ADA HEGERBERG PARTNERS WITH THE DANONE NATIONS CUP TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG GIRLS AND BOYS TO PLAY FOOTBALL AND CHANGE THE GAME

Norwegian football sensation, Ada Hegerberg, first-ever female “Ballon d’Or” winner, partners with the Danone Nations Cup.

Faithful to her beliefs and values, namely in favor of gender equality, Ada Hegerberg joins an esteemed roster of ambassadors including Zinedine Zidane, South Africa’s ex Banyana Banyana player, Amanda Dlamini and Carles Puyol, with a common mission to prove that sport is a force for positive societal change.

The Danone Nations Cup, the largest U-12 football tournament in the world, will host its 2019 world finals between the 10^th and 12^th October.  Games on the final day will be played at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain.

The Danone Nations Cup is proud to announce that Ada Hegerberg, widely recognized as one of the best female football players, will join the movement as a global ambassador and advisor. Bringing her invaluable experience on and off the pitch, Hegerberg will support this unique event aimed at empowering young athletes to shape the society they live in and showcasing how sport can truly be a force for positive change. Hegerberg and The Danone Nations Cup join forces to instill values of equality, respect, and openness among the youth participating in the event.

23 years of age, Ada Hegerberg, has taken the global stage by storm through her perseverance, excellence, respect for others and determination to shed a light on women’s football. Hegerberg began her career playing for NM Cuppen in 2012 and was selected for the Norwegian national team in 2013. Since then, her career took off after her club, Olympique Lyonnais, won the Champions League four years in a row. A historic milestone in her career, Hegerberg was awarded the first women’s “Ballon d’Or” in 2018, in addition to the prestigious “BBC Footballer of the Year” award in 2017 and 2019.

“For me, playing football isn’t just about scoring goals, it’s about the values, respect, fairplay, and commitment that go into the entire process. This year’s Women’s World Cup has received global fanfare and recognition. I’ve partnered with the Danone Nations Cup to provide a longer-term platform and opportunity for girls and boys around the world to play football and experience the life-changing moments that sport can bring. I’ve been fortunate enough to embark on a journey that has completely changed my life, largely thanks to the power of football and I want to ensure that, together with the Danone Nations Cup, we create an ongoing legacy where girls and boys feel comfortable and empowered to play football and change the game!” said Ada Hegerberg.

The Danone Nations Cup truly believes that by playing football, kids can change their perceptions of, and contribute to a better, stronger society. One of the cornerstones of this ambition for change is a strong message in favor of gender equality. While the Danone Nations Cup has always been open to children of all nationalities, backgrounds, and genders, Danone has gone a step further in encouraging girls to partake by launching an all-girls’ tournament in 2017. This year alone, the love for football has brought together over 36,000 girls from 12 countries. The world finals in 2019 will see 8 countries sending female teams including Argentina, England, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Uruguay and Rebonwe Primary School from Ivory Park Gauteng will represent South Africa.

The South African boys teams that will be travelling to Barcelona are 2018 winners, Nomlinganiselo Primary from Crossroads, Western Cape and Muzuvukile Primary from Richards Bay, KZN.

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