Professional coach comes in to assist Muzuvukile Primary in their preparations for the Danone Nations Cup world finals in Spain

The Danone Nations Cup boys world finals kick-off in Spain on 10 September and South Africa’s Muzuvukile Primary School from Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, will be one of only a handful of countries among the 20 competing that will be represented by a school as the rest are all club teams. So, Danone Southern Africa has brought in a top South African coach, Scelo Qwaba, to assist Muzuvukile in their preparations.

Qwaba is currently a coach at the University of Zululand and his under-17 team recently won a national tournament. He has a CAF A Coaching License and is also a coach instructor and therefore well equipped to assist the school.

Qwaba will go through to the school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to run their training sessions, with the possibility of increasing the number of days per week closer to the date of their departure for Barcelona.

“We know the competition will be tough in Barcelona,” said Muzuvukile coach, Xolani Mokoba.  “Our boys are usually the smallest at tournaments like these, so we are preparing the boys to play a carpet style of football as opposed to an aerial game. It’s a change to our style of football and the boys seem to have adapted well. However, extra training from a professional coach is exactly what we need. I do not have any coaching qualifications and would like to learn from Qwaba.”

The opportunity to play in Barcelona is a chance of a lifetime for many of the boys, believes Mokoba and he wants them to remember it as successful on the field as well as socially and culturally.  “The boys will always reflect back on this trip and I want them to be fond memories of fun, meeting people from different parts of the world and of great importance it must be a massive learning curve. Our manager has been on Facebook looking at what the other countries are doing and how they are preparing. My job is to get them as ready physically and mentally as possible to tackle whatever comes our way in each game.”

Muzuvukile has had great support from the local community. “The Richards Bay football club visited us and has donated balls and bibs to help us prepare,” Mokoba said. “We have also had great support from the Mseleni clinic. The nurses visited the boys, conducting medical examinations and educating them about proper nutrition leading up to our departure. They will be back every two weeks to monitor the boys' health and fitness. All this helps to ensure that we have done the best training we can.”

The first training session with Qwaba will be on Tuesday 27^th August. “Facing club teams will be tough, but not impossible,” said Masi Mkhize, Communications Manager, Danone Southern Africa. “So, Danone Southern Africa decided to give them a helping hand to get the boys ready.  The team representing Spain at the 2019 world finals will be FC Barcelona’s under-12s, for example. There’s no doubt that the kids will learn a lot from playing against such opposition, but our schools going to Spain are coached by teachers with no soccer qualifications and we would like to help them. We have brought in expert assistance for all the teams, Muzuvukile and Nomlinganiselo (2018 winners from Western Cape) as well as our girls team, Rebonwe (Gauteng).”

The teams leave for Barcelona on Monday, 7^th October and will have a couple of days to acclimatise prior to the commencement of the tournament on 10^th October.

“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 Mkhize.  “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 Mkhize.

Muzuvukile Primary School from Richards Bay win the Danone Nations Cup KZN Finals and three of their boys have signed up with Mamelodi Sundowns

It’s been a very successful weekend for Muzuvukile Primary School of rural Nseleni Township outside Richards Bay.  The school’s under-12 soccer team won the Danone Nations Cup KwaZulu-Natal provincial final for the second successive year and three of the boys who were competing on the day were immediately signed up by Mamelodi Sundowns and join the club’s Youth Academy and attend high school in Gauteng in 2020.

The Danone Nations Cup KZN provincial finals took place at the Sugar Ray Xulu stadium in Pinetown on the weekend, with 13 schools competing.  Teams in four pools played a round robin, with the winners progressing to the semi-finals. It ended with Muzuvukile meeting Georgedale Full Service School from Hammarsdale in the final match.

The final saw a fine display of soccer with both teams rising to the challenge and showing a strong will to win. Credit must go to the Georgedale’s goalkeeper who saved more than 12 shots at goal to keep the score down.  Muzuvukile played an attractive attacking brand of football.  Their passing was short and accurate and the team worked well together.

Although they dominated territory and possession throughout, it was Georgedale who took the lead when Surprise Mnguni scored against the run of play. It was short-lived because within seconds of the restart Muzuvukile talisman, Khethokuhle Nkosi, equalised and from there on there was shot after shot from the Muzuvukile strikers with Georgedale trying to take advantage of the odd counter attack.

In the end Muzuvukile were too good for their Pinetown opponents and Mvelase Siphokophelo scored a second goal for them, making the final score was 2-1, putting them into the national finals again.

An exuberant team manager, Tami Shezi said they will devise a training schedule for the build-up to the national finals based on what they learnt last year.  “We have been there before and we noted that the boys were overwhelmed by the big occasion.  They had never played before such a large crowd and they made a lot of silly mistakes.  We only have one boy from last year back in the team and we will make sure the team is well prepared psychologically.  Rather than get nervous they must go onto the field to have fun and treat every game as a new learning experience. That will help them become better players.”

Muzuvukile has been competing in the tournament for the past 12 years.  “Last year the school brought in an external coach, Jimmy Mkhoba and he has proved to be the catalyst for change. He has such a passion for the game that he trains the kids after school as well. 

“This is an impressionable age and rather than allow the youth to get caught up with bad influences, we need to keep them active on the soccer field,” he said. “So Jimmy coaches in the afternoons as well.  Every player in the team attends extra training and that has resulted in us having an advantage.”    

Neither Shezi nor Mkhoba have formal coaching qualifications, but both have played the game and are avid soccer followers. They believe experience plays a major part in their success. “We have an excellent team this year and we were very excited when the Mamelodi Sundowns scout, Mandla Mazibuko, approached us to offer three of our boys the opportunity to join their academy next year,” Shezi said.  “This is an opportunity that will change their lives for ever. We will follow their progress and it will be rewarding to one day be able to say that we played a part in their success.”

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

Vulindlela Primary School, Bhekuzulu Primary School, Delihlazo Primary School, Siyathuthuka Primary School

POOL B

Lyndhurst Primary School, Georgedale Full Service School, Weenen Combined School

POOL C

Adams Primary School, Sidunge Primary School, Engwaqa Primary School

POOL D

Maqumbi Primary School, Muzuvukile Primary School, Mandleni Combined Primary School

RESULTS:

Vulindlela 1 vs 0 Bhekuzulu

Lyndhurst 0 vs 5 Georgedale

Adams 0 vs 1 Sidunge

Maqumbi 0 vs 4 Muzuvukile

Delihlazo 0 (2) vs 0 (1) Siyathuthuka

Georgedale 2 (2) vs 2 (1) Weenen

Sidunge 1 vs 0 Engwaqa

Muzuvukile 4 vs 1 Mandleni

Vulindlela 0 vs 1 Delihlazo

Bhekuzulu 4 vs 2 Siyathuthuka

Weenen 1 (4) vs 1 (3) Lyndhurst

Engwaqa 0 (2) vs 1 )0) Vulindlela

Bhekuzulu 2 (3) vs 2 (4) Delihlazo

Semifinal 1:  Dilihlazo 0 vs 2 Muzuvukile

Semifinal 2:  Georgedale Full Service School 2 vs 1 Sidunge Primary School

Final: Muzuvukile 2 vs 1 Georgedale Full Service 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).