Eastern Cape Schools are preparing for the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup National Finals.

The Under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, is in full swing with five provincial finals compete. The tournament, which is run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE), allows both the provincial winner and runner-up the opportunity of winning some of the massive prize money that is on offer at the national final stage, which will be taking place at the University of the Free State between 23rd and 27^th September.

The Eastern Cape provincial finals took place in Queenstown earlier this month with hosts, Maria Louw High School taking top honours and winning the R100 000 prize money.  They will be joined by second place finishers, Jojo Secondary School from Mount Ayliff in the Alfred Nzo Region at the national finals.

Maria Louw deputy principal and coach, Sandile Mata, is happy that his team has progressed to the national finals in their first outing in this prestigious tournament but cautions that it is not going to be an easy ride in the Free State.  “I joined the school in August last year from Lingelihele, where I was principal and coach, and took top provincial honours in this tournament in 2012 and 2014 where we met the likes of Clapham High School and Rosina Sedibane in the nationals.  Both are linked to PSL clubs and they have exceptional talent and experienced coaches and we will be up against them again this year.”  Mata does admit he holds Introductory and Level 1 certificates as well as the FIFA Grass Roots coaching certificate.

Mata has been following the progress of the provincial finals on Facebook and has noted there are many new schools that have qualified this year.  “Over the years we often see the same schools progressing up the ranks and it is good to see some new names there this year.  It makes the nationals more exciting and challenging.  This tournament is also about gaining experience, and watching the national finals is always an eye opener and the coaches from the rural areas pick up new ideas and approaches to the game.”

The main challenge Mata says he is facing is lack of motivation and discipline.  “It is a difficult age as the boys want to have fun, but it takes dedication and hard work to become a professional and some of the key players with immense talent skip training.  I have never had such a talented bunch of players before and all compete for top clubs in the area that play in local leagues.  We have the potential to go far – but they have to be committed.”

There are areas that need to be addressed before the nationals, admits Mata.  “My defence needs more work and we need more commitment from the strikers as we cannot rely on one person alone.  Those are the areas I am looking at improving within the next two weeks.  The Sundowns academy coaches will be at the nationals again and they have already identified two of my players, but it depends on how they play in the nationals as to whether they will be brought up to Joburg next year or not.”

The national finals promise to be spectacular with 18 teams competing for the ultimate prize of R1million, making the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, the competition with the biggest prize money in Africa at under-19 level.  The runners-up will take home R600 000, third place and fourth place finishers get R500 000 and R400 000 respectively.  On top of this the nine Provincial winners will each receive R100 000.  The winnings are not handed over in cash but spent on legacy projects identified by the winning schools.

PROVINCIAL FINAL WINNERS TO DATE:

PROVINCE/PF VENUE	DATE	WINNERS	REGION
Western Province Gaansbaai	03-Aug-19	WINNER:  John Ramsay High School	Bishop Lavis Cape Town
Western Province Gaansbaai	03-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:  Beauford West Secondary School	Beaufort West Great Karoo Region
Eastern Cape Queenstown	10-Aug-19	WINNER:  Maria Louw Senior Secondary School (Queenstown)	Queenstown Enoch Mgijima Municipality
Eastern Cape Queenstown	10-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:   Jojo Senior Secondary	Mount Ayliff Alfred Nzo Municipality
Northern Cape Upington	17-Aug	WINNER:  Okiep HS	Okiep Springbok Municipality
Northern Cape Upington	17-Aug	RUNNER-Up:  Blinkklip HS	Posmasburg ZF Mgcawu Municipality
Limpopo Polokwane	24-Aug-19	WINNER:  Tshikota High School	Tshikota (Louis Trichardt) Vhembe Municipality
Limpopo Polokwane	24-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP: Ditlalemeso Secondary School	Mankweng (Turfloop) Capricorn District
Gauteng Nigel	31-Aug-19	WINNER:  Rosina Sedibane	Laudium, Centurion Tshwane
Gauteng Nigel	31-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:  Clapham HS	Queenswood, Pretoria Tshwane
KZN DURBAN	7-Sept-19	WINNER:  Dr JL Dube High School	KwaMashu Emlanjeni Durban
KZN DURBAN	7-Sept-19	RUNNER-UP:  Mount Currie Senior Secondary School	Kokstad Harry Gwala District

Patekile Senior Primary School beat off tough opposition in the Danone Nations Cup Eastern Cape provincial final to qualify for national finals.

Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/DNCSouthAfrica

Patekile Senior Primary School, representing Bizana in the Alfred Nzo region, had a successful weekend when they beat Nthabelanga Senior Primary School 3 – 0 to qualify for the 2019 Danone Nations Cup National finals to be held at the WJ Clements stadium, Reigerpark, Gauteng on the 15th June.

The 8 regional finalists gathered at the Orlando Stadium, Mdantsane, to compete in the Eastern Cape Danone Nations Cup provincial finals. The schools were divided into two groups with Guqaza Primary School, Maruping Primary School, Bisho Lower Primary School, Nthabelanga Senior Primary School in Group A and Luxolo Intermediate School, Patekile Senior Primary School, Fort Malan Senior Primary School, Seyisi Primary School in Group B.

The groups played a round robin format with the teams topping the logs competing for the trophy and a chance to compete in the national finals.

The two league winners did not have an easy berth to the finals. Both finished the log with equal point to the second-place teams and determining the winner was a result of a direct matchup.

Patekile coach decided to give his key players a rest in their final league match and this strategy worked well for him as the team took to the field for the final match against Nthabelanga with determination and great pace.  Patekile players, Dazela Nqobile and Nduduzo Nthuli, were in fine form and ran rings around the Nthabelanga defence.  This helped release the pressure on striker, Cebelihle Sibangeni who went on to score a hattrick.

Nthabelanga tried hard to get a goal back but the Patekile defence was too strong to break down and the few opportunities that came to their strikers were easily dealt with by the Patekile goalkeeper.

Coach and grade 7 teacher, Mpumelelo Nkasa was very proud of his boys and the hard work that they put in on the day.  “Today started off very well with us winning 5-0 and 3-0 in our first two games. Our third game was a little trickier because we were overconfident, and they had also watched our first matches and had a plan for us. Luckily we drew the game 1-1 and then beat them on penalties to make the finals.”

Mpumelelo says that his strategy leading into the provincial finals was successful and the boys played according to the plan that he set, “I told the boys to relax and play the way that I told them to play and that is to build from the back, have confidence on the ball and try to create space for the others to play off.”

The school has a lot of work to do before they get to the national finals, “Many of the boys live in rural areas and stay far away from the school so I have to ask the headmaster for some assistance in allowing our boys to train during school time, as long as it does not affect their studies. I now have the contact details of Mamelodi Sundowns scout, Mandla Mazibuko, and I will discuss our strategy with him and he will advise on how to use my players better.”

If the school wins the national finals in Gauteng, they will represent South Africa at the world finals in Barcelona in October and Mpumelelo says they are striving for this goal.  “Most of the players are Barcelona fans and we base our play on their style as well as the style of Manchester City.  They also take the ball from the back and use their speed and skill to bring the ball forward very quickly and create problems for the opposition.”

Mpumelelo also teaches the boys and believes this is an advantage. “Teaching the boys in the classroom helps me understand them better which is very helpful when we go onto the soccer field. I understand their mental strengths and how to motivate them all correctly.  Every player is different and responds in a different way.”

The team will join the other eight provincial champions in Gauteng on 15^th June to compete in the national finals where the school that will represent South Africa at the world finals will emerge.  To celebrate Danone’s centenary and the 20^th edition of the Danone Nations Cup both the 2018 and 2019 champions will travel together to Spain.

There will be 20 teams competing in the world finals and they will all play their final match of the tournament at the RCDE Stadium (home of La Liga club, Espanyol) in Barcelona, on 12^th October. 

RESULTS:

POOL A

Guqaza Primary School, Maruping Primary School, Bisho Lower Primary School, Nthabelanga Senior Primary School

POOL B

Luxolo Intermediate School, Patekile Senior Primary School, Fort Malan Senior Primary School, Seyisi Primary School

RESULTS:

Guqaza Primary School 3 vs 0 Maruping Primary School

Luxolo Intermediate School 0 vs 5 Patekile Senior Primary School

Bisho Lower Primary School 0 (2) vs 0 (3) Nthabelanga Senior Primary School

Fort Malan Senior Primary School 2 vs 0 Seyisi Primary School

Guqaza Primary School 0 vs 1 Bisho Lower Primary School

Luxolo Intermediate School 0 vs 1 Fort Malan Senior Primary School

Maruping Primary School 0 vs 2 Nthabelanga Senior Primary School

Patekile Senior Primary School 3 vs 0 Seyisi Primary School

Nthabelanga Senior Primary School 2 vs 0 Guqaza Primary School

Seyisi Primary School 0 (2) vs 0 (3) Luxolo Intermediate School

Bisho Lower Primary School 2 vs 1 Maruping Primary School

Fort Malan Senior Primary School 1 (2) vs 1 (3) Patekile Senior Primary School

Final: Nthabelanga Senior Primary School 0 vs 3 Patekile Senior 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).