Time for franchises to shine at the Coca-Cola® Schools T20 Challenge National Finals

The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge Finals are finally upon us. After a long and challenging road, over 72 cricketers from six schools will be in action this weekend at the University of Stellenbosch to determine who will take victory for their respective province in the Schools Challenge.

In its third year running, Coca-Cola® continues to sponsor the T20 Schools Challenge with over 11 000 players from 700 schools getting active on the cricket field. The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge has cemented itself as one of South Africa’s key talent identification chains and has created a platform where “Heroes are made”.

The Coca-Cola® “Hero of the Day” accolade was introduced in the 2013/14 tournament where a player who did something that turned the tide of a game had an opportunity to be recognized for their contribution in front of their peers. This accolade also represents recognising individuals who was able to showcase something extraordinary and may not necessarily be the man of the match or the top performer of the day.

In the 2013/14 tournament finals held at the University of Pretoria, we saw the Lions, represented by St Stithians, win against Waterkloof, who had strongly dominated the finals for the past three years.

St Stithians had four players that played in the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week and three of the players that had already played for the Coca-Cola® SA U19 team namely; Ryan Rickleton, Marques Ackerman and Brandon Glover. Waterkloof was represented by the

Coca-Cola® SA U19 cricketer, Janneman Malan and had three players that were also part of the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week.

“Coca-Cola® South Africa is immensely proud of the role that it continues to play in the development of Cricket at a national school level. The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge, has grown into a reputable platform for youngsters to really showcase what they are truly made of and inspiring their peers to live an active healthy lifestyle through sports participation,” said Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola® South Africa Marketing Assets Manager.

Players unearthed at this year’s T20 Schools Challenge and in the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week will possibly be our future national team players and will add to the players that have already gone on to compete at a provincial level and ultimately played for the Proteas. Cricket players such as Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock started their journey in both of the Coca-Cola® sponsored tournaments.

The format sees each of the 16 Cricket South Africa (CSA) unions stage their own tournaments to identify their provincial champions. A play off between the various provincial champions within their regions will determine which school will represent each of the six franchises in the national finals tournament.

The National Finals will take place at the University of Stellenbosch from 20 – 22 February 2015.

Ends.

Schools that are representing their franchises include:

1.    Volkskool Potchefstroom –Lions

2.    St. Andrews Grahamstown – Warriors

3.    Grey College – Knights

4.    Hilton College – Dolphins

5.    Paarl Boys High – Cobras

6.    Menlopark – Titans

	Coca-Cola®  Schools T20 Finals fixtures
Date	Session	Playing times	Team	Team	Venue
20-Feb	Friday	9:30 - 12:30	Lions	Warriors	Coetzenburg
20-Feb	Friday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Cobras	Tassies
20-Feb	Friday	9:30 - 12:30	Knights	Dolphins	Maties 3
20-Feb	Friday	14:00 - 17:00	Cobras	Knights	Coetzenburg
20-Feb	Friday	14:00 - 17:00	Dolphins	Lions	Tassies
20-Feb	Friday	14:00 - 17:00	Warriors	Titans	Maties 3
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Lions	Knights	Coetzenburg
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Dolphins	Tassies
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Cobras	Warriors	Maties 3
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Dolphins	Cobras	Coetzenburg
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Knights	Warriors	Tassies
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Lions	Titans	Maties 3
22-Feb	Sunday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Knights	Coetzenburg
22-Feb	Sunday	9:30 - 12:30	Dolphins	Warriors	Tassies
22-Feb	Sunday	9:30 - 12:30	Cobras	Lions	Maties 3
22-Feb	Sunday	14.00-17:00	1	2	Coetzenburg

For more information, please contact Shawn at Intune Communications on (011) 023-9401

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands.  Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle.  Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks.  Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day.  With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate.  Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates.  For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.