First school qualifies for the Free State Danone Nations Cup provincial final

Free State is hosting the second under-12 Danone Nations Cup provincial final scheduled to take place at Grey College in Bloemfontein on 5^th May where five schools will contest for a spot in the national finals. The ultimate winner will compete in the world finals happening in Spain in 2019.

Tshediso-Xolani Primary School is the first to qualify and will represent the Fezile Dabi district. The school first entered the tournament in 2008 and this is the first time they have ever reached the provincial finals.

The school is situated in the rural town of Tweeling with 1206 learners. Mokoena, who teaches Sesotho and English at the school, has been coaching the team since 2008. He attributes his success this year to getting his SAFA level one coaching qualification, obtained through the Department of Basic Education in 2016.

“The course was aimed at coaching youth and how to prepare and better train them from a young age.  I have since developed better tactics which was the answer to our success this year,” said Mokoena, who also says he has a stronger team than in previous years as many of his players also compete at local club level.

The key player in the team is the captain, defender/midfielder Mokwining Tsotesi.  Although he is competing in the Danone Nations Cup for the first time, he also plays for the All-Star Football Club. “He has great ball control and is always looking for opportunities to score goals. He scored 9 goals during the regional finals,” said the coach.

Mokoena says he is nervous about the provincial finals as this will be the first time that the school has gone this far in the competition. “We aren’t sure what to expect but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

The Fezile Dabi regional finals took place on the 14^th of April at Nelson Mandela Primary School. Four schools participated: Nelson Mandela Primary School, Dibaseholo Public School, Voorwaarts Primary School and Tshediso-Xolani Primary School.

The games were played in very hot conditions, which was a challenge, admitted the coach.  Their first match was against Dibaseholo Public School and both teams were exhausted within 5 minutes. It ended in a 3-all draw. The second match was against Voorwaarts Primary School. The players were more relaxed at this point and the weather had cooled down. Tshediso- Xolani won 3-1

The final game was against the hosts Nelson Mandela Primary School. It was their best game. The Nelson Mandela players failed to communicate during the match and seemed to get frustrated with each other. Tshediso- Xolani were able to beat them 6-0

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PRESS RELEASE: Gauteng primary school enters the Danone Nations Cup for the first time

As entries keep coming in for the under-12 Danone Nations Cup, the signs are pointing to it being a bumper edition of what is already the biggest under-12 school soccer tournament in the land.

Many schools have entered for the first time including Curro Wilgeheuwel of the Johannesburg West region.

According to Tshepiso More, the school sports coordinator and team manager, the school only opened in January last year and he found out about the Danone Nations Cup through Facebook. He wanted to get them involved because he believes it’s a way of giving children an opportunity to become professional players.  It introduces them to competitive soccer which he feels is important. 

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this huge tournament.” He said.  “It won’t be easy in our first time entering, but it’s learning experience for us.”

He is currently conducting trials to select the team and most of the players that were in last year’s under-11 team belong top local clubs such as Panorama and Supersport United.

“They are the right age this year and because they play for clubs and compete in local leagues they won’t be under pressure when they play in the cluster level of the tournament,” More said. “I want the players to get as much exposure in soccer as they can. It’s important for children to keep activate in sport as it helps to build their confidence, teaches them trust and team work and they develop great relationships with their teammates.  It also keeps them healthy and off the couch where kids today are inclined to end up playing video games.”

More said that last year was spent training rather than competing in any tournaments and playing against other schools, so he is not sure who the school will be meeting in their local cluster games which kick-off in a couple of months.  “We are still in the building phase and I am using this opportunity to test my boys and build a competitive culture in our sports department. We are only a year old and I have a number of sporting codes to get up and running and I am using the Danone Nations Cup to encourage all my sports teams.”

Schools can register for the competition by contacting the national coordinator at the SA Schools Football Association (SASFA), Themba Tshabalala, on 011 403 2844, 084 290 0602 or 072 588 4957. Alternatively, they can visit the Danone Nations Cup South Africa Facebook page or go to www.facebook.com/dncsouthafrica to download the necessary documents. (Documents are always on Danone.co.za also)

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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

Mophela Primary School Coach Siyabonga Ndimande is ready for the big challenge ahead

 

When Mophela Primary School make their first appearance on the world stage at the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in New York city next month, on the side line, guiding them, will be their coach, Siyabonga Ndimande.

It was Ndimande and his colleague Spha Shabalala who guided Mophela, a rural school from a small village in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, to the South African title in the competition, which led to their big chance.

Ndimande and Shabalala started St Bay Football Club in Mophela in 2014 and have grown it to 90 players, between 11 and 19 years old and most of the Mophela Primary School players are members.

Ndimande’s passions are soccer and youth development and his roots are in the village. The 29 year-old was born and raised in Mophela and lives there with his mother Fikile and brothers Dumisani and Mlekeli. He went to Mophela Primary School himself and did Matric at Gabigabi High School.

He started playing soccer when he was in primary school and in high school he played for Mophela United Brothers Football Club in the SAB league.

After Matric he worked for Valley Fresh, an organisation that supplies fruit and vegetables for the Lily of the Valley children’s home in Mophela. It was there that he began coaching and where he discovered his passion for coaching and for young people.

So he opened his club and decided to pursue his passion for coaching.

On a soccer workshop in Pietermaziburg he met Thabang Dladla, who is currently coaching the University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg team, and,  Roger Sikhakhane who coaches Chippa United Football Club in the PSL league. They are coaches who he looks up too, whose style and techniques he admires.

At the Danone Nations Cup World Finals Ndimande hopes aim to gain more exposure to coaching techniques, especially since there will be teams from different countries and they have different styles of soccer.  He wants his team to enjoy the experience of being a part of one of the biggest soccer development tournament in the world. 

“Doing well at the DNC World Finals would amazing,” he said. “It will give me the experience I need to open my own development club in the future. Developing the players at a young age is the most important phase because they can absorb a lot of information and they are easier to instruct.”

He has a great relationship with his players: they treat him like an older brother and come to him for advice whether its school or home-related.

“I try to let them know, however, that when it comes to training there are no excuses and I also see it as my responsibility to make sure that they do well in their school work.