Danone Nations Cup is a breeding ground for future football players

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The Danone Nations Cup soccer tournament provides an opportunity, every year, for thousands of young players to be involved in the biggest competition in the world for youngsters between the age of 10 and 12 years old.  It also acts as a window for the most talented of them to be seen by scouts from the various clubs and academies who are on the lookout for the game’s potential future stars.

One of those was unearthed at the 2013 tournament, playing for East London’s Charles Morgan Primary School. He is Mihlali Damesi who is now a member of the Amajimbos, the national under-17 team.

2013 was a good year for discovering future stars. Also identified that year was Xolanin Muleya who played for Benny’s Sports Development and Academy and now the two boys are team mates. They both played together for the SA under-17s in a 4-nations tournament in Lesotho at the end of last year. 

Charles Morgan Primary is one of the schools that will be in action at the Danone Nations Cup Eastern Cape provincial finals on Saturday 4^th August at Laёrskool Kuswag in East London.

Their coach, Masixole Goli, believes the tournament is very important precisely because it gives kids from schools in the townships and rural areas the chance to be seen by scouts. “Reaching the provincial finals has become my goal every year,” he said. “It’s at this level that the scouts begin attending and you have to be there to give the players that exposure.”

The 2019 Danone Nations Cup world finals tournament in Spain will incorporate the 2018 world finals, as a double-header, which has given the schools more time to prepare as the local games have been spread out throughout the year.

This has allowed for extra training for the boys from Charles Morgan Primary School. “We have been entering the tournament for many years and have made the provincial finals twice before, in 2013 and 2015,” Goli explains. “We didn’t enter last because we didn’t have enough time to prepare properly. The competition was completed early in the year and there just wasn’t enough time.”

Instead, a team was chosen last year and Goli told them to play club football throughout the year to keep the momentum going. “They all did that, and I am confident we will do well this year. Hopefully we will get into the national finals this time.”

Goli has no formal coaching qualification. He watches local games to develop his knowledge of the game and talks a lot to the coaches of the clubs that his players belong to.

“The most important thing is to play the boys in their correct positions,” he said. “Boys of this age just want to go out onto the field and play and have fun, but it is important for a coach to try them out in different positions and move them around according to their strengths.”

He is confident that they are ready for the provincial finals. “‘We are determined to win and have the backing of the school’s staff, all the learners and the parents who will be attending the provincial final to cheer us on.”

The Eastern Cape provincial finalists are:

Joe Gqabi district: Ngxaza Junior Secondary School

Chris Hani district: Empumelelelweni Senior Primary School

Buffalo City Municipality: Charles Morgan Primary School

Amathole district: Fort Malan Senior Primary School

Alfred Nzo district: Patekile Junior Secondary School

Sarah Baartman district: Gcinubuzwe Primary School

OR Tambo district: Nomandi Junior Secondary School

Nelson Mandela Bay: Mzimhlophe Primary School

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Coach’s dream comes true! His school team is participating in the Danone Nations Cup

Participating in the Eastern Cape under-12 Danone Nations Cup provincial final at Laёrskool Kuswag, East London on Saturday, 4^th August, will be a dream come true for coach Wandile Qobisile from Nomandi Primary School.  

It took over 10 years for the coach to get the school he was at to enter the competition. When he was at Ezamukhanya Junior Secondary School back in 2009, his principal did not believe that the kids would be able to compete in such a high-profile tournament, and when he came to Nomandi Primary in 2011, again the principal did not believe the kids had the capabilities to enter such a tournament.

So Wandile took a different approach to persuade the principal to believe in him.  He put a soccer team together at the school and persuaded the other schools in the area to do the same and they began playing friendlies against each other. He managed to get the entire area more attuned to soccer at under-12 level. His focus was to teach the kids the rules of the game as well as different tactics as well as the technical aspects of the game.  He knew that finally the sport will gain momentum in the area and, as they say, change is inevitable.

Finally, in 2016, he was given the green light to go ahead and the school entered the Danone Nations Cup. “At first we were amateurs,” said Qobisile. “We didn’t even have proper kit to play in. The players weren’t comfortable playing against other schools at this level and we never made it past the cluster phase of the tournament.”

So, he went back to the drawing board. “Soccer is about setting goals, accepting defeat and being able to bounce back and most importantly trust in your team,” Qobisile said. “In 2017 we entered the tournament again and I soon noticed that the other teams had improved. I knew I had a good team, but I underestimated the opponents. I realized then that every year is a new experience completely. You play against different schools, different teams, some change coaches and so they play a completely different game.

“Once again, we didn’t get past the cluster phase, but the experience I gained excited me and, this year, I was ready to put the next group of youngsters to the test. I realised that I needed to apply what I had learnt by watching last year’s games. Well, it has worked, and we are going to the provincial finals! I know that I still have a lot to learn and I then must transfer this knowledge to my youngsters. That’s what is so exciting about this tournament.  Obviously we would love to play in the national finals, but the Danone Nations Cup is also about learning, having fun and fair play.”

As for Qobisile himself, he played street soccer and school soccer but has no formal coaching qualification, but he has a diploma in teaching and has an advanced certificate in life orientation from Unisa. He also attended a refereeing workshop which has helped a lot with his coaching.

The key player in the team, he believes, will be Bayanda Yomithi, the left back. “He is a focused player and a good motivator, I’m expecting a lot from him,” Qobisile said.

The provincial finals won’t be easy, but the team is well organised this year and they have as much chance as any of the other seven teams to get through to the national finals, he believes.

“The Danone Nations Cup is a very prestigious tournament. Since we have been entering the tournament people in the area are paying attention to us, they encourage us to do well.

“The principles of the Danone Nations Cup are important. I teach my players to believe in their dreams. We like to live by the Danone philosophy which is to pay attention to health and nutrition. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible, an important lesson for kids to learn and it will become a lifetime practise.”

The teams participating in the Eastern Cape provincial finals are:

Joe Gqabi district: Ngxaza Junior Secondary School

Chris Hani district: Empumelelelweni Senior Primary School

Buffalo City Municipality: Charles Morgan Primary School

Amathole district: Fort Malan Senior Primary School

Alfred Nzo district: Patekile Junior Secondary School

Sarah Baartman district: Gcinubuzwe Primary School

OR Tambo district: Nomandi Junior Secondary School

Nelson Mandela Bay district: Mzimhlophe Primary School.

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Eastern Cape's Barkerville Junior Secondary School to now compete in the Danone Nations Cup National Finals

 

Barkerville Junior Secondary School from UMzimvudu in the Eastern Cape will be going to the Danone Nations Cup national finals in a few weeks’ time with the goal of winning the national title and having another chance to prove themselves at the competition’s world finals in France later in the year.

They get this chance after beating Ngubethole Bam Junior Secondary School  2 – 1 in the Eastern Cape provincial finals that took place last weekend.

They went to the world finals in Spain in 2011 as the national champions and for coach, Mpilo Changa, the experience he gained there has changed his approach to coaching that he believes will stand them in good stead at the nationals.

“The world finals taught me a lot, particularly in the scoring department,” he said. “The team from Germany, specifically, taught their kids to score from anywhere. In one game, one of their players received the ball on halfway, with his back to the goal. He controlled the ball, turned and stuck it in the back of the net. Those are the sorts of skills you need to succeed at that level.”

This team may not have as many talented players as the one that went to Spain, Changa said, but they are stronger physically, and they play as a team.

“They pass the ball well and I want to see them sharing the ball and show composure in front of the goals,” he said. “They can keep possession but at the same time they must pass to players in the gaps so that they have the opportunity to score.”

South African football is about dribbling and attacking opponents, Changa says. “We need to pass more and create opportunities.”

In preparation for the national finals, the coach intends organising as many friendly matches as he can. “We will be playing against local opposition in our neighbouring towns. I am going to make them physically fitter but I also want to work on the mental side of the game. I want my kids not to be afraid of the opposition. They must learn to trust and believe in themselves.”

There are two players that Changa is expecting big things of.

Bunathi Khala is a gifted left-footed player, which makes him a natural left winger. “He is good at cutting in from the wing and dribbling towards to the goal and creates goal scoring opportunities.”

Sindisa Pheyana is a striker, with a powerful boot who is very strong for his age. “In Sindisa I have a natural player who has the ability to hold possession and turn with the ball. There are few players who can do that. He needs to improve on his accuracy. There will be games where he will not have many opportunities to score, so he needs to take advantage of any chance he gets,” Changa said.

The Danone Nations Cup world finals taught the players a lot, Changa says. “We learnt about different cultures and we learnt about the importance of communication. We watched how teams like Japan managed to meet and communicate with the other teams even though they could not speak all that much English.

“We also learnt that there other ways to play football and that players from other countries are just as passionate about the game as we are.”

Having gone to the world finals in Spain will definitely give the team an advantage over the other teams in the national finals, Changa believes.

“We have seen what it takes to get there and we know how good the overseas teams are. We need to lift our game if we want to win the national finals and if we want to do better in the world finals than we did the last time around.”

Results

Game 1: Debera JSS 0 vs. Gcinubuzwe CS 3

Game 2: Ben Nyati PS 0 (0) vs. Ngubethole Bam JSS 0 (2)

Game 3: Barkerville JSS 2 vs. Maruping PS 0

Game 4:  Debera JSS 0 vs. Ben Nyati PS 3

Game 5: Gcinubuzwe CS 0 vs. Ngubethole Bam JSS 2

Game 6: Maruping PS 0 (1) vs. Guqaza JSS 0 (2)

Game 7: Ngubethole Bam JSS 1 vs. Debera JSS 0

Game 8: Ben Nyati PS 2 vs. Gcinubuzwe CS 0

Game 9: Guqaza JSS 0 vs. Barkerville JSS 1

Final Game: Ngubethole Bam JSS 1 vs.  Barkerville JSS 2

 

Danone Partner:

 

Eastern Cape To Host Danone Nations Cup provincial final

The Eastern Cape under-12 Danone Nations Cup provincial finals take place on Saturday 24^th May at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London, and among the seven contenders vying for a place in the national finals of the competition, will be Lukholo Junior Secondary School from Mbizana, in the Alfred Nzo District.

This is the second time that the school is playing in the tournament and their coach, Zwelethu Mdedelwa, puts their success so far down to hard work, good preparation and believing in your dreams. “We have trained hard and that is what got us through,” He said. “I noticed the teams we competed against were not as well organised as we are.”

The team has played 12 games so far this season, and won all of them. Some of those victories were in penalty shootouts, but Mdedelwa says a win is a win and they have given the boys some good practice as penalties might decide some of the games at the provincial finals.

“The boys are eager and determined to win the Eastern Cape title this year, but I caution them that the competition at provincial level is a different story and we will be up against the best teams in our province,” Mdedelwa said.

“Last year was the first time we participated in the tournament and we managed to get to the provincial finals, but were knocked out in the final game by Nkumzimbini JSS, who went on to represent the Eastern Cape at the national finals. We were happy as it was our first time, and the boys played well.”

Lukholo will be fielding a completely new team this year as there is no-one back from last year. “We have a good team, but we need to improve on our passing skills, so that is the area we have been focusing on during the build up to the provincial finals,” Mdedelwa said.

The coach said the entire team has been responsible for them getting this far in the competition, but if he were to single out an individual, it would be the captain and left back, Siyabonga Zulu.

“He is alert and sharp at all times and has the ability to read his opponents and make the necessary moves. He has been an integral part of the team. I believe he should go into an academy next year to capitalise on his talents and not get lost in the clutter,” Mdedelwa said.

The team is training every day at the moment and they are asking the coach to extend the practices for an hour each day. “This shows their determination and passion and it’s good that they are showing initiative but training every day can also be counter-productive so I insist they take a day off once a week for recuperation.”

The possibility of a trip to Brazil to play in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals is a huge motivator for the boys, Mdedelwa said. “But I tell them that getting the ball into the back of the net is what will get them there.”

The national finals of the competition will take place at Reiger Park on Saturday, 28 June where the team that will represent South Africa at the World Finals in Brazil later this year will be determined.

ends

Participating Teams

Alfred Nzo	Lukholo JSS
OR Tambo	Mntonintshi Senior PS
Nelson Metro	Hombakazi PS
Joe Gqabi	Sterkspruit Combined School
Amathole	Caley PS
Chris Hani	Usenathi PS
Cacadu	Bhongweni PS

Dave Alers has committed to the development of young cricketers at the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket week since 1989.

The Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week has always depended on passionate school teachers who have been prepared to give up the week before Christmas, year after year, to create the opportunity for the cream of our under-19 cricketing talent to show what they can do.

And you'll have to go a long way to find a cricket man more passionate, or one who has created more of those opportunities, than Dave Alers, deputy principal of East London's Hudson Park High School, and manager of the Border Schools team that is playing at this year's week in Durban.

This is Alers' 11th consecutive week as a team official, and his 20th in total. His first was in Johannesburg in 1989, when he was the assistant manager of the Border team and he has missed out on the odd occasion, but otherwise he has been pretty much a permanent fixture at the elite schools cricket festival ever since.

Alers was no mean cricketer himself. He played in four of these weeks - from 1972 to 1975, representing the then Rhodesia, making the SA Schools team in his final year. He then went on to play 1st class cricket for Rhodesia, Eastern Province and Border, as an opening bowler. He also played for the SA Universities team in 1977 and 1978.

After qualifying as a teacher at Rhodes University he was appointed as a teacher at East London's Cambridge High School in 1982, and started coaching the first cricket team there in 1985. He then moved to Hudson Park, where he also took the 1st team and, nearly 30 years on, he is still coaching.

He has seen a lot over the years and, for him, the biggest event has been the birth of the new South Africa. "In those early years this was the Nuffield Week - an all-white affair, with all that that implies. The unification of cricket led, in the Border region especially, to exposure for some amazing talents, and coaching them over the years has been a highlight for me," he said

Pressed to single out one special year, Alers said it would have to be 1994 - the last time the week was at Kearsney College. "It was a special year because it was the 1st unified week, and the Border team that year had in its ranks two players who were to become giants of South African cricket - Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini.

"I would hesitate to say that standards have dropped these days - they haven't - but we don't see players of their stature very often these days."

As far as changes down the years are concerned, he believes the biggest one has been a greater emphasis on winning these days. "In my early years we only played declaration cricket, with a two-day game day in some of the weeks. Draws were common in those days and it was more about performances than results," he said. "T20 cricket hadn't been invented and limited overs cricket was frowned on."

With the introduction of the new formats, results became possible and this changed the way players approach the game. "It's been a good thing and I think players have benefitted from having to apply different strategies."

Alers is excited by the prospects of SA u-19 bowler Ngazibini Sigwili, who is from his school and in the Border team this year. "He is the second SA Schools player Hudson Park has produced," he said. "In 2007 we had Cebo Tshiki, also fast bowler, in the team."

As for the future, Alers is hesitant to commit himself to another Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week next year. "My wife has been amazingly tolerant of me being away at his time of the year, every year," he said, "but she may run out of patience eventually.


"But she know this is what I really love to do, so who knows, maybe I'll make it 21 weeks next year."