South African under 12 girls school soccer team will compete against top global club development teams in the Danone Nations Cup world finals

Rebonwe Primary School from Ivory Park, the first girls team from South Africa to compete in the world finals, will be facing stiff opposition in Barcelona in October.  But that does not worry them, said Lilian Mabasa, team manager and teacher at the school who will be travelling with the girls.

The Danone Nations Cup girls world final will comprise eight countries.  All but Argentina have completed their domestic competitions to determine their representation.  England and South Africa are the only countries to be sending a school team, whereas the others ran club competitions to find their winner. 

RDC Espanyol’s under-12 development team will be representing Spain.  Not only will they be playing in their own country, but   Spain is RDC Espanyol’s under 12  will have home ground advantage.  RDC Espanyol FC, but the team representing the country is from RCD Espanyol FC, who will play their final match on home soil on 12^th October. 

The Rebonwe Primary School girls see this as a challenge and learning curve, said Mabasa.  The coach has managed to acquire footage of some of the teams in action, which they will review and use as a yard stick against which they will prepare their build up strategy.

The first step in preparing the Rebonwe girls for this experience of a lifetime is to improve their fitness level. “Our day starts at 6.45am with a gym session to ensure the players are in peak physical condition when we travel,” said Mabasa.  “After school it’s onto the soccer field to sharpen their tactical and technical skills.  Fortunately, most of the girls live close by and getting to and from school is not a problem.  We have the backing of their families which is a great bonus.  Parent support is of the utmost importance in preparing the girls.”

Mabasa has always loved soccer and she still competes for the ladies team in her home town of Giyani, Limpopo.  She joined the school management team three years ago. “When we started incorporating the girls into the teams in the various age groups I could see they were getting bullied.  This inspired me to offer my services as the manager to protect them and to teach the boys about the importance of the inclusion of girls, and to show them that girls can play as well, if not better than them.  When we heard that the Danone Nations Cup was forming on a girls only tournament, we formed our own team and look where we are – going to Barcelona – whereas the boys team was knocked out in the early round of the competition.”

Since winning the tip to Barcelona a lot has changed for the girls.  “I can already see that their confidence has improved,” said Mabasa. “From being laughed at for taking up soccer they are now respected, and the entire school is making them feel very special.  That’s good for morale, but they must also realise that competing in the world finals is very different from playing at home. They will be up against soccer academies at the world finals.  For example, the team from Italy is the SSC Napoli academy team.  They eat and sleep soccer and, looking at videos, we can also see that most of the girls are far taller than ours.”

Coming from an informal settlement and getting the opportunity to go to Barcelona to stay in a world class hotel is daunting for the kids, admits Mabasa, so she is focusing on the psychology of the players.  “I come from a very poor background myself,” she said. “I often went barefoot to school, so I know what some of these girls are going through and I encourage them to keep believing and striving for the best.  Thankfully Danone and our kit sponsors, Mr Price Sport, will be kitting the children out with enough clothing to wear something new every day.  That’s of great help and the players will treasure whatever they receive.”

The three South African teams travelling to Spain, Nomlinganiselo (Western Cape), Muzuvukile (KAN) and Rebonwe will leave on 7^th October and the games will take place in Barcelona between 10^th and 12^th October. 

The eight girls teams will be divided into two groups and play a league with the top teams competing in the final match.

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 20^th 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.

Rebonwe Primary School will be accompanied to Spain by Nomlinganiselo Primary from the Western Cape (2018 boys winners) and Muzuvukile Primary from KZN (2019 boys winners).  Games will take place from 10^th to 12^th October.

The countries that will be competing in the girls tournament are: 

COUNTRY	REPRESENTING TEAM
Argentina	To be confirmed
England	Easington Colliery Girls Primary School
France	Olympique Lyonnais FC
Italy	SSC Napoli FC
Japan	Chiba Chuo FC
South Africa	Rebonwe Primary School
Spain	RCD Espanyol FC
Uruguay	Nautico FC