After 9 years Sekusile Primary gets into the Mpumalanga Danone Nations Cup provincial finals

 

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The Themba Senamela Stadium in Middelburg will be the venue for the Mpumalanga provincial finals in the Danone Nations Cup on Saturday and Sekusile Primary of the Kamaqhekeza rural area in Ehlanzeni district, will be there for the first time after eight attempts.

Their team manager, Ernest Mathonsi, explained that what is different this year is that all the players also belong to local soccer clubs. “The boys train at school, and at their clubs, and they play club football every weekend. This helps as they know each other well and the communication on the field is also good,” he said.

There is also more support and involvement from the parents this year, Mathonsi said. “They have been supplying kit, and have been at our regional games.”

Daniye Primary will definitely be their biggest competition. “They get into the provincials every year, and have even been to the Danone Nations Cup world finals, so they are seasoned Danone Nations Cup professionals. But Sekusile is up for the challenge,” Mathonsi said.

Getting into the provincial finals is important for the players, Mathonsi believes. “There will be scouts from the professional clubs there and players stand a chance of being noticed on their ability, regardless of the results.”

“The players will get to interact with players from different areas in Mpumalanga which will expand their minds,” Mathonsi said. “They will see how others handle the technical and tactical sides of the game.”

He is hoping that, coming from such a poor area, they will win on Saturday and get into the nationals so that the boys will get to experience life outside of their province.

Sekusile won their regional finals at the Ka-Mhulshwa Stadium in Malelane on the 15^th of May.

Four schools took part in a round-robin format. Sekusile’s first match was against Msogwaba Primary School from Kanyamazane. Their defence was poor, so it was an easy 2-0 win.

The second game, against Benjamin Primary School from Matsulu, was even easier. They were not prepared and made lots of mistakes and their communication was poor. Sekusile won the game 6-1.

Then they met Shayaza Primary School from Sibange, which was the decider as both teams had won their other 2 matches. Shayaza’s defence was poor and Sekusile capitalised and won 5-1.

The provincial finals kick off at 10am on Saturday.  Join us at the event for great football fun and delicious Danone products.

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