In two
weeks time Mophela Primary School’s under-12 soccer team leaves for New York
City to play in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals.
The
last of the paperwork is being competed, which is the Visas for the USA and
then the packing will start.
In the
meantime, the hard work of preparing for the tournament is going on. The South
Africans are in a tough section for the preliminary rounds, grouped with the
UAE, England and Indonesia and coach, Siyabonga Ndimande, has warned the boys
that none of them can be taken lightly and that winning the preliminary stage
games is essential to put the team through to the top half of the tournament
for the second round.
The
team has been training at the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale to give the
players experience of practicing on a good surface, similar to the ones they
will be playing on in the USA.
Karabo
Litabe, one of the players at Royal Eagles, the Durban-based National First
Division Club, read about Mophela in a local newspaper and has donated soccer
balls and other training equipment to the team.
“He has
also offered to assist the coaches and team at a few training sessions and has
also donated goalposts to the school,” Ndimande said. “He can give the boys
valuable insight into playing in such tournaments.”
The
boys have been working hard and are looking forward to a mind-broadening
experience. “Meeting international players, learning new techniques and seeing
another part of the world are all experiences of a lifetime,” Ndimande said.
The
coach has been watching video clips of matches and doing research on the other
teams in the group.
UAE is
taking part in the Danone Nations Cup for the first time, but Ndimande won’t
underestimate them because they will be dangerous underdogs.
The
English are a passionate soccer nation and some of their players will play for
local clubs, so they will be a challenge, but Ndimande is pretty confident that
we can beat them.
The
biggest challenge could come from the Indonesians. He has watched them play and
their players are fast, and good distributors of the ball. “Our defence is
going to have to be strong against them,” Ndimande concluded.
There
will be 32 countries participating in the 18th edition of the ‘Kids’
World Cup’. It is a unique experience based on fundamental values that
Danone has created over the years – humanity, openness, pleasure of the game
and fair play. The tournament has given millions of kids the opportunity
of believing in their dreams and being heroes of a story they will never
forget.
The
mission of the Danone Nations Cup is to bring health through food to as many
people as possible and the kids from KZN, as well as playing soccer, will also
get to play games that will be based on the importance of developing healthy
lifestyles which will benefit them throughout their lives.
The
preliminary games will kick-off on Friday, 22 September with the finals on
Sunday, 24 September.
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