Danone Southern Africa and the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) announce Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto as the host of the 2018 under-12 Danone Nations Cup national soccer finals

On the 15^th September the national finals of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup soccer tournament will take place in Gauteng, the site of the Danone’s head office and factory, with Soweto’s Dobsonville Stadium as the host venue.

Eight of the nine provincial winning schools have been identified with Gauteng being the final province to host their finals taking place on the 25^th August.

Chantel Ehlers, Danone Internal Communications Manager explained that the nationals have been at Reiger Park for a number of years now, and they felt it was time to make a change.  “Reiger Park has been the national final venue for the past 4 years and we felt it was time to take our finals to Soweto, the biggest township in Southern Africa.”

Danone’s mission is to encourage the youth to believe in their dreams and to encourage the development of healthy eating habits.  “It is a privilege for Danone to be involved with this event,” said Ehlers.  “And we are spreading our message of health through food to as many people as possible through this event.  We want to positively impact the health of South Africans through diet and exercise and this year we will be doing that to as many Sowetans as possible.”

Every year Danone invites their staff from the factory and head office to the event to be part of all the activities and give them the opportunity to see the enormous talent in South Africa at the under-12 level.

There is a festive atmosphere at the event. In addition to the soccer, there are fun activities on the adjacent fields including soccer games, kid’s games, face painting, jumping castles and many more and all this for free as there is no entry charge.

All of Danone’s brands are derived from dairy products, which are a good source of calcium, protein and various vitamins and minerals which lead to good health, Ehlers explains. “Our brands all come on board for national finals day and, for example, NutriDay runs a fun game targeting the youth that teaches them about food categories and how to blend foods to better your health.”

The school that wins the national title will represent SA at the world finals to take place in Spain in 2019.

The schools that have qualified so far are:

NORTHERN CAPE	Lutzburg Intermediate School
FREE STATE	Tshediso Xolani Primary School
LIMPOPO	Benny's Sports Academy & Development
MPUMANLANGA	Shapeve Primary School
NORTH WEST	Laerskool Rustenburg Noord
KZN	Muzuvukile Primary School
EASTERN CAPE	Charles Morgan Primary School
WESTERN CAPE	Nomlinganiselo Primary School
GAUTENG