First timers participate in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Eastern Cape provincial finals

The Eastern Cape Provincial Finals in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, take place at Walmer High School in Port Elizabeth on Saturday 15th August.

In the finals this year, despite the fact that this is the first time they have participated in the competition are Tsholomqa High School of East London.

Their coach, Lilixa Ntebe, said they became aware of the tournament two years ago by a SASFA representative in their area. “This year we decided to research and get as much information as we could about the tournament and to register,” Ntebe said. “We think that this tournament is a good way to introduce the boys to high level soccer. It’s a great initiative to prepare the boys in becoming professional soccer players.”

The team played five games on their way to the final, winning four and drawing one. “We thought we would play a whole lot more matches, but I guess not a lot of schools from our area registered,” Ntebe said. “But it has been an interesting journey for the team. I think that the real competition will begin at the provincials.”

The coach says they have no idea how intense the competition will be, so they are not looking for great results from the team. “We just want them to learn as much as they can this year and get a better understanding of the tournament so that we can prepare better for next year,” he said.

The team has been playing in the local league, so they do they have some experience, Ntebe explains, and they are excited and anxious about the games, considering the fact that they have never played at this level before.

Ntebe has no coaching qualification and relies on his experience as a player to help him. “I have been passionate about soccer since a young age.  I am part of the school governing body and offered my services as a coach so I have been here since 2013,” said Ntebe.  “I have been working with the team since they were 17 so we have been together for a long time and they have a good understanding of each other and they understand how I operate.  At the end of the day, we both have the same objective which is to see the team succeed, so we have to work together to ensure that happens.”

Training is challenging he explains.  “Some of the players live far away from the school so we can only allocate one hour for training two times a week because they have to travel quiet a distance to their respective homes. But we make do with that and do as much training as we possibly can in that one hour.”

The schools participating are:

·        Walmer High School - Nelson Mandela Bay District

·        T.E.M Mrwetyana Sec School - Cacadu District

·        St James High School - Chris Hani District

·        Malcomess High School - Joe Gqabi District

·        Pangalele SSS - OR Tambo District

·        Toleni SSS - Alfred Nzo District

·        Tsholomqa High School - Amathole District