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The under-12 Idas Valley Primary School soccer team from
Stellenbosch has qualified to compete in the Danone Nations Cup Western Cape
provincial final taking place at Steenberg High School on Saturday, 25th
May. The school made it to the national finals in 2017 and believe they
can do it again with the assistance of some of the players that compete at club
level for Stellenbosch Football Club, who were recently promoted to the Premier
Soccer League.
There will be six schools competing for the trophy and a
chance to represent the province at the national finals taking place in Gauteng
on 15th June.
Idas Valley beat Cloetesville Primary School 3 – 1 in the
Winelands regional final to get to the provincials. “It was a tough match
as Cloetesville is a very good soccer school and has some excellent players,
but it was our day and we get another chance to repeat our 2017 success,” said
coach, Anton Gordon. “The boys heard how wonderful the trip to Gauteng to
compete in the national final was and are hungry to experience it for
themselves.”
Gordon has been coaching the under-12 soccer team for
many years and he will be assisted by manager, Jo-Ann Baartman. Neither
has a soccer coaching qualification but they have both played the game through
school and tertiary education and have a passion for the sport. Gordon was
recently made vice principal of the school so his work load has increases
substantially, but his love of youth coaching is so great he will continue to
make time for that.
“Our final preparations this week comprise three training
sessions only. Our one drawback is that we lack a bit of speed this year, but
hopefully the boys will peak at the right time. They certainly have the talent
including our three exceptional boys that also play for the Stellenbosch
Football Club development team. They will play a key role on
Saturday,” said the coach.
The school has produced some star players that have gone
on to compete at the highest level. The most recent is Luke Le Roux, who
competed in the Danone Nations Cup in 2013 and currently plays for the under-20
national team. “We didn’t progress past the regional finals that year,
but we produced a great player,” said the coach.
Idas Valley will be competing with Restvale Methodist
Primary School (Central Karoo), Masakhane Primary School (Overberg), St
Helenabaai Primary School (West Coast), Kuyakhanya Primary School (Cape Town)
and Phakamisani Primary School (Eden).
“It won’t be easy as most of the other schools have also
competed in the Danone Nations Cup provincial finals at some stage. I
will not take any of them for granted as every year is different with new
players and we will take each game as it comes,” concluded Gordon.
The national final winner will
join 19 other countries at the world finals taking place in Spain. The
teams will play their final match at the RCDE Stadium (home of La Liga club,
Espanyol) in Barcelona, on 12th October.
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).
