Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Finals about to Start!

The provincial finals of the U-19 biggest football tournament in Africa, the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, gets underway on 20 July with Mpumalanga being the first host province. Both the winners and runners-up will go through to the national finals in Durban in September and stand a chance of winning R1 million to be used to fund projects that will make a difference to the learners of the school and the community at large.  

The Tournament is run under the auspices of the South African Schools Association (SASFA). "This is the most exciting period of the tournament where the best teams in the nine provinces fight for a position in the final of this prestigious tournament. We are hoping that PSL teams and SAFA Junior national team's coaches will come to scout players,” said Steve Pila, SASFA General Secretary.   

In the past 3 years R10.2 million has gone to schools to fund legacy projects via the tournament and that figure is set to rise over the next few months as the provincial champions each get R100 000 and the top four sides at the national finals get R1million, R600 00, R500 000 and R400 00, respectively. Projects that schools have spent their winnings on include boreholes, combi’s, upgrading of classrooms/Soccer fields, purchase desks, computers, soccer kit , fencing off the school and much more.

The defending champions are Gauteng’s School of Excellence who have completed their cluster games and are about to embark on the regional playoff stage of the competition.

Tournament Sponsors, Sanlam, believe that the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup creates opportunities that have a positive impact on the youth and also provides exposure to scouts for those players who have the talent to go further in the game. “This sponsorship has many objectives, one of which is to give back to the community and reward excellence by offering substantial prize money.  We also want to encourage as many footballers as possible between the ages of 15 and 19 to compete and possibly to be seen by soccer scouts. Players who stand out will then be recruited into development structures to be nurtured and shaped into professional footballers,” said Frank Louw, Sanlam’s Sponsorships Manager.

The tournament also contributes to enhanced learning through improved educational facilities for the benefit of the rest of pupils in the winning schools and the broader communities around them.

The Dates and Venues of the provincial finals are:

20 July – Mpumalanga, Thulamahashe Stadium, Bushbuckridge
27 July - Northern Cape, Paballelo Stadium, Upington
3-August - North West, Thlakgameng Stadium, Ganyesa
August-10- Limpopo, Nkowankowa Stadium, Tzaneen
August-13 - Gauteng, Muckleuneck Stadium, Mamelodi

August 24 - Eastern Cape, Dumpsey Adams Stadium, Queenstown
August 31 –KwaZulu-Natal, SAI Military, Ladysmith
September 7 - Free State, Mangaung Outdoor Sports Centre, Bloemfontein
September 14 - Western Cape, Bhongolethu Stadium, Oudtshoorn
September 24 to 28 - National Playoffs, King Zwelithini Stadium

About the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup (Run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SASFA)

·       Named after prominent businessman Patrice Motsepe’s late mother, the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup offers the biggest prize money at school level in Africa (R3.4 million in total). 

·       The sponsors are:  Sanlam, the Motsepe Foundation and the Sanlam Ubuntu-Botho Community Development Trust.

·       The primary objective of the tournament is to revive the culture of school football amongst students between the age of 16 and 19 years old.

·       The tournament also gives players the opportunity to showcase their skills to soccer scouts with the talented players being recruited into development structures to be nurtured and shaped into professional players.