PREPARATIONS ARE GOING WELL FOR REBONWE PRIMARY SCHOOL WHO WILL BE REPRESENTING SOUTH AFRICA IN THE DANONE NATIONS CUP WORLD FINALS

It seems a lifetime ago that Rebonwe coach, Emmanuel Gogela, heard there was going to be a Danone Nations Cup girls tournament this year.  Like most schools, he didn’t have many girls at under-12 level, and those he had competed together with the boys.  But this didn’t stop him and immediately recruited more girls and put a team together and entered the tournament.

Six month later and his team had not only performed well, they had won the trip of a lifetime – to compete in the world finals taking place in Barcelona between 10^th and 12^th October.

To help prepare the girls for the world stage, Danone Southern Africa enlisted the help of acclaimed development coach, SIBUSISO NTSINDE. Sibusiso holds a CAF C Licence and a Coerver Youth Diploma. He attended a Rene Meulensteen Dutch Symposium course as well as a course held by the KNVB in the Netherlands. Recently he won the Future Champs Tournament with the Bidvest Wits under-17 team.

“It’s such a pleasure to be able to assist these young aspiring soccer players,” said Ntsinde.  “It’s very different coaching girls as opposed to boys.  Firstly, girls listen better!  Secondly, they are focused and quick learners. I cannot believe the difference in their performance after 2 weeks with me.  Our first task was to teach the basics of the game as many of the girls have not been playing for long.  They also had to get used to me and the way I coach and to the different techniques and tactics.  Then followed the task of tweaking some of their positions on the field to match their strengths.”

The world finals will not be easy, admits Ntsinde.  “I have seen who their competition will be and most countries will be represented by clubs such as Napoli and Espanyol, whose players have been playing the game since they were 5 or 6 and they will be the best players at this level at their respective clubs, whereas our girls play for the love of the game.  I love every day that I spend with these girls and I enjoy seeing their enthusiasm to want to improve and learn.  I will do my best to prepare them well.  I can see they are getting the concepts, but it is not easy to cram so much so quickly.”

Spain will be a football lesson for the girls, Ntsinde believes.  “They will see teams that are at another level and using different techniques, which will give them something to aspire to.  They must not look down on themselves but rise and look where they can be.  My message to them is to go out there and represent us the best way possible. They should remember that they are the best in the country and, no matter what, they have gone out and fought a battle to get to where they are now.  I can’t wait to see them on their return.  We will evaluate what they learnt and look at where to go next and what do they want to do on the football field in the future.”    

Accompanying Rebonwe Primary in Spain will be Nomlinganiselo from the Western Cape (2018 winners) and Muzuvukile from KZN (2019 boys winners). 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.  On the final day, 12^TH October, the teams will play their final match at the home ground of La Liga club, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, commonly known as Espanyol.

Also travelling with the team will be Amanda Dlamini, ex Banyana Banyana captain.  She will be with the girls every step of the way, encouraging them, giving advice as well as celebrating and motivating them.

“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 Masi Mkhize, Communications Manager, Danone Southern Africa.  “We are combining Danone’s Centenary celebrations and the 20^th edition of the world finals 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.

2019 DNC WORLD FINALS
GIRLS TOURNAMENT - COMPETING TEAMS
COUNTRY	REPRESENTING TEAM
Argentina	Club Atletico River Plate
England	Easington Colliery Girls Primary School
France	Olympique Lyonnais FC
Italy	SSC Napoli FC
Japan	Chiba Chuo FC
South Africa	Rebonwe Primary School
Spain	RCD Espanyol FC
Uruguay	Nautico FC

South African under 12 girls school soccer team will compete against top global club development teams in the Danone Nations Cup world finals

Rebonwe Primary School from Ivory Park, the first girls team from South Africa to compete in the world finals, will be facing stiff opposition in Barcelona in October.  But that does not worry them, said Lilian Mabasa, team manager and teacher at the school who will be travelling with the girls.

The Danone Nations Cup girls world final will comprise eight countries.  All but Argentina have completed their domestic competitions to determine their representation.  England and South Africa are the only countries to be sending a school team, whereas the others ran club competitions to find their winner. 

RDC Espanyol’s under-12 development team will be representing Spain.  Not only will they be playing in their own country, but   Spain is RDC Espanyol’s under 12  will have home ground advantage.  RDC Espanyol FC, but the team representing the country is from RCD Espanyol FC, who will play their final match on home soil on 12^th October. 

The Rebonwe Primary School girls see this as a challenge and learning curve, said Mabasa.  The coach has managed to acquire footage of some of the teams in action, which they will review and use as a yard stick against which they will prepare their build up strategy.

The first step in preparing the Rebonwe girls for this experience of a lifetime is to improve their fitness level. “Our day starts at 6.45am with a gym session to ensure the players are in peak physical condition when we travel,” said Mabasa.  “After school it’s onto the soccer field to sharpen their tactical and technical skills.  Fortunately, most of the girls live close by and getting to and from school is not a problem.  We have the backing of their families which is a great bonus.  Parent support is of the utmost importance in preparing the girls.”

Mabasa has always loved soccer and she still competes for the ladies team in her home town of Giyani, Limpopo.  She joined the school management team three years ago. “When we started incorporating the girls into the teams in the various age groups I could see they were getting bullied.  This inspired me to offer my services as the manager to protect them and to teach the boys about the importance of the inclusion of girls, and to show them that girls can play as well, if not better than them.  When we heard that the Danone Nations Cup was forming on a girls only tournament, we formed our own team and look where we are – going to Barcelona – whereas the boys team was knocked out in the early round of the competition.”

Since winning the tip to Barcelona a lot has changed for the girls.  “I can already see that their confidence has improved,” said Mabasa. “From being laughed at for taking up soccer they are now respected, and the entire school is making them feel very special.  That’s good for morale, but they must also realise that competing in the world finals is very different from playing at home. They will be up against soccer academies at the world finals.  For example, the team from Italy is the SSC Napoli academy team.  They eat and sleep soccer and, looking at videos, we can also see that most of the girls are far taller than ours.”

Coming from an informal settlement and getting the opportunity to go to Barcelona to stay in a world class hotel is daunting for the kids, admits Mabasa, so she is focusing on the psychology of the players.  “I come from a very poor background myself,” she said. “I often went barefoot to school, so I know what some of these girls are going through and I encourage them to keep believing and striving for the best.  Thankfully Danone and our kit sponsors, Mr Price Sport, will be kitting the children out with enough clothing to wear something new every day.  That’s of great help and the players will treasure whatever they receive.”

The three South African teams travelling to Spain, Nomlinganiselo (Western Cape), Muzuvukile (KAN) and Rebonwe will leave on 7^th October and the games will take place in Barcelona between 10^th and 12^th October. 

The eight girls teams will be divided into two groups and play a league with the top teams competing in the final match.

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 Marlinie Kotiah, General Secretary Danone Southern Africa.  “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 Kotiah.

Rebonwe Primary School will be accompanied to Spain by Nomlinganiselo Primary from the Western Cape (2018 boys winners) and Muzuvukile Primary from KZN (2019 boys winners).  Games will take place from 10^th to 12^th October.

The countries that will be competing in the girls tournament are: 

COUNTRY	REPRESENTING TEAM
Argentina	To be confirmed
England	Easington Colliery Girls Primary School
France	Olympique Lyonnais FC
Italy	SSC Napoli FC
Japan	Chiba Chuo FC
South Africa	Rebonwe Primary School
Spain	RCD Espanyol FC
Uruguay	Nautico FC

History to be made with girls to be introduced into the 2019 Danone Nations Cup

Since its inception in 2000, Boys teams from all over the world, including South Africa, have been playing in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup competition. Then in 2017, in line with Danone’s principle of inclusive diversity, Group Danone introduced a girl’s tournament to run alongside that of the boys.  The first tournament saw four countries participating, which increased to six in 2018 and in 2019 there will be 8 countries sending a girls teams, including South Africa.

“The inclusion of a girls team this year is a natural progression and growth of our tournament,” explained Marlinie Kotiah, Head of Corporate Affairs, Danone Southern Africa.  “South Africa is one of only a few countries that has been participating in the Danone Nations Cup since its inception. Including girls in our tournament is in line with our new policy of promoting inclusive diversity, openness and changing mentalities.  We want to encourage more children to follow their dreams on and off the field and this includes all youngsters no matter their gender, who they are, or where they come from.”

The world finals will be staged as a double header, including 2018 and 2019, in the country and city where Danone first began, Barcelona, with 20 boys and eight girls teams competing. South Africa, along with Japan, Uruguay and Argentina will be sending girls teams for the first time. “This year is Danone’s centenary and the 20^th year of the Danone Nations Cup so we decided to make it a special occasion,” explained Kotiah.

“Staging a girls only tournament is work in progress,’ said Kotiah. “We will pilot the girl’s tournament in Gauteng in 2019 and the success of this will determine the way forward.  Traditionally there are far fewer girl’s teams playing soccer at this age,.  The decision to start with Gauteng, is based on the larger number of interested teams there. We want the competition to be fair and the way forward will be determined by the number of girls teams that show interest nationally.”

To encourage girls to get interested in soccer, which has been seen as a boys sport, Danone has brought in Amanda Dlamini, ex Banyana player, as the ambassador and role model.  “Amanda has been involved in the tournament in the past and we have brought her in to assist in enticing girls to start playing the sport.  She started playing before the age of 12 and knows the stigma and challenges young girls face.  Ultimately we will be helping to uplift the sport and get more South African girls to play at the highest level or become stadium spectators,” explained Kotiah.

The Gauteng districts have been competing in play-offs over the past week and the nine winners will then compete in the provincial finals at the Germiston Stadium on Friday, 7 June, kicking off at 10am.  The four semifinalists will play at Reiger Park on Saturday, 15^th June at the same venue as the nine boys provincial winners will be competing in the National Finals. 

Over 2 million boys and girls from the 28 countries around the world are expected to participate in the tournament this year.  The final day of games will take place at the home ground of La Liga club, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, commonly known as Espanyol, on the 12^th October.

Zinédine Zidane has been the honorary ambassador of the Danone Nations Cup since 2003 and continues to support the younger generation and encourage them to play football and believe in their dreams. He uses his unique high-level experience in sport to foster the spirit of teamwork and fair play through a passion for soccer.

“This year 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,” said Kotiah.

Danone will also use the tournament as a platform to educate the players on sustainability with a reduced environmental footprint through recycling. “We have a responsibility to teach our football players that they are the future and will become world citizens and they need to take that responsibility seriously as they will play a role in helping the world they live in and they need to care for their environment,” said Kotiah.

The tournament rules are those of 8-a-side games as per the French Football Federation and approved by FIFA. The games are played on half of a full-sized field with each game consisting of one 20-minute half. The final will be an exception with two halves of 12 minutes each.

The Danone Nations Cup is more than a football competition.  “It allows kids from all over the world to discover new places and cultures and promotes values such as respect, diversity, team spirit, trust and fair play. Over the last 20 years many Danone players have gone on to become professional footballers and compete in the highest leagues in the world.  This applies to South Africa too, with the likes of Kermit Erasmus, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Rowan Williams and many more,” concluded Kotiah.

THE ROAD TO BARCELONA

• 2018 and 2019 will be played simultaneously
• 700 players will compete
• 56 teams representing 27 different countries
• 2017 winners:  Boys – Mexico and Girls – Brazil
• Barcelona is symbolic as it was in this city in 1919 that Isaac Carasso created the first Danone yogurt - a simple food, with a simple aim to improve health.

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).