The defending champions of the Sanlam Kay Motsepe
Schools Cup, the football tournament that offers the biggest prize money in
Africa, Gauteng’s School of Excellence, are safely through to the 2013
provincial playoff stage, having beaten Badirile High School 13-0 in their
inter-district final.
Whitey Tshowa, assistant coach of the team, said their
progress so far has been expected and that they are looking forward to
defending both the provincial and national titles. “Winning is what we strive
to achieve in each and every game, we don’t want to disappoint those who
support us. We did not lose a single game in the qualifiers,” he said.
It is at this stage that the tournament gets harder, says Tshowa.
“We are hard at work preparing for the provincial finals, the boys are
continuing with our training programme and we will soon start with the team
selection.”
As national winners last year the school received R1 million in prize
money, and a further R100 000 as winners of the Gauteng title.
Tshowa says they have asked the trust that administers the prize money to fund
the upgrading of their 4 fields. “We want to make them top of the range, to put
up shelters on the fields for the technical team and to put in an irrigation
system as well,” he said. “We will also be upgrading our gymnasium, getting
more exercise equipment, and we want to build a board room specifically for the
coaching staff “
Tshowa said they are not looking at any team as special competition in
the upcoming finals. “We take each game as it comes, but I have seen Clapham
High School play and they are an aggressive team; in their previous game they
beat the other team by eight goals. Nonetheless, we are not scared of them and
we look forward to facing them in the upcoming games.”
Striker, Abednego Mosiathlakga, has been identified by
Tshowa as a key player in the games to come. The 19 year-old is in grade 12 and
has scored five goals in the preliminary stages of the competition. “He was
instrumental in the school qualifying for the provincial finals, and is an
exceptionally talented player,” the coach says. “Having been in the Jomo Cosmos
development programme for a while has also helped, mainly to build his
confidence. He recently left them to complete his schooling.”
Abednego joined the school in 2008 after successfully passing trials.
“My father, Abel Mosiathlakga, was a renowned soccer player in North West and I
guess I got my genes from him, but I would like to go right to the top and play
for Bafana Bafana one day, and the school is giving me the opportunity to be
able to achieve my goal,” he said.
While football is his first love and would like to progress with a
career in the sport, Abednego is also aware of the importance of his academic
schoolwork and is taking extra maths lessons because he is struggling with that
subject. “To an extent, soccer is a distraction, but I just need to find a way
to balance the two because they are both important in my life,” he said.
About
the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup:
· The
tournament is run under the auspices of the South Africa Football Association
(SASFA)
Named after prominent businessman
Patrice Motsepe’s late mother, the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup offers the
biggest prize money at school level in Africa (R3.4 million in total).
· The
sponsors are: Sanlam, the Motsepe Foundation and the Sanlam Ubuntu-Botho
Community Development Trust.
· The
primary objective of the tournament is to revive the culture of school football
amongst students between the age of 16 and 19 years old.
· The
tournament also gives players the opportunity to showcase their skills to
soccer scouts with the talented players
being recruited into development structures to be nurtured and shaped into
professional players.
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