Young under 12 soccer team leaves for Morocco to represent SA in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals

It will be a chance of a lifetime for 12 under-12 kids from Bree Primary School, who leave for Marrakesh, Morocco today to compete in the biggest football tournament for kids between 10 and 12 in the world, Danone Nations Cup World Finals.

This is a culmination of a journey that started in January this year when over 2 000 Schools registered to compete in the Danone Nations Cup, managed by the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA).

Danone Southern Africa gave the boys a send-off function yesterday that was attended by the Gauteng MEC for Education, Banyaza Lesufi, the Gauteng Department of Education Director – School Sports, Cedric Ranchor as well as the President of the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko and CEO, Steve Pila.

For Bree Primary School, who have already won the national finals twice before – going on to win the World Final in 2009, this is a dream come true.  “After winning the world title we have not managed to go beyond the provincial finals for the past 5 years,” said Bree Primary principal, Dave Kalicharan.  “This year my coach, Bafana Dlamini, and I sat down and decided we were going to put together a team that would bring us back to the glory days and that is what we did.  We went on a recruitment drive to source a couple of extra players to boost our team and they joined the school this year.  We have not put them under pressure, but given then the drive to believe in themselves and encouraged them to dream big.”

There are 32 countries competing in the tournament and South Africa has been drawn in a pool with Belgium, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.  The pool games will take place on Friday, 23 October. This will be followed by a knockout phase to determine the pool results and who will compete in the finals. The last day, Sunday, 25 October, the 32 teams will play their final match in the main Marrakesh stadium. 

When asked what he wanted to take out from this experience, captain, Ntando Simayile said:  “I will get to travel by plane for the first time, see a desert for the first time, get to understand nutrition better and I am really looking forward to staying in a fine hotel.  I also want to learn as much as I can about football and watch how other countries play.  I have seen some videos of previous Danone Nations Cup world finals and I have seen some spectacular goals scored.  I also want to have lots of fun.”

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

DNC Partners:

Youngster goes from playing soccer in the dusty streets of Soweto to representing South Africa in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals

When 12 year-old Wandile Mndebele started kicking a ball around in the dusty streets of Protea Glen he wanted nothing more than to be like his older soccer-playing brother Musa. He followed the customary route of youngsters in the area and joined the local club, Protea Glen All stars, and it was that move that made all the difference in his life.

It led to him being spotted by scouts from Bree Primary School while playing a club game against Mavi Stars in Protea Glen.  Ten months later he is getting ready to travel to Morocco with his team to compete in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals.

The youngster recently played in a game against the Mamelodi Sundowns under-13 development team and was identified by the academy coach as a game maker and, if all goes according to plan, he could be with the Sundowns Academy next year.

Joining Bree Primary has made an enormous difference to young Wandile’s schoolwork as well as his soccer. “My grades are improving, the teachers at the school pay attention to us and we understand each other. I have also gained so much soccer experience because of the number of tournaments we play in. I have played many more games since I came to Bree this year, especially in the Danone Nations Cup and I have enjoyed the interaction with the other kids.”

Wandile is convinced that soccer is the only sport for him now.  He is passionate about the game and knows it will take him far.

“Before I came to Bree I had no idea that they had played in the Danone Nations Cup world finals twice, once winning the tournament,” Wandile said. “I knew that I was going to a very good school that focuses on education and sport, but I never realised they had achieved so much in soccer.”

Winning the national finals meant they achieved what they set out to do at the beginning of the tournament. “We told ourselves that we were going to be the team that brought Bree back into this competition. We worked hard from the beginning and were committed from day one.”

The school’s principal, Mr Kalicharan, and the coach, Bafana, went to France with the 2008 team that won the world title.  They encouraged the team to work hard if they also want to travel overseas to play in the world finals of the tournament.

“Ever since we won the national finals it has been an adventure, I have seen pictures and stories written about us in the newspapers, we have watched a live game between Sundowns and Bidvest Wits, and we have had fun.”

“My brother and mother have been very supportive. My brother was the first person I told when we won the nationals.  He is now 26 years old and is the father figure in my life since we lost out dad a few years ago and still helps me with my game.”

Going to Morocco will be the highlight of Wandile’s life so far. “I want to meet players from other countries especially Germany and Argentina; Germany because they won the FIFA World Cup in 2014, and Argentina because of Lionel Messi. He is an incredible player and I one day hope to play just like him,” Wandile said.

“We are under pressure because the last time Bree competed in the World Finals they won so a lot of people will be expecting a win from us and we have to work 10 times hard to make sure that we don’t disappoint them.

 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

Sundowns scout praises young Danone Nations Cup goalkeeper

Bree Primary School, who will be representing South Africa in the Danone Nations Cup world finals in Morocco in October, will be taking with them a gifted Goalkeeper, Mncedisi Nguse.  According to Mamelodi Sundowns scout, Mandla Mazibuko this youngster will make a positive contribution to the team.  

“Overall the team has pretty good players, but Mncedisi is one special keeper.  He has pure natural talent and with great coaching and having him in a good development structure I can see him playing for the national team one day,” said Mazibuko, who attended all the provincial finals as well as the national finals of the tournament.

Mncedisi comes from a family of great footballers.  “My older brother Njabulo Nguse, who is also a goalkeeper like me, is part of the Orlando Pirates development academy,” said a proud Mncedisi.

The youngster’s football career started in the streets of Soweto.  It was while he was playing informally with his friends that he was approached by Nkosinathi Motlale, coach of Protea Glen FC who recruited him into the team. 

Then at the beginning of the year, at a friendly game between Protea Glen Stars and Mavi Stars, the Bree Primary coach, Bafana Dlamini invited the youngster to join the school.

“They spoke to my grandmother Lindiwe Nguse, who is my guardian, and they told her how good a goalkeeper I am and that Bree Primary School would like to offer me a full scholarship,” Mncedisi said. “My grandmother knows how much I love soccer and how important it is to me, so she immediately agreed to allow me to change schools and attend Bree.”

He started at Bree in February and adjusted easily. “Bree is a very good school and since I started there my grades have improved a lot. I have made friends.  Every one now knows me at the school especially now that we won the Danone Nations Cup. My team mates and I have become very popular at the school.  

Bree Principal, Mr Kalicharan, introduced Mncedisi to the Danone Nations Cup.  “We all know that the team won in 2009 and we decided we would go all out to try and do the same this year.  The provincial finals were a great experience, but the nationals took the cake. It was my first time playing against schools from other provinces and I had a great time meeting all of them. Before the final game against Nelson Mandela Primary Mr Kalicharan had a talk with me and prepared me mentally.  He used to be a goalkeeper and he knows the pressures that goalkeepers face during the game.”

When he learned that he will be going to Morocco the first people Mncedisi told were his grandmother and brother. “My gran is the most excited and also scared for me because she is scared of aeroplanes and flying. My brother, on the other hand, wishes it was him going to Morocco because he has never travelled internationally before.”

The team is hard at work preparing for the world finals and Mncedisi is getting special attention from Mr Kalicharan. “He has been telling me how different it is at international level. He told me that we will play against players that are very tall and that can aim very well, I need to maintain my cool and keep my eye on the ball at all times,” he said. “He also stressed the importance of communication, it is very important for a goalkeeper to communicate with your team at all times.

At home the youngster is also getting help from his brother.  “It helps that he is a goalkeeper as well so we get to share ideas and he teaches me a lot about catching high balls and low balls and how to distribute the ball.”

Bree, as former winners of the world title, know how important it is to represent the country well in Morocco, Mncedisi said. “I tell my team mates that we should be proud of ourselves for achieving what we have achieved. The big step now is the world finals, because Bree won in 2009 we are under a lot of pressure to win this year but we should not let that get to us.”

Mncedisi is adamant that professional soccer lies in his future. “I see myself being a part of development academy and going on to play professionally,” he said. “But I also want to study and become a lawyer, I love working with people and I enjoy helping people out with their problems.”

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

DNC Partners:

Danone Nations Cup National Finals Kick-Off - Free State

The national finals of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup tournament take place in Gauteng on Saturday, with a trip to Morocco later in the year to play in the World Finals of the competition up for grabs.  One of the nine participating schools that will be attending their second national finals in a row is Nelson Mandela Primary School, representing the Free State.

They are unique in that they have a female coach, Mrs Dikeledi Sothwane, and she said being back again is an advantage because they are no longer nervous and know what to expect from the competition.

“This year we have been better at preparing the team, we have learnt from last year’s experience and we know that we won’t be repeating the same mistakes,” she said. 

The school has been getting a lot of help in their preparations. Club coaches from the area are lending a hand and the Provincial Department of Sports and Recreation have allowed the team to use facilities in the area that also have gym equipment.

“The players have told me more than once that they are not like last year’s team, they will win the nationals this year. They have the confidence and the right attitude to do great at the nationals,” Sothwane said.

Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko, president of the South African Schools Football Association (Sasfa) believes the Danone Nations Cup plays an important role in introducing players at this age to competitive soccer.

“It is at this level that the players get introduced to competitive football thus helping them gain confidence, learn more about team and individual work on and off the field,” he said. “It is with great excitement that we welcome the 16^th national edition of the prestigious Danone Nations Cup, a catalyst for social cohesion and a medium for excellence in football.

“We know that the stakes are very high at this level as the ultimate prize is the opportunity to hoist high the SA flag at the World Cup level of Danone Nations Cup. We trust that the winning school will be good ambassadors and will come back home with new knowledge about the world and about themselves.”

The aim of the tournament, world-wide is getting children to believe in their dreams, says Danone South Africa’s Sandra Dorville. “Football has the power to make dreams come true, to lift people out of their everyday circumstances. We want children as young as this to realise that,” she said.

The Participating Schools are:

Eastern Cape - Lukholo Junior Secondary School - 2^nd time national finalists

Free State -Nelson Mandela Primary School - 2^nd time national finalists

Gauteng - Bree Primary School - 2009 World Final winners

KwaZulu-Natal – Mophela Primary School

Limpopo – Benny’s Sports Development Academy

Mpumalanga - Daniye Higher Primary School – 2013 National winners

North West - Kgetleng Primary School -2^nd time national finalists

Northern Cape - Roodepan Primary School -2^nd time national finalists

Western Cape - Restvale Primary School

The 2009 Danone Nations Cup World Final Winners, Bree Primary School win the Gauteng Danone Nations Cup

The Gauteng provincial championship playoffs in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup took place at the WJ Clements Stadium in Reiger Park on Saturday and from the word go there were only two teams in the tournament.

Bree Primary School and Sonqoba Primary School, two of the most successful teams in Gauteng down the years, dominated their groups and met in the final.

Sonqoba had made the final game of the Gauteng provincial finals in the two previous years, winning the 2013 final to represent the province in the National Finals. Bree were the last South African winners of the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in 2009. Sonqoba finished the group stages unbeaten scoring 8 goals in their 3 games, while Bree Primary School started well by beating Christian Progressive Academy 2-0 but then got overconfident and drew with one of the weaker schools in the competition, Tsumbedzo Primary School 1-1, and went down on penalties. Bree Primary School did just enough to win their group ahead of Christian Progressive Academy and advance to the final.

The final game was a tight contest and Bree had the best chances in the first half but kicked a ball just wide in open play then watched a free kick drift past the left hand corner of the goal.

The second half was a game of chess that saw both teams battle to get anywhere near the goal until the stroke of full time when Bree was awarded a penalty. The penalty kick was a decent one but thanks to a fantastic save by the Sonqoba goalkeeper they could not score.

So, it was 0-0 at the end and Bree won the penalty shootout 2-0 to advance to the national finals which will be at the same venue on the 27^th of June.

Mr Devanand Kallicharan, headmaster of Bree Primary School and manager of the team, said he was delighted with the win, but also concerned, “We have a good team and the team played well during the tournament but I have a couple of concerns, the first is that two of our top players got injured in the first game of the Provincial finals so I am not sure if they will be fit enough for the National finals and the second is that we had a lot of good opportunities in today’s game and we were not able to score."

Mandla Mazibuko, Mamelodi Sundowns scout and coach was there to run his eye over the players and he said there was a lot of good talent on display, “Going into the final game, Sonqoba were the favourites due to their precision in front of the goals but Bree Primary School played the better game in the final. I have identified players from all of the teams in the tournament and I will come to the national finals to see how some of these players play against the top opposition in their age group."

Danone Nations Cup Gauteng Results

Bree Primary School 2 vs Christian Progressive Primary School 0

Sikhulisile Primary School 1 vs Nancefield Primary School 3

Michael Mkhwanazi Primary School vs  Tsumbedzo Primary School 0

Arcon Park Primary School 1vs  Sonqoba Primary School 2

Bree Primary School  1vs  Michael Mkhwanazi Primary School  0

Sikhulisile Primary School vs  0 Arcon Park Primary School 1

Christian Progressive School  1 vs Tsumbedzo Primary School 0

Nancefield Primary School  0 vs Sonqoba Primary School 3

Tsumbedzo Primary School 1 (2) vs Bree Primary School 1 (0)

Sonqoba Primary School 3  vs Sikhulisile Primary School 0

Michael Mkhwanazi Primary 1 vs Christina Progressive School  3

Arcon Park Primary School 0 (2)  vs Nancefield 0 (3)

Final

Bree 0 (2) vs  Sonqoba 0 (0)

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

DNC Partners:

Restvale Primary win the Western Cape Danone Nations Cup

Laurence Rathenam, the principal of Restvale Methodist Primary School, in  Beaufort West, and manager of their under-12 soccer team has nicknamed his team “Die miere” (the ants) because of the way they all work hard together for a common purpose, and it’s that attitude, he believes, that has made them Western Cape champions in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup.

They took the title at the provincial finals in Mossel Bay on 6^th June and, although Rathenham has lost count of how many times they have entered the tournament, this is the first time they will be going to the national finals.

“When we were knocked out at the regional finals last year our plan was to win in 2015 and we did just that,” he said. “Now that we have achieved that goal we can start focusing on the bigger picture which is the nationals.”

The Restvale team is a mixture of experienced and new players and Rathenham believes that’s a good thing because the older players have taken on a “big brother” role and are helping the younger ones.

“The team has amazed me. They have listened to instructions and have lived up to the Danone Nations Cup motto which is ‘believe in your dreams’,” he said. “They have proved to me that they are committed to winning this tournament and I believe that they will if they continue along the same path.”

Rathenham is a professional referee who took charge of the team this year. He has enlisted the help of Vernon Reyners, a coach at one of the local clubs, to prepare the team for the provincials. “He is an excellent coach and has brought in some technical aspects that have proved successful,” Rathenham said.

The provincial finals were tough as they didn’t know what to expect, but the boys weren’t nervous or intimidated, Rathenham said. “We were impressed at how they managed to maintain their cool and we hope that they do that in the national finals in Gauteng on 27^th June.”

The team has a lot of talented players, and Rathenham said he is proud of all of them, but there were 3 shining stars: defender Kenneth Booysen, midfielder Jeremy Oosthuizen and striker Chad Solomons, who scored 3 goals at the provincial finals.

“We have the backing of the school, the parents and the entire community. Playing in the nationals will be a first for us and let’s hope that our team will be the first Western Cape team to play in the world finals in Morocco in October,” said Rathenham.

The team is taking a short break to recuperate from the provincial finals before they get down to preparing for the nationals.

Results

Imakaya 2 vs Erika 0

Masakhane 0 (2) vs Restvale 0 (1)

Naphakade 0 (1) vs Kleinberg 0 (2)

Mzoxolo 0 (5) vs Reitenbosch 0 (4)

Imakaya 0 vs Naphakade 2

Masakhane 0 vs Mzoxolo 2

Erika 0 vs Kleinberg 2

Restvale 1 (3) vs Reitenbosch 1 (2)

Kleinberg 1 vs Imakaya 0

Reitenbosch 2 (3) vs Masakhane 2 (2)

Naphakade 1 vs Erika 0

Mzoxolo 0 vs Restvale 1

Final

Kleinberg 0 (2) vs Restvale Primary 0 (3)

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

DNC Partners:

Third time lucky for Eastern Cape Danone Nations Cup Provincial Champions

It was a case of third time lucky for Mbizana’s Lukholo Junior Secondary School when they took the title at the Eastern Cape under-12 Danone Nations Cup champions last weekend.

The school has made it through to this stage of the competition before, only to be eliminated, but it was different this time, and they will be travelling to Gauteng in June to play in the national finals of the competition.

Zwelethu Mdedelwa, the coach of the team, wasn’t confident the team would even get to the provincials, but the boys proved him wrong.  “We were well prepared and I had a bit of hope and was surprised at how easy the passage turned out to be.  We scored 10 goals and conceded just 3, and no team threatened us,” he said. “The team played exceptionally well, they listened to all my instructions. I’m proud of the boys, even if we don’t come out as National winners come the 27th of June.”

The strategy going into the provincials was to keep possession at all times, use the entire field, and take their scoring chances said Mdedelwa. “I always stress the importance of discipline to the team,” he said. “I tell the players to play by the rules and always accept the referee’s decisions. That’s how you produce players that are disciplined.”

The plan for the nationals is to continue with the same strategy that won the team the provincial title. “I don’t want to confuse the team, they are comfortable with how things have been done so far,” Mdedelwa said.

The coach sees the biggest threat coming from Gauteng. “They have better infrastructure and qualified coaches, but I always tell the team that when two teams are on the field it does not matter where they come from, what matters is how the teams play.”

The nationals will be tough, Mdedelwa knows. “The best 9 schools will be competing and all of the teams will have the same goal and that is to go to Morocco and represent South Africa. I definitely want my school to be the one. The last time we had a school from Eastern Cape representing South Africa was back in 2011. We won’t let the fact that we come from a very rural area deter us from our goal.”

Although every player is important to the team, Mdedelwa singles out his captain, Mava Mbokotho, as a key player. “He led the team to victory, the players respect him and listen to him at all times, he is a very dedicated player,” he said.  “Since giving him the captain’s armband he has never proved me wrong.  He relates very well with his teammates.”

Results of Eastern Cape Provincial Finals

Lukholo JSS 1 Charles Morgan 0

De Hoop Primary 0 Sterkspruit 1

Bhongweni Primary 1 Qumbu Village 0

Lukholo JSS 3 De Hoop Primary 0

Charles Morgan 0 Sterkspruit 0 (Charles Morgan won on penalties)

Qumbu Village 0 Siyaphambili 0 (Qumbu Village)

Sterkspruit 0 Lukholo JSS 3

De Hoop Primary 0 Charles Morgan 2

Siyaphambili 1 Bhongweni Primary 2

Final - Lukholo JSS 3 Bhongwen PS 0

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

DNC Partners:

Benny's Sports Academy through to the Danone Nations Cup National finals

After years of participating in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup soccer tournament, Benny’s Sports Development and Academy from the Vhembe District, Makhado, Polokwane, will be participating in the national finals of the competition for the first time.

They won this honour after beating Mahupje Primary 1 – 0 in a thrilling provincial final match that took place at Hoerskool Noorderland in Polokwane over the weekend.

“We came into the tournament this year with a new team comprising players that started at the school this year,” said coach, Mr Mbishi Mokwena. “I also only started at the school this year and I am excited to have managed to reach this level of the tournament so quickly.  The school management did not expect the team to win and viewed this year as a learning experience, but deep in my heart I know I would lead the boys to victory.”

Mokwena admitted that it was not an easy win.  “The pitch was muddy due to the rain the previous night and the boys were finding it difficult to maintain ball possession but we persevered and won despite the conditions.”

The first three games of the day saw Benny’s draw with each opponent going on to win two of the three on penalties.   “We did not manage to score enough goals and this is an area I will be working on leading up to the nationals.  We don’t know what to expect but we do know that every team will be doing their best to win the trip to Morocco to compete in the world finals in October.”

Mokwena credits the whole team for the win, the captain, Dakalo Mukwevho in particular as he lead the team beautifully.  “Dakalo lifted the spirit of the boys when they drew the first three games.  He decided to call the boys to a meeting where he gave them a little motivational talk which worked wonders and they rose to the occasion.”

The coach believes that his team was the strongest on the day and will be attending the nationals with a fighting spirit and a winning attitude.  He will be working hard with the boys for the next couple of months which will include watching videos of past world finals.  “But at the national finals I will allow the boys to show off their flare and skills on their own.  I know they can do it.”

North West hosts the next provincial final at the Matlosana Stadium in Klerksdorp on 25 April.  The national finals will be held at Reiger Park, Boksburg, Gauteng on 27 June.

Limpopo Results:

Mmamakwa Primary 1 (2) vs Benny's Sports & Academy 1 (3)

Rammupudu Primary 0 vs  Mahupje Primary 1

Megoring Primary 1 vs Mmamakwa Primary 0

Benny's Sports & Academy 0 (2) vs Rammupudu Primary 0 (3)

Mahupje Primary 0 (3) vs Megoring Primary 0 (4)

Mmamakwa Primary 1 (3) vs Rammupudu Primary 1 (2)

Benny's Sports & Academy 0 (3) vs  Mahupje Primary 0 (1)

Rammupudu Primary 2 vs Megoring Primary 0

Mahupje Primary 1 vs Mmamakwa Primary 0

Megoring Primary 1 vs Benny's Sports & Academy 2

FINAL

Mahupje Primary 0 vs Benny's Sports & Academy 1

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

Limpopo hosts their Danone Nations Cup Provincial Finals

The Danone Nations Cup Limpopo provincial finals kicks-off on Saturday, 18 April at Hoerskool Noordeland in Polokwane.

There will be five schools participating, one being Mmamakwa Full Service School  representing Bela-Bela, and coach Thabo Mapharumela is hoping that 2015 will be their lucky year and they will, for the first time, get through to the national finals.

“We have been playing in the tournament since 2001 and this is the first time we have made it to the provincials.  My team has really made me proud.  I have been working towards this for so many years and we have finally made it,” said Mapharumela, who has been the coach they started participating.  He has no formal soccer qualification and uses experience as a form of reference.

“There are two important teachings I instill into the players and those are ball possession and accurate shooting,” said Mapharumela. 

The road to the provincial finals was not plain sailing admits Mapharumela and what got them through was the team’s consistency.  “We played two matches at circuit level beating Spar Park Primary 3 – 0 and Albert Luthuli Primary 4 – 1 and we went on to win all our games at regional level to get to the Provincials.”

The build up to Saturday’s games has been focused on working on defense.  “I am very happy with the strikers and midfielders, but noticed that we needed to tighten up on defense,” said the coach.

The key player is the captain and midfielder, Iketleg Mfisha.  “He has great leadership skills and respects his team member as well as the coaching staff.  He will be assisted in the midfield by the youngster player in the team, Ati Tshabalala. Our key striker is Sello Pholoba.  He has scored 6 goals for us to date. “

Teams competing on Saturday :

Benny’s Sports Academy-Vhembe District

Mahupje Primary School-Mopani District

Mmamakwa Full Service School-Waterberg

Megoring Primary School-Capricorn District

Rammupundu Primary School-Sekhukhune District

Ends

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

Roodepan Primary School wins Danone Nations Cup Northern Cape Provincial Final

Roodepan Primary School from Francis Baard District, Upington, Kimberley have retained the Northern Cape Danone Nations Cup provincial trophy, after beating Keidebees Primary School 3-2 on penalties at the Xolisile Dicky Jacobs Stadium, Upington, over the weekend.

“It’s exciting and humbling to get the opportunity to represent the Northern Cape at the national finals again this year,” said team manager, Enricho Chapman. “The next step is to redeem ourselves at the nationals and we want to be the first team from the Northern Cape to win the trip to represent South Africa at the world finals in Morocco this year.”

Chapman credited the players for the win resulting from the hard work they put in from the cluster level of the tournament.  “The boys put in the time and effort.  They have been disciplined, focused and always listened to the coach (Christopher Jafta) and we are proud of them.”

There were two players from 2014 back in the team again; Given Beyers and Jemone Kaffer.  “Jemone, who we call ‘Messi’ is of particular value to the team,” said Chapman.  “He is not just a skilled player but is also a great motivator.”

Roodepan is boosted this year by youngsters from the Technical High Soccer Academy.  “This year we have become affiliated to the Academy and we educate all their youngsters.  Of the current team we have only two that are not affiliated to the academy,” said Chapman.  “This is very helpful as the boys have professional coaches looking after them and they know what to expect.  I think that we have an excellent chance of winning this year.”

Keidebees Primary was Roodepan’s toughest competition says Chapman, who went to college with the team manager, Mr Matthy.  “We both wanted to prove a point to each other.  It was a tough game and ended in a 0-0 draw but we managed to win on penalties.”

Chapman says that their finishing was their down fall last year. “We missed a lot of chances last year and we didn’t execute properly and this is what we will be focusing on over the next couple of months.  We know that the 2015 Free State school Nelson Mandela were also at the national last year.  We beat them so feel confident that we can do that this time around as well.”

One player that Chapman rates very highly is striker, Laumad Williams. “He scored 5 goals for us on Saturday and received the Danone Nations Cup top goalscorer.  This youngster is with the Academy and has a bright future ahead of him if he remains focused and believes in his dreams.”

Results

Roodepan Primary 0 (2) vs. Dr Izak van Niekerk 0 (1)

Rapelang Primary 0 (1) vs.  Keidebees Primary 0 (2)

Van Rensburg Primary 0 vs Roodepan Primary 1

Dr Izak van Niekerk 1 vs.  Rapelang Primary 0

Keidebees Primary 1 vs. Van Rensburg Primary 2

Roodepan Primary 4 vs. Rapelang Primary 0

Dr Izak van Niekerk 0 vs.  Keidebees Primary 1

Rapelang Primary 1 vs. Van Rensburg Primary 0

Keidebees Primary 1 vs. Roodepan Primary 0

Van Rensburg Primary 1 vs. Dr Izak van Niekerk 0

Final

Keidebees Primary 0 (2) vs. Roodepan Primary 0 (3)