Coca-Cola Craven Week - Where Heroes Are Made

The annual Coca-Cola® Youth Week festivals begin this week with the U13 Coca-Cola® Craven Week, kicking-off a month of the best in schoolboy rugby. 

The Coca-Cola® Youth Weeks take place annually and comprise of four age categorised rugby tournaments in which schoolboys representing their respective regions, compete against one another:

·       U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

·       U16 Coca-Cola® Grant Khomo Week,

·       U18 Coca-Cola® Academy Week

·       U18 Coca-Cola® Craven Week,

The Coca-Cola® Youth Weeks are where our country’s future rugby heroes are made.  Now in its 52^nd year, Coca-Cola® Craven Week has become synonymous as the platform for showcasing the best in South African youth rugby talent. The under-18 Coca-Cola® Craven Week has seen over 270 future Springboks come through its ranks, additionally, the SA Under-20 team is nearly entirely made up of players who have played in one or more of the Coca-Cola® Youth Weeks.

To highlight the talent that will no doubt be uncovered at this year’s Coca-Cola® Craven Week, a Coca-Cola® judging panel will once again be selecting and recognising the Coca-Cola® Hero of the Day. This daily award will honour the standout player on each match day of the u18 week to be held in Stellenbosch from the 13 – 18 July.

The Coca-Cola® Hero of the Day is not necessarily your typical man of the match.  He is the fullback who made that courageous try-saving tackle, the kicker who slotted a final second penalty for the win or the winger who scored an amazing intercept try.  It is hero moments such as these which can earn a player the prestigious Coca-Cola® Hero of the Day award.

Additionally, in acknowledging the massive role that schools play in the development of South Africa’s future rugby heroes, Coca-Cola® has taken the “Hero of the Day” concept to social media!*  Coca-Cola® are searching for South Africa’s ultimate school rugby hero. Whether it’s the star flyhalf, a dedicated supporter or the u13 water boy, they want to know their story. The winner and their school will be awarded with amazing rugby related prizes.* 

Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola® South Africa Marketing Assets Manager comments, “Coca-Cola® South Africa is extremely proud to support the development of South Africa’s next rugby heroes through the Coca-Cola® Youth Weeks. This will be the 30^th year of our sponsorship – we have had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the success of the Coca-Cola® Youth Weeks and the incredible foundation they have created for schoolboy rugby in South Africa.  The Coca-Cola® Youth Weeks also signify the importance of living an active healthy lifestyle through participation in sport.  Coca-Cola’s philosophy in sponsoring sport is all about encouraging physical activity and developing healthy lifestyles.  Playing sport, together with a balanced diet, play an important role in maintaining a healthy way of life.” 

The schedule for the Coca-Cola® Rugby Youth Weeks rugby tournaments is as follows:

·       Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week – 29 June to 3 July 2015, Hoërskool Rob Ferreira, White River 

·       Under-16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week, July 6 to 9 2015 - Bridgton Sports Grounds, Oudtshoorn 

·       Coca-Cola Academy Week – July 6 to 9 2015, Isak Steyl Stadium, Vanderbijlpark

·       Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week – July 13 to 18, Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch

[ENDS}

Media Contact

Shawn Belluigi

Tel: 083 675 4338

Email: shawn@intunecom.co.za

*For more information on the Where Heroes Are Made Competition go to https://www.facebook.com/youthweeks

*T&Cs apply

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 16 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke®, Fanta®, Sprite®, Coca-Cola Zero®, Glaceau 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.

Handful of teams make early strides at U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

Handful of teams make early strides at U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week Note to Editors: The fixtures for the U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-two fixtures on Tuesday 30 July has been added at the foot of the press release The Blue Bulls, KwaZulu-Natal, Border, SWD and DHL Western Province on Monday made their presence felt early on in the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River as they registered impressive victories to keep themselves in contention for a place in the final match on Friday. The Itec Blue Bulls defeated Zimbabwe 40-0 and Border beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls 29-7, while KwaZulu-Natal defeated hosts the Pumas 21-7 on a thrilling day’s action. SWD also registered a convincing 19-0 victory against the Free State and DHL Western Province beat the TW Profile Service Valke 24-19 in their opening matches. Boland, Border CD, Namibia and the Bidvest Golden Lions also registered encouraging victories to start their campaigns on a high note. The Blue Bulls proved to be the best attacking team as they ran in six tries, while Border were hot on their heels with five and Border CD on four. Pumas 7 (0) KwaZulu-Natal 21 (14) KwaZulu-Natal delivered a solid display against the Pumas as their forwards laid a solid foundation upfront and their backs showed their class on attack by moving the ball throughout the match to stretch the defence. They earned the rewards for these efforts with two first-half tries, while the Pumas battled to break through the defence. This earned the Durban side a 14-0 lead. They built on this form in the second half and added their third try to stretch their lead to 21-0. The Pumas fought back strongly with their forwards, but the effective KwaZulu-Natal defence managed to shut them out despite three attempts in a row to cross the chalk. They eventually crossed the tryline in the dying minutes compliments of Hardus Rothman to add their first and only points in the match. Scorers: Pumas – Tries: Hardus Rothman. Conversions: Alec Vermaak. KwaZulu-Natal – Tries: Ngcebo Mdabe, Kwanele Khumalo, Khwezi Mbongwa. Conversions: Mathew Halstead. DHL Western Province 24 (17) TW Profile Service Valke 19 (5) DHL Western Province dominated the first half against the TW Profile Service Valke from the outset as they delivered a fine all round performance, which set them up for a 24-19 victory. Their pack dominated, while their backs did well to spread the ball and find gaps in the defence, which they took full advantage of before the break for a 17-5 lead. The TW Profile Service Valke, however, refused to give up and scored their second try of the match in the second half thanks to a powerful showing by their forwards. They threatened to score again twice in the dying minutes, and earned the rewards with a late try by Zander Maree to come within five points of the Cape side. Scorers: Western Province – Tries: Ethan James, Luke Burger, Quinn Visser. Conversions: Jack Cloete (3). Penalty: Jack Cloete. Valke – Tries: Keagan Balfour, Tyler Skudder, Zander Maree. Conversions: Kyle Benadie (2) Limpopo Blue Bulls 7 (7) Border 29 (10) Border overcame a close first-half against the Limpopo Blue Bulls to secure a convincing 29-7 victory as they raced to the tryline an impressive five times. Bamanye Mahela and Joshua Van Vreden each crossed the tryline twice to force their team into the lead against the Limpopo side. Border secured a narrow 10-7 lead at the break with two tries to one, and they added three five-pointers in an encouraging second half to outplay their counterparts. With their defence holding well, the Limpopo Blue Bulls were unable to add to their score after the break. Scorers: Limpopo Blue Bulls – Try: Willie Potgieter. Conversion: Ruan Basson. Border – Tries: Bamanye Mahela (2), Joshua Van Vreden (2), Lwanga Bongco. Conversions: Sihlalo Benge (2) Boland 20 (10) Leopards 15 (10) The first half between Boland and the Leopards was tense as the teams proved to be closely matched, with each side scoring a converted try and penalty, which saw them enter the break at 10-10. Boland’s Curwin Gertse, however, had the first say in the second half as he scored their second try and another penalty to increase his tally for the match to 13 points. Armand Cloete of the Leopards added their second try nine minutes before the final whistle, but they were unable to add to this and were forced to settle for a 20-15 defeat. Scorers: Boland – Tries: Curwin Gertse, Jan Jeremias De Villiers Fourie. Conversions: Curwin Gertse, Kyle David Nasson. Penalties: Curwin Gertse (2). Leopards – Tries: Armand Cloete, Marco Botha. Conversion: Theuns Steyn. Penalty: Theuns Steyn. Itec Blue Bulls 40 (26) Zimbabwe 0 (0) The Itec Blue Bulls were in fine form in their clash against Zimbabwe and ran in three tries in the first 16 minutes to secure a 26-0 lead at the break. They continued this dominance in the second half with a solid effort on attack and defence, which allowed them to add three more tries to increase their tally for the match to six. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, all their efforts were countered by the Pretoria team, which left them scoreless in the match.  Scorers: Blue Bulls – Tries: Chris Schoombee (2), Pieter Venter, Wonder Mkhonto, Zandre Du Toit (2). Conversions: Jooste Nel (5) Eastern Province 12 (5) Bidvest Golden Lions 13 (10) The Bidvest Golden Lions started their clash against Eastern Province with a bang as Regardt Fourie crossed the tryline in the second minute to take a 5-0 lead. But Eastern Province did well to string together phases on attack and hit back with a try of their own in the 18th minute compliments of Lathita Nqebe. The Lions, however, cancelled this out with their second try before half time to take a 10-5 lead at the break. The second half was hard-fought as the teams ran hard at each other. Such was the closeness of the half the Lions were only able to add a penalty to their score, while Nqebe crossed the tryline for the second time for the Port Elizabeth side, which allowed them to come within a point of the Lions on the scoreboard. The Johannesburg team, however, held on in the dying minutes to secure a 13-12 victory. Scorers: Eastern Province – Tries: Lathita Nqebe (2).  Coonversion: Daniel Smith. Golden Lions – Tries: Denis Balt, Regardt Fourie. Conversion: Sebastine Watney. Griquas 7 (7) Namibia 12 (12) Namibia secured their first victory of the week as they defeated Griquas 12-7 in a tight clash. Griquas opened up the scoring in the sixth minute with a try by Elric Moolman, which they converted successfully. However, back-to-back tries by Namibia, of which one was converted, pushed them into a 12-7 lead at the break. Both teams tried hard to add to the score in the second half but were denied by the solid defence. Namibia, however, had an opportunity to slot over a penalty to extend their lead late in the match, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Scorers: Griquas – Try: Elric Moolman. Conversion: Keanan Wentzel. Namibia – Try: Johann Janse van Rensburg, Niel Holtzhausen. Conversions: Kian Fransman. Free State 0 (0) SWD 19 (5) The first half between SWD and the Free State was tight as both teams threw everything at one another on attack and supported this with a solid defensive effort. SWD, in particular, tried hard to use their pack to gain ascendancy, while both teams tried to spread the ball wide on attack. A try by SWD in the first half and another two in the second half, however, pushed them into a convincing lead on the scoreboard, while they managed to shut out the Free State completely thanks to their water-tight defence, which rattled the Free State into mistakes at crucial times. Scorers: SWD: Tries: Caston Michaels, Janus Ferreira, Jowin Jantjies. Conversions: Cameron Sharp (2) Griffons 16 (6) Border CD 22 (0) Border CD staged a dramatic second-half comeback against the Griffons after trailing 6-0 at the break, as they ran in an impressive four tries to secure a 22-16 victory. The Griffons slotted over two penalties in the first half compliments of Du Toit Van Huyssteen, and managed to cross the tryline twice in the second half for their 16 points. But their defence let them down in the second half, which came at the price of a defeat as Border CD hit their straps and did well to convert their try-scoring chances into points. Scorers: Griffons – Tries: Katleho Chabanyane, Tshepiso Mzizi. Penalties: Du Toit Van Huyssteen (2). Border CD – Tries: Asphe Bhunqane, Athenkosi Mutala, Luyanda Dyani, Siphe Nonkwenke. Conversion: Luyanda Dyani. U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-one results: Pumas 21 - 7 KwaZulu-Natal Western Province 24 - 19 Valke Limpopo Blue Bulls 7 - 29 Border Boland 20 - 15 Leopards Blue Bulls 40 - 0 Zimbabwe Eastern Province 12 - 13 Golden Lions Griquas 7 - 12 Namibia Free State 0 - 19 SWD Griffons 16 - 22 Border CD U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-two fixtures, Tuesday 30 June 2015: A Field: 08h30 - Griffons vs Namibia                             09h30 - Valke vs Blue Bulls                                10h30 - Golden Lions vs SWD                           11h30 - KZN vs Boland                                       12h30 - Border vs WP B Field: 08h30 - Griquas vs Zimbabwe 09h30 - Free State vs Limpopo Blue Bulls 10h30 - Border CD vs Pumas 11h30 - EP vs Leopards Issued by SARU Corporate Affairs

Minnie Dlamini Joins the Danone Nations Cup Team

Celebrity, SABC Soccerzone presenter and soccer fanatic Minnie Dlamini has joined the Danone Nations Cup family and will be lending support to the 126 players from the nine provincial winning teams playing in the national finals at Reiger Park on Saturday, 27 June.  Kick-off at 9am.

Dlamini is an avid supporter of football development and is fully behind what the Danone Nations Cup stands for.  “The Danone message is to encourage kids to believe in their dreams and also to bring health to as many kids around the world as possible through sport, all of these hit a solid core in me,” she said.

Coming from a family whose father encouraged all the kids to participate in sport, Dlamini, who is competitive by nature, reached provincial levels in numerous sports including tennis, netball, touch rugby, cricket, athletics and volleyball.  She still plays tennis socially. 

Her gregarious personality led to become one of only a handful of women football presenters in the country, a position she cherishes.  “I have interviewed most of the South African soccer stars as well as many famous African stars,” she said.  “At the UEFA Champions League Final I got to interview ex French International, Zinedine Zidane, who is also the Danone Nations Cup Ambassador so I have an even closer link to this tournament,” said Dlamini.

A strong development programme is key to a successful national team, believes Dlamini. “Programmes such as the Danone Nations Cup are where talented players are identified and this talent needs to be professionally nurtured and once this happens there is no doubt we can produce even better world class athletes.”

Dlamini has a word of advice for the young players competing in the national finals on Saturday: “I wish the players all the best and the more work you put into your game the better the results.  Look at Christiano Ronaldo, to this day he arrives hours before training to train on his own and remains long after official training has finished and continues to train.”

Dlamini also believes that fans should come out in large numbers tomorrow to see South Africa’s top under-12 footballers in action as these are the stars of the future. “There is also going to be lots of other activities for the fans such as 5-a-side games, target shooting and the Mille free stylists will be teaching tricks and also giving displays.  And of course, Danone will be handing our Nutriday and Yogisip to everyone that comes to the stadium.”

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world

DNC Partners:

Danone Nations Cup National Finals Kick-Off - Free State

The national finals of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup tournament take place in Gauteng on Saturday, with a trip to Morocco later in the year to play in the World Finals of the competition up for grabs.  One of the nine participating schools that will be attending their second national finals in a row is Nelson Mandela Primary School, representing the Free State.

They are unique in that they have a female coach, Mrs Dikeledi Sothwane, and she said being back again is an advantage because they are no longer nervous and know what to expect from the competition.

“This year we have been better at preparing the team, we have learnt from last year’s experience and we know that we won’t be repeating the same mistakes,” she said. 

The school has been getting a lot of help in their preparations. Club coaches from the area are lending a hand and the Provincial Department of Sports and Recreation have allowed the team to use facilities in the area that also have gym equipment.

“The players have told me more than once that they are not like last year’s team, they will win the nationals this year. They have the confidence and the right attitude to do great at the nationals,” Sothwane said.

Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko, president of the South African Schools Football Association (Sasfa) believes the Danone Nations Cup plays an important role in introducing players at this age to competitive soccer.

“It is at this level that the players get introduced to competitive football thus helping them gain confidence, learn more about team and individual work on and off the field,” he said. “It is with great excitement that we welcome the 16^th national edition of the prestigious Danone Nations Cup, a catalyst for social cohesion and a medium for excellence in football.

“We know that the stakes are very high at this level as the ultimate prize is the opportunity to hoist high the SA flag at the World Cup level of Danone Nations Cup. We trust that the winning school will be good ambassadors and will come back home with new knowledge about the world and about themselves.”

The aim of the tournament, world-wide is getting children to believe in their dreams, says Danone South Africa’s Sandra Dorville. “Football has the power to make dreams come true, to lift people out of their everyday circumstances. We want children as young as this to realise that,” she said.

The Participating Schools are:

Eastern Cape - Lukholo Junior Secondary School - 2^nd time national finalists

Free State -Nelson Mandela Primary School - 2^nd time national finalists

Gauteng - Bree Primary School - 2009 World Final winners

KwaZulu-Natal – Mophela Primary School

Limpopo – Benny’s Sports Development Academy

Mpumalanga - Daniye Higher Primary School – 2013 National winners

North West - Kgetleng Primary School -2^nd time national finalists

Northern Cape - Roodepan Primary School -2^nd time national finalists

Western Cape - Restvale Primary School

Witsieshoek School wins Free State's Thabo Mofutsanyane Kay Motsepe Schools Cup district finals

Manthatisi High School from Theseng Village, Witsieshoek are the Thabo Mofutsanyane District winners in the Free State division of the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, and they will be going to the provincial finals later this year.

This is the 1^st time that the school has advanced to this stage of the competition, despite entering each year since 2010, and John Hlohlongwane, the team’s manager, puts it down to really hard work this time.

“Since 2010 the school has been knocked out in the early stages of the tournament every year,” he said. “With working hard we have managed to finally reach the provincial finals. I really commend the team for putting in 110% in training and in their matches. They have really worked hard and from the beginning of the year and I could tell that the team were determined to win.”

There is a good attitude in the players, Hlohlongwane said, and should they continue like this they should do well in the provincials.

“It’s been a tough road to make it to the finals. We have played 17 games already from cluster level, through to the regional play offs, and the players have risen to the occasion. I would have to say that the team’s determination and hard work definitely helped them win all those games,” he said.

The team suffered a major setback when their coach for the past 7 years, Thabo “Troussier”  Maboea, sadly passed away recently. “He is the one responsible for the team’s success,” Hlohlongwane said. “He worked tirelessly in training and grooming the boys. We don’t have a coach at moment and are in the process of getting one of the local coaches to help us. Once that happens we will begin our preparations for the provincial finals.”

The team has won through to the provincial finals for the first time and the coach knows that the boys will be a bit nervous. “However, we know that Harmony High School, the team that has been dominating in this tournament, has been knocked out and with them gone it’s looking very possible that we might actually win the provincials,” Hlohlongwane said.

“We have beaten the stronger schools in our district including Ntsu high School, who competed in the nationals in 2010 as well as Tlokola Secondary School who went to the nationals last year. HTS Louis Botha is also a strong school, although last year they didn’t even make it through the provincials.”

Results

Manthatisi 1 vs Evungweni 1

Leifo-Iziko 0 vs Tlokola 0

Evungwini 0 (1) vs Manthatisi 0 (3)

Leifo-Iziko 0 vs Ntsu 2

Tlokola 2 vs Ntsu 0

Final

Manthatisi 1 (7) vs Tlokola 1 (6) 

The 2009 Danone Nations Cup World Final Winners, Bree Primary School win the Gauteng Danone Nations Cup

The Gauteng provincial championship playoffs in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup took place at the WJ Clements Stadium in Reiger Park on Saturday and from the word go there were only two teams in the tournament.

Bree Primary School and Sonqoba Primary School, two of the most successful teams in Gauteng down the years, dominated their groups and met in the final.

Sonqoba had made the final game of the Gauteng provincial finals in the two previous years, winning the 2013 final to represent the province in the National Finals. Bree were the last South African winners of the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in 2009. Sonqoba finished the group stages unbeaten scoring 8 goals in their 3 games, while Bree Primary School started well by beating Christian Progressive Academy 2-0 but then got overconfident and drew with one of the weaker schools in the competition, Tsumbedzo Primary School 1-1, and went down on penalties. Bree Primary School did just enough to win their group ahead of Christian Progressive Academy and advance to the final.

The final game was a tight contest and Bree had the best chances in the first half but kicked a ball just wide in open play then watched a free kick drift past the left hand corner of the goal.

The second half was a game of chess that saw both teams battle to get anywhere near the goal until the stroke of full time when Bree was awarded a penalty. The penalty kick was a decent one but thanks to a fantastic save by the Sonqoba goalkeeper they could not score.

So, it was 0-0 at the end and Bree won the penalty shootout 2-0 to advance to the national finals which will be at the same venue on the 27^th of June.

Mr Devanand Kallicharan, headmaster of Bree Primary School and manager of the team, said he was delighted with the win, but also concerned, “We have a good team and the team played well during the tournament but I have a couple of concerns, the first is that two of our top players got injured in the first game of the Provincial finals so I am not sure if they will be fit enough for the National finals and the second is that we had a lot of good opportunities in today’s game and we were not able to score."

Mandla Mazibuko, Mamelodi Sundowns scout and coach was there to run his eye over the players and he said there was a lot of good talent on display, “Going into the final game, Sonqoba were the favourites due to their precision in front of the goals but Bree Primary School played the better game in the final. I have identified players from all of the teams in the tournament and I will come to the national finals to see how some of these players play against the top opposition in their age group."

Danone Nations Cup Gauteng Results

Bree Primary School 2 vs Christian Progressive Primary School 0

Sikhulisile Primary School 1 vs Nancefield Primary School 3

Michael Mkhwanazi Primary School vs  Tsumbedzo Primary School 0

Arcon Park Primary School 1vs  Sonqoba Primary School 2

Bree Primary School  1vs  Michael Mkhwanazi Primary School  0

Sikhulisile Primary School vs  0 Arcon Park Primary School 1

Christian Progressive School  1 vs Tsumbedzo Primary School 0

Nancefield Primary School  0 vs Sonqoba Primary School 3

Tsumbedzo Primary School 1 (2) vs Bree Primary School 1 (0)

Sonqoba Primary School 3  vs Sikhulisile Primary School 0

Michael Mkhwanazi Primary 1 vs Christina Progressive School  3

Arcon Park Primary School 0 (2)  vs Nancefield 0 (3)

Final

Bree 0 (2) vs  Sonqoba 0 (0)

About Danone

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world

DNC Partners:

Outsiders win the U19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Free State Lejweleputswa district finals

The Lejweleputswa district finals in the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, produced a major surprise over the weekend when the competition’s most successful school, Harmony High of Virginia were eliminated.

They were beaten by Concordia High School of Theunissen, which means that the district will be represented by new school at the Free State provincial finals, and that Harmony will not be at the nationals this year.

Since Sanlam came on board as sponsors in 2010, and the prize money was hiked to a staggering R3.4 million per year, Harmony High has pocketed prize money every year.  They finished first in 2011, second in 2010, in 2012 and 2013 they took fourth position and in 2014 they took fifth position.  They also received the R100 000 prize money as provincial winners in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  In total they pocketed a cool R2.7 million they spent on legacy projects.

But not this year and according to Concordia’s manager/coach, Matlamedi Monapula, bundling them out of the tournament came down to his team having faith in themselves and not being intimidated by Harmony’s reputation.

“They won their 1st game 6-0, so it was natural that our players were worried about them, but I told them that there is no room for intimidation, the Harmony players are boys just like them,” he said. “Besides, they all play in the SAFA second division with their local teams and sometimes they do play against the Harmony players. After we had that pep talk I could see that the players were more confident in themselves and they played brilliantly. We played a fast-paced game so that they weren’t able to keep up with us. It was a pretty intense game, they fought very hard but we fought harder to make sure that we came up out on top.”

The highlight of the regional finals for the coach was beating Harmony. “We have been participating in this tournament for many years now. Last year we were knocked out during the regional finals, we came second in our stream. Each year we come back with a positive attitude ready for action and this year was no different,” he said.

The lead up has been very successful for the school. They have played 13 games now, and have won 11 and drawn 2. “The team has surprised me at how well they have been doing in this tournament,” Monapula said.

Monapula has been coaching since 2007 and believes that pace and stamina are important. “I believe that a team should play a fast-paced game, I want players that can’t be outrun by the opposition,” he said. “Beating Harmony has definitely made me even more confident in my coaching philosophy.”

This year’s team comprises the entire under-17 team with only two players from last year included. “I have been coaching these boys since they were 14 years old so they know each other well and are used to my style of doing things,” he said. “The boys are heading in the right direction and I believe that we will do well at the provincials.”

Now that the other schools see that Lejweleputswa is going to be represented by a different school other than Harmony they might think that they have the provincial title in the bag, Monapula said.

“But that will not be the case; I think that they should see us as stiff competition. We knocked out the most victorious school in this competition that should count for something. It should be a warning to other schools that Concordia High School means business.”

The coach sees HTS Louis Botha as their biggest competition. “I know they last qualified for the provincials in 2013 and finished in second position in the nationals and they are looking for a comeback so I think they might be a problem for us,” he said.

Results of the Lejweleputswa district playoffs:

Harmony 6 vs Monyakeng 0

Leseding 1 vs Aramela 0

Concordia 2 vs Harmony 1

Aramelo 0 vs Tikwana 6

Monyakeng 0 vs Concordia 4

Tikwana 5 vs Leseding 0

Final - Concordia 0  vs Tikwana 0 (Concordia won 4-2 on penalties).

Restvale Primary win the Western Cape Danone Nations Cup

Laurence Rathenam, the principal of Restvale Methodist Primary School, in  Beaufort West, and manager of their under-12 soccer team has nicknamed his team “Die miere” (the ants) because of the way they all work hard together for a common purpose, and it’s that attitude, he believes, that has made them Western Cape champions in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup.

They took the title at the provincial finals in Mossel Bay on 6^th June and, although Rathenham has lost count of how many times they have entered the tournament, this is the first time they will be going to the national finals.

“When we were knocked out at the regional finals last year our plan was to win in 2015 and we did just that,” he said. “Now that we have achieved that goal we can start focusing on the bigger picture which is the nationals.”

The Restvale team is a mixture of experienced and new players and Rathenham believes that’s a good thing because the older players have taken on a “big brother” role and are helping the younger ones.

“The team has amazed me. They have listened to instructions and have lived up to the Danone Nations Cup motto which is ‘believe in your dreams’,” he said. “They have proved to me that they are committed to winning this tournament and I believe that they will if they continue along the same path.”

Rathenham is a professional referee who took charge of the team this year. He has enlisted the help of Vernon Reyners, a coach at one of the local clubs, to prepare the team for the provincials. “He is an excellent coach and has brought in some technical aspects that have proved successful,” Rathenham said.

The provincial finals were tough as they didn’t know what to expect, but the boys weren’t nervous or intimidated, Rathenham said. “We were impressed at how they managed to maintain their cool and we hope that they do that in the national finals in Gauteng on 27^th June.”

The team has a lot of talented players, and Rathenham said he is proud of all of them, but there were 3 shining stars: defender Kenneth Booysen, midfielder Jeremy Oosthuizen and striker Chad Solomons, who scored 3 goals at the provincial finals.

“We have the backing of the school, the parents and the entire community. Playing in the nationals will be a first for us and let’s hope that our team will be the first Western Cape team to play in the world finals in Morocco in October,” said Rathenham.

The team is taking a short break to recuperate from the provincial finals before they get down to preparing for the nationals.

Results

Imakaya 2 vs Erika 0

Masakhane 0 (2) vs Restvale 0 (1)

Naphakade 0 (1) vs Kleinberg 0 (2)

Mzoxolo 0 (5) vs Reitenbosch 0 (4)

Imakaya 0 vs Naphakade 2

Masakhane 0 vs Mzoxolo 2

Erika 0 vs Kleinberg 2

Restvale 1 (3) vs Reitenbosch 1 (2)

Kleinberg 1 vs Imakaya 0

Reitenbosch 2 (3) vs Masakhane 2 (2)

Naphakade 1 vs Erika 0

Mzoxolo 0 vs Restvale 1

Final

Kleinberg 0 (2) vs Restvale Primary 0 (3)

About Danone

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world

DNC Partners:

Bree Primary hopes to relive their 2009 Danone Nations Cup success

Johannesburg’s Bree Primary – the 2009 Danone Nations Cup world title holders - are through to the Gauteng provincial finals of the 2015 competition and ready to regain their former glory.

The finals will be the WJ Clements Stadium in Reiger Park on 13th June.

Their team manager, and principal of the school, Devanand Kalicharran, explains that they have virtually the same team that entered the competition last year, and their performances in the competition so far have shown that they have benefited greatly from the experience they have picked up.

“Last year we simply did not score enough goals,“ he said. “We drew two games and only won one at the provincials and were eliminated. Now, we have played 11 games and won them all.

“The team has a much better attitude, they are more mature and confident and we are well prepared. We are participating in local leagues and in different soccer tournaments so the players have been able to get a lot of game time, which has made them bond as a team.”

The school’s track record in the competition has made them a target, Kalicharran explains. “Every school that we play, from cluster level up, see us a threat and want to prove that they can beat us. But we have an edge over the other teams, we have been at this level before we know what to expect.”

Goal-scoring was a problem last year, but the team’s strikers, Lunga Nonkelela and Tshepo Baitshumedi are in good form, both have scored six goals so far, and Kalicharran sees them as key players for the team. “Our goalkeeper Mncedisi Nguse, has also grown greatly and we have 3 good defenders in Ntando Simayele, Kgomolemo Dladla and Tsegofatso Ikge.”

Coaching and managing kids is tough, Kalicharran said. “They are easily demotivated and it’s my job to make sure that when they start feeling that way I quickly get them back up.

“I often talk of the miracle team of 2009. I tell them that the 2009 team was no different to them, they didn’t have special powers. We didn’t expect them to win the World Finals, but they won because they worked hard and they believed in themselves. I tell this team to work hard and believe in themselves too.

The school has maintained its relationship with Orlando Pirates and still supplies players to their youth Academy. They are also associated with Stars of Africa Football Academy. They regularly visit the school and check out the talent.

“We will win the provincials this year, I believe that the teams is capable it,” Kalicharran said. “We still have the same coach Bafana Dlamini, and he is still dedicated to the team and its success. We have rectified our mistakes, the only challenge we have is that the week of the provincials is exam week at the school, so we are trying to figure out how we will fit in 1 good training session before the provincials next Saturday.”

The Gauteng provincial contenders are:

Bree Primary School-JHB North District

Sonqoba Primary School-Ekurhuleni South District

Nancefield Primary School- JHB Central District

Sikhulisile Primary School- Gauteng North District

Michael Mkhwanazi Primary School- Gauteng East District

Christian Progressive College- Tshwane West District

Tsumbedzo Primary School - JHB West District

Acorn Park Primary School-Sedibeng District

About Danone

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world

Danone Partners