Mpumalanga school will bank on the professional experience of the manager to prepare for the Danone Nations Cup National Final

Preparations for the national finals of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup soccer tournament are well underway.  The nine provincial champions are getting in those last practise sessions before they all head to Soweto’s Dobsonville Stadium on the 15^th of September.

The winner there will represent South Africa in the Danone Nations Cup world finals in Barcelona, Spain in 2019.

The boys from Shapeve Primary School, who will be representing Mpumalanga province, are feeling confident and excited for the finals ahead.  They have an experience manager, Andries Muthupi, who has been an assistant coach for professional PSL clubs, Black Leopards as well as Mpumalanga Aces, prior to their relocation to Cape Town. He also assisted Kenny Ndalanzi, coach of the National under 23’s.

Further, Muthupi has coached players such as May Mahlangu, who went on to join Ludogorets, Bucharest, Calvin Kadi, who went to Greece, then joined Jomo Cosmos and is now a successful businessman and Sibusiso Nhlapho who was with Mpumalanga Aces.

“I was not surprised we made it to the national finals,” said a confident Muthupi, who joined Shapeve in 2016 as a Maths teacher.  “Last year we reached the provincial finals and the boys were determined to make it to the nationals this year so put in extra effort and it paid off.  I have a good team of focused, disciplined boys and I know they have what it takes to win the nationals.  But we have a tough road ahead of us, we are under no illusion that it will be easy.”

Shapeve received its name based on the learners that attend the schools.  “When you break the name down, ‘Sha’ represents Shangaan, ‘Pe’ represents Pedi and ‘Ve’ represents those from Venda, however we teach in English.”

Muthupi does not believe in changing the game plan at such a late stage.  “We learnt a lot at the provincial finals, but I will not be making any changes to the team or introducing new tactics, but we have put in extra training sessions to keep the boys sharp, fit and focused.”

The players are excited to be travelling to Gauteng as most have never been out of the province.  “I do not want to put pressure on the boys.  I am encouraging the excitement of travelling to Gauteng as the boys need to remain confident.  Further, when they write their ‘book of life’, I want the chapter on their Danone Nations Cup national final experience to be a happy one, no matter what the outcome.”

The schools that have qualified include:

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                Zamukhanya Primary School