to his hard work on the field, his ability to cover a big area on the field and his eye for goals.

More about Cele:

FAVOURITE SOCCER TEAM: Orlando Pirates FC.
FAVOURITE SOCCER PLAYER: Lucas Podolski (Germany)
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2012 DANONE NATIONS CUP TOURNAMENT:

• Scoring the winning penalty against Sonqoba Primary School (Gauteng)
• The trip to Johannesburg to participate in the Danone Nations Cup National Finals

WHAT HE LEARNT FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE DANONE NATIONS CUP:

·         Anything is possible

TRIP TO POLAND:

·         There are 40 other nations going to be participating and he hopes to see someone waving a South African flag and following his team.