On Saturday six Free State
regional winners will be taking out step further on the road to fulfilling
their dreams of going to London in September to participate in the Danone
Nations Cup World Finals. The Free State provincial final will take place at
the Clive Solomon Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday April 13. The
winner will go on to represent the province in the National Finals with the
ultimate winner packing for London.
One of the schools participating
on Saturday is Tlong - Kganyeng Primary School. This is the fourth year they
are playing in the competition finishing second at the provincial finals in
both 2011 and 2012 and are hoping to go one better this year. According to
Ramoshodi Ishmael Maleka, their team manager, the boys are in good shape and
have been training twice a day during the Easter holidays.
He singles out his captain and striker, Lebogang
Litabe, and midfielder Teboho Mokgotsi as key players in the team. “We have
been grooming them from the age of seven and they are both very
dedicated.”
Maleka believes the trip to London will give the
kids an experience that will change their lives. He has heard that kids
from Schools that have been overseas come home with more confidence and drive
which reflects in their school work as well. “If we are the school to go
to London we plan on taking the team to the Harmony Sports Academy in Virginia
so that they can learn more about the sport and what is needed from a good
soccer player,” he said.
Although no players from the school have gone on to
play for Bafana-Bafana yet, one of them - Itumeleng Duiker, now plays for
Bloemfontein Celtic.
Maleka identifies the interaction with other
children and exchanging soccer tips with players that they meet from the
different schools as making the tournament very valuable. “Every trip we go on
is a memory to be treasured for these young lads and we are looking forward to
the provincial finals,” he said.
Luckhoff
Combined School will also be in action on Saturday. They have been
participating in the tournament for three years and this is their first time at
the provincial finals. The trip to Bloemfontein will be the first time many of
the players will be leaving their village and there has been much excitement
since the announcement was made.
The 2013 team
is a completely new one. “We are confident,” team manager, Frans Deelman, said.
He believes their two committed strikers, Devon Appies and Masoes Deviano are
players to watch out for. “They are young but already very confident and
comfortable on the ball and could well put us in the final, but we know that it
will not be easy on Saturday.”
The teams participating in the
Free State provincial finals are:
Monamodi Primary School –
Lejweleputswa Region
Selogile Primary School – Fezile
Dabi Region
Luckhoff Combined School –
Xhariep Region
Matswathaka Primary School -
Thabo Mofutsanyana Region
Emang Primary School – Motheo
Region
Tlong - Kganyeng Primary School –
Masilonyana Region
Two provinces have already hosted
their finals: Northern Cape (Rietrivier Primary School) and KZN
(Siphumele Primary School) are already preparing for the National
Finals. The next provincial finals will be in Limpopo on April 20.
The Danone Nations Cup National Finals will be in Johannesburg on July 22.
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