Gauteng champions, Rosina Sedibane High School and runners-up Clapham High School to represent the province at the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup National Finals

Schools representing Gauteng have done exceptionally well at the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals over the years and 2019 could well be a repeat of that, with both Rosina Sedibane, the school that the development players from SuperSport United attend, and Clapham High School, where the Mamelodi Sundowns development players are educated, both reaching the national finals.

Rosina Sedibane won the Gauteng provincial title this year, and the R100 000 that goes with it, after beating Clapham High School on penalties in the provincial finals. Both schools will now proceed to the national finals taking place at the University of the Free State on September 23^rd to 27^th.

Rosina coach, Mpho Motola, is hoping to repeat the school’s success of 2017 and take home the R1 million first prize. 

“Rosina has been successful in winning prize money in this highly lucrative competition over the years,” he said.  “We finished 3^rd in 2012 and 2013 and 1^st in 2017 which has made a huge difference to the upgrading of the school. We have improved the football fields, built a basketball court, and we upgraded the hostels.  Approximately 80% of our pupils board at the school and these facilities need constant upgrading.”

Rosina Sedibane has taken part in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, since the tournament started. Last year they were knocked out in the group stages of the Gauteng Provincial Finals. Depending on how well they do this year, they would like to continue renovating the rest of the hostel, the school library and use some of the money to maintain their football field. “We attract pupils from all over South Africa so over 80% of the 350 learners that attend the school reside in the hostel,” said Motola.

The road to the national finals was not easy, admits Motola.  “We played 11 matches to qualify for the National Finals, including local qualifiers, district playoffs and provincial finals. We drew only 2 of those games, including a 2-2 draw with Clapham in the Gauteng Provincial finals.  We finally won on penalties to reach the nationa.s.”

There hasn’t been much time between the Provincial and National finals so they won’t be able to make big changes to their game plan.  “There are few tweaks that are needed such as improving our conversion rate in front of the goals,” Motola said. “The team gets into positions where they can score, and they are sloppy in their execution. We must be more clinical.

“We also need to work on our physical conditioning. The team will play a lot of games at the national finals without much turnaround time between games, so the boys need to be fit.”

He would also like to boys to distribute the ball a lot better. “They waste a lot of energy when they lose the ball due to incomplete passes. We must up our pass completion rate so we don’t waste energy trying to get the ball back.”

Playing in Gauteng is a big advantage, Motola believes. “A lot of the football academies and top football schools are in Gauteng, so we play against top opposition day in and day out. Some of the other teams in the National Finals are by far the top schools in their areas but are not used to playing against top opposition on a weekly basis.”

Many ex-Rosina players are playing football in the PSL, ABC Motsepe and SAB leagues. The latest star is Kamohelo Mahlatsi who is contracted to Supersport United and the SA under-23s. He is currently on loan to the University of Pretoria FC.

The coach singles out striker Stevens Goovadia as a player to watch. He is aggressive and scores a lot of goals. He was called up to the SA u-20s for a camp but did not go to the All-Africa Games

Itumeleng Legadi, the captain is another. He is a right-back but he can cover for right wing and depending on the situation, he can join the strikers. He has the ability to motivate the other players in the team. He is looked up to by other players.

Coach Mpho Motola has a CAF level B qualification. He has a degree in Psychology but he is so passionate about coaching and developing young talent that he went into teaching. He uses his psychology degree extensively while coaching the boys.

The tournament is run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SAFA) together with the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

The national finals promise to be spectacular with 18 teams competing for the ultimate prize of R1million, making the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup 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
Mpumalanga Ermelo	14 Sept 19	WINNER:  Khula Senior Secondary School	Standerton Gert Sibande
Mpumalanga Ermelo	14 Sept 19	RUNNER-UP:  Siphokhule Secondary School	Kwangema Farm, Piet Retief, Ngema Pixley

North West is the last province to stage their Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Finals

The under-19 Kay Motspe Schools Cup provincial finals are near completion with the North West province being the last to host their finals taking place at the Marikana Sports Ground in Rustenburg on Friday, 20^th  September.

There will be four regional finalists competing for the two spots in the National Finals, with the schools that finish first and second automatically qualifying. Thuso Thebe High School (Ganyesa district), Sol Plaatjie (Ngaka Modiri Molema district), Eletsa Secondary School (Madibeng) and Kirang Ka Natla Secondary School (Stilfontein)

Eletsa Secondary School, from the Bojanala district, has been competing in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, since 2010 managing to finish in third place in 2010 and again in 2017.   

Manager and coach, Daniel Mhlongo is also a teacher at the school.  His love of the beautiful game spurred him to get his SAFA referee certificate. He went on to get a SAFA Introductory coaching certificate and he manages the Young Zebra Football Team that competes in the ABC Motsepe League, so he is well qualified to get the boys to the national finals again.

Eletsa’s road to the provincial finals was highly successful as they won every game.  At circuit level they beat Michakgasi Secondary 2-0, Klipgat High 1-0, Mchakgasi 2-0 andMadibatoloane 2-0. In the district round they beat Rustenburg High 1-0, Moses Kotwane 2-0, Moretele Secondary 1-0.

“I have an excellent team this year with three of our players - Jabulani Maseko, Moloto Phologelo and Fhurani Evans - being identified by the Mamelodi Sundown scouts,” Mhlongo said. “We will be happy to win the provincials however our plan is to win the Nationals as we would like to take home the prize money to rebuild some of our school structures.”

Eletsa is working hard at preparing for the provincial finals. “We train five times a week and play friendly games within the area,” Mhlongo said. “We all know that it will be a tough competition, but we can’t lose the provincial title.”

The tournament is run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SAFA) together with the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

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

KAY MOTSEPE SCHOOLS CUP national finals to take place at the University of Free State in Bloemfontein next week

Unitas Hoërskool of Welkom will be playing in the National Finals of the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, for the third year in a row. The nationals will be played at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein from September 23^rd to 27^th October.

Their success in the tournament is directly related to their new coach, Pitso Mokoena (ex Bloemfontein Celtic and Free State Start player) said manager, Lerato Lephatsa.  “Since Pitso took over the coaching in 2017 we have won the provincial title and the R100 000 in prize money that goes with it.

In 2017 and 2018 they did not progress past the group stage in the National Finals, but they are hoping to do better this time around. The R100 000 won in 2017 was spent on sports equipment for the school and the 2018 prize went towards refurbishment of the school and new tables and chairs.

With this year’s R100 000 they would like to develop another field at the school, for their under-15 and under17 teams. That proposal must still be approved by the school governing body, however.

Lephatsa believes that drawing too many games is why they didn’t progress far in the national finals.  “We never lost a game at the national finals in the past 2 years, but we drew many of them.  I believe our team is very good and if we could just get past the group stage, I feel we could well win the tournament.  I believe we have home ground advantage which is an advantage which we need to capitalise on,” he said.

The boys were given a week off after the Provincial Finals, but it is now back to serious training with the assistance from the local SAFA Free State structures.

There’s not much time left, so the team is going to concentrate on small aspects of the game. “We will focus on scoring goals as we miss too many opportunities,” Lephatsa said. “We also need to work on the boys’ temperament. We don’t want them to get all worked up just because they are at the National Finals.”

The strength of the team is in keeping possession, said Lephatsa. “They move the ball around and look to open up space in the opposition’s defence then try to take advantage of it. That needs patience, and not trying to rush scoring opportunities.”

To qualify for the national finals Unitas played 15 matches, only losing one.

A player to look out for is Sechaba Tsoaela, striker and captain. He is a SA under-20 player who was at the All-African games in Morocco earlier this year. He played in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup in 2018, so he has a lot of experience at this level.

Central midfielder, Anela Matala is another one to watch. He also went to Morocco with the SA under-20s. He is calm and tries to support his defence and link up with his strikers.

Striker, Nkululeko Shabangu is the team’s playmaker. He is still only 17 and will play again next year. He does not score a lot of goals however he makes up for it by creating a lot of goal scoring opportunities.

Coach Pitso Mokoena has a SAFA level 3 coaching qualification and came to the school from the Harmony Sports Academy. He has added a degree of professionalism to the team, admits Lephatsa.  “The players are disciplined, polite and have pride in what they do.”

Pitso’s training regime is professional with a plan behind every training session. “The players understand the plan and work towards it. The Kay Motsepe Schools Cup It is a wonderful initiative that provides children from disadvantaged backgrounds with an opportunity to pursue their dreams and get exposed to competitive levels of football,” said Lephatsa.

The tournament is run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SAFA) together with the Department of Basic Education (DBE).  In accordance to the rules of the tournament, provincial winners as well as runners-up from each province will compete in the national finals.

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
Mpumalanga Ermelo	14-Sep	WINNER:  Khula Senior Secondary School	Standerton Gert Sibande
Mpumalanga Ermelo	14-Sep	RUNNER-UP:Siphokhule Secondary School	Piet Retief, Ngema Pixley