Previous Winner through to Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Gauteng Provincial Finals

Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sport School, from Laudium in Pretoria, is through to the Gauteng Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup provincial finals taking place at the Muckleunek Stadium in Mamelodi on Saturday, 17 August. Games start at 9am.

They were runners-up in the Gauteng finals last year and finished 3^rd in the national finals. The team’s coach, Tumelo Malabo, says they are hoping to do better this year and are looking forward to the upcoming challenges. “We are planning to win the provincial title and qualify for the national finals again,” he says. “We have been playing in this tournament for many years now and know what is expected of us. The challenge is that the standard of football in Gauteng is increasing all the time and we know that it will not be easy.”

As third place-winners in the competition last year, the school won a total of R500 000 in prize money. They have submitted their wish list to the trust that administers the prize money and are awaiting the implementation of it. “We asked for the school fields to be improved, for washing machines and dryers to be installed, and for big screen TVs,” Malabo said.

Rosina Sedibane expected to make it to the knockout stages of the tournament, so they have been focussed on preparing for just that, Malabo says. “We practise 5 times a week and make sure that we have a friendly match every Saturday. After every game we look back to see where we went wrong and where we are lacking in our tactics. We are currently rectifying our defensive tactics and coming up with ways to create opportunities to score goals.”

Three of the players from 2012, Thabo Moloi, Snethemba Ngidi and Cebo Meyiwa, are now playing for SuperSport United.  None of them could play in the national finals last year because they had commitments for the South African U20 team. “Without them we still finished third.  We are now using the boys to come and help us coach and even teach the youngsters a few tricks that they have learned,” Malabo said. “They are giving back to the school and I believe that their presence at the school is significant to the others that aspire to be like them, they encourage the other players and they look up to them.”

The 8 teams competing include:

Mohloli High School (Sedibeng East)

Rosina Sedibane (Tshwane South)

Clapham High School (Tshwane North)

SAFA School of Excellence (Ekurhuleni North)

Thaba Jabula (Johannesburg North)

Tharabollo High School (Sedibeng West

Sunward Park (Ekurhuleni South)

Waterstone College (Johannesburg South)

Ends.

About the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup:

·       The tournament is run under the auspices of the South Africa 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.