South Africa will make history later this year by sending
an under-12 girls soccer team to compete in the Danone Nations Cup world
finals, where they will be competing against seven other nations. And the team
that will represent the country will be a group of players from an informal settlement
in Ivory Park, Gauteng. They earned this opportunity by winning the Danone
Nations Cup girls tournament that took place at Reiger Park, Boksburg this past
weekend.
They will be accompanied by the boys from Muzuvukile
Primary School of Enseleni, a rural area near Richards Bay, who won the boys
national finals at the same venue.
A girls tournament was introduced for the first time this
year but because most schools do not have girls-only teams, it was a pilot
tournament in Gauteng only, with 40 schools participating.
There were regional finals and 8 schools went through to
a provincial playoff. The teams that reached the semifinals there were then
invited to compete at the national finals.
Rebonwe met Michael Mkhwanazi Primary in the final. They
had played each other earlier in the day and Michael Mkhwanazi won the closely
contested match 2-1.
So, Rebonwe knew that they were in for a tough game in
the final and gave it everything from the beginning. This time they were better
prepared and created many scoring opportunities. They were first to score, but
Michael Mkhwanazi equalised within minutes.
Rebonwe had the better of the exchanges from then on and
came close to scoring right at the end of the game. It ended in a draw,
however, and went to a penalty shootout which Rebonwe won, to add the national
title to their provincial title.
At the same time, the nine boys provincial champions
competed in the playoffs for their national title. The teams were divided into
2 groups with the teams that topped the log meeting in the final.
Muzuvukile was always going to be the team to beat based
on their exceptional performance in the provincial finals. They are a very
strong team and three of their players have been invited to attend trials at
Mamelodi Sundowns. They won all their league games to finish top of their pool
and met Group B winners Patekile from the Eastern Cape in the final
match.
Muzuvukile were
the only team that won all their matches leading up to the final and the final
was very much like the group stages.
They made many
chances to score but the Patekile goalkeeper, Alethu Mathumbu, was outstanding,
saving shot after shot. Patekile tried to take advantage of the odd
counter-attack but they never really threatened the Muzuvukile goal.
With a couple of
minutes left in the match, just as the spectators started to think that we
would have another penalty shootout, Siyanda Masinga from Muzuvukile managed to
get the ball past Alethu and give Muzuvukile the lead. They had a few more
chances to add to their lead but once again Alethu was there to stop them
scoring and they ran out 1-0 winners.
It’s
now back to school for both the boys and girls winners to put together a plan
in preparation of the world finals scheduled for Barcelona starting on 10th
October.
On the
final day of the world finals – 12th October - all the games will
take place at the RCDE Stadium, home ground La Liga club, RCD Espanyol de
Barcelona.
In attendance at the national finals was Amanda
Dlamini, ex captain of Banyana Banyana, who was there to encourage the girls.
“I was 22 when I first travelled overseas for Banyana Banyana and I remember
that experience well. It was daunting and a bit frightening, but it
opened my eyes to the limitless opportunities that exist in the world. I
matured fast and I believe these young 12 year-olds will feel the same.”
The 2018
and 2019 world finals will be held as a double header.
“Barcelona is
symbolic as it was in this city in 1919 that Isaac Carasso created the first
Danone yogurt with the aim of improving one’s health,” said Marlinie Kotiah,
General Secretary Danone Southern Africa. “We are combining Danone’s
centenary and the 20th edition of the world final in a bumper
edition this year. It also coincides with our new brand positioning and purpose, One Planet One Health, which
reflects our belief that the health of humankind and that of the planet are
interlinked and both need to be protected and nurtured.
“Through the Danone
Nations Cup, we are contributing to bringing this vision to life by promoting
the importance of exercise. Further, we are encouraging our young athletes to
‘Play Football, Change the Game’, which is a rallying message to unite children, irrespective of their backgrounds and
cultures, and to encourage them to become catalysts for positive change,”
concluded Kotiah.
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).
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