Adams Primary School, based in Umlazi,
has qualified to compete in the KwaZulu-Natal Danone Nations Cup under-12
soccer tournament for the first time and will travel to the Princess Magogo
Stadium on Saturday, 11th May together with 12 other regional
winners. The ultimate winner will represent the province at the national
finals in Gauteng on 15th June to determine the team to compete in
the world finals in Barcelona in October.
Dedication, hard work and focus
are what the manager, Sivetye
Zimele, believes helped them get to the provincial finals. “We have been
competing in the Danone Nations Cup for years now, but this year we have a new
coach, Sphelele Msomi, a volunteer from our area, and he has focused on
building the confidence of the players. Many come from families that have
very little and some do not have parents, or do not live with their parents and
therefore they need that extra support from the teachers and coach to get them
to believe in themselves and focus on what is important in life to build a
better future. Our coach has made a big difference to the team.”
Zimele is not sure what to expect at the provincial
finals. “What I know is that every team competing in the provincial final
has got there after competing in gruelling qualifies, as we have, and we will
not take any of them lightly. The ultimate prize of a trip to Barcelona
is a great motivator and I know that every team wants to get there. Our
strategy will be to watch the teams and make minor adjustments to our game plan
to help us win matches and get to the next phase of the tournament.”
The Adams under-12 team is good this year,
guarantees Zimele. “Some of my players compete at club level which helps
us as they train and compete regularly and have picked up good habits which
they pass on to the other boys. We would like to get to the national
finals as we know that there are scouts in attendance, and I believe we have a
couple of boys that could go far in the game. We want to show them what
we are capable of.”
There will be 13 schools competing in the
provincial finals on Saturday of which 12 are regional winners and, in a bid to
increase the number of schools that participate in KZN, schools not affiliated
to a soccer body hosted a regional final with Lyndhurst Primary from New
Germany emerging as the winner, and will make up the 13th team on
Saturday.
Lyndhurst is a former Model C school coached by
Sthe Magwaza, a former learner, and he will be supported by the manager,
Dumisani Lembethe. “Dumisani was my coach when I was at the school and we
have an excellent relationship and work well together,” he said. “There
are approximately 10 schools in our area and year on year we compete in the
Highway League so competing in the Danone Nations Cup is something new for
us. We are not sure what to expect on Saturday at the provincial finals,
but it will be an excellent learning experience for my team to compete against
other schools.”
When asked how preparations are going Magwaza said
there would be no changes in their style or training methods. “We do not
want to complicate things so we will train as normal and on Saturday we will
see how the day unfolds.”
There will be 20 teams competing
in the world finals in Spain. Schools will play their final game of the
tournament at the RCDE Stadium (home of La Liga club, Espanyol) in Barcelona,
on 12th October 2019.
To celebrate Danone’s centenary
and the 20th edition of the Danone Nations Cup both the 2018 and
2019 world finals will take place together. The winner at the national
finals taking place in Gauteng on 15th June will travel to Spain
with last year’s winner Nomlinganiselo from the Western Cape.
Schools competing in the
KwaZulu-Natal provincial finals include:
|
UMLAZI
|
Adams Primary School
|
|
ZULULAND
|
Bhekuzulu Primary School
|
|
UMKHANYAKUDE
|
Siyathuthuka Primary School
|
|
PINETOWN
|
George Full Service School
|
|
KING CETSHWAYO
|
Muzuvukile Primary School
|
|
ILEMBE
|
Maqumbi Primary School
|
|
AMAJUBA
|
Vulindela Primary School
|
|
HARRY GWALA (SISONKE)
|
Enqwaga Primary School
|
|
UGU
|
Delihlazo Primary School
|
|
UMGUNGUNDLOVU
|
Sidunge Primary School
|
|
UMZINYATHI
|
Mandleni Combined Primary School
|
|
UTHUKELA
|
Weenen Combined School
|
|
KZN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
|
Lyndhurst Primary School
|
About
Danone
Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one
of the fastest-growing food companies in the world. Danone is present in
over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000
employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy
Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as
possible.
One
of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young
people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a
sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over
the world
GROUP
DANONE
Dedicated
to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is a
leading global food & beverage company building on health-focused and
fast-growing categories in three businesses: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based
Products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition. Danone aims to inspire healthier
and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, in line with its ‘One
Planet. One Health’ vision which reflects a strong belief that the health of
people and that of the planet are interconnected. To bring this vision to life
and create superior, sustainable, profitable value for all its stakeholders,
Danone has defined its 2030 Goals: a set of nine integrated goals aligned with
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Danone commits
to operating in an efficient, responsible and inclusive manner; it holds itself
to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to
become one of the first multinationals certified as B CorpTM. With more than
100,000 employees, and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated
€24.7 billion in sales in 2018. Danone’s portfolio includes leading
international brands (Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio,
Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, among others) as well as strong
local and regional brands (including AQUA, Blédina, Bonafont, Cow & Gate,
Horizon, Mizone, Oikos, Prostokvashino, Silk, Vega).
 |
| Lyndhurst Primary School |
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