Mondale, from the Western Cape, win R500 000 in the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup

Mondale High School from Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town finished their 2014 u-19 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup campaign on a high after beating Kwa-Shuku, from Mpumalanga, 7 – 2 in the 3^rd place playoff game. They walk away with the R500 000 in funding that goes to the third-placed school.  Combined with their R100 000 as the Western Cape provincial winners the total goes up to R500 000.  Kwa-Shuku, from Mpumalanga, a first timer in the national finals, take home R400 000.

According to their coach, Nigel Crowie, the school is going home proud.  “We finished in 5^th position last year and our aim was to finish fourth this time around, so this third place finish is a bonus,” he said.

Mondale is gaining a reputation as a football nursery. Three of the players from the 2013 Mondale team have gone on to PSL clubs.  Brandon Dean is currently with SuperSport United, Darren Smith is in the starting line up for AmaZulu and Dillon Fransch, who is currently in Grade 12 at the school, is with Ajax Cape Town.

According to Crowie, it’s not correct to say that Mondale hosts the Ajax Cape Town youth academy. There is only one player at the school that is with their academy, Dillan Fransch, but there are about 4 others that are attached to a local Cape Town based Academy. Fransch was scouted by both Sundowns and Ajax CT at last year’s Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup but opted to remain in Cape Town.

The coach said that after their good performance at this tournament, they are hoping that more players will have been noticed by the PSL clubs.

“Our school is not a sports academy,” Crowie said. “The principal promotes excellence and doesn’t stand for mediocrity so all the boys at the school excel academically and on the sports field.  That’s one of the reason our boys have done so well in soccer, they are achievers.

However, Crowie stresses that academics come before sport. “All the players brought their books along to Pretoria to study for their exams which start in a few week’s time,” he said. “Most of the players are in grade 12, so their final exams are just around the corner. We achieved a 99 percent pass rate last year and are determined to maintain that standard”

The Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup is not an easy tournament, Crowie said. “The players seem to get better every year, but we prepared well for the finals and our hard work paid off.”  

Mondale wins R100 000 as Western Province Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Champions

Mondale High School retained the Western Cape Provincial title in the under-19 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup tournament, beating new-comers, Desmond Tutu Senior Secondary School 2 - 1 in the final at the Blue Downs Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.

Both teams progress through to the national finals taking place in Tshwane from 5 – 9 October.

There were great celebrations after the final and Mondale manager, Nigel Crowie, explained that this was the result of a culmination of 6 months of hard work and their ultimate goal was to retaining the trophy.  “I want to commend all 17 players in the squad for their hard work and dedication.”

Crowie believes that they played as a team at the provincial finals and that it was a joint effort. “Our captain, Clinton Herwell led by example. He is a natural leader and good motivator and has caught the eye of the Sundowns scouts,” he said. “Clinton was scouted to attend college in the USA in 2011 but opted to stay in Cape Town and complete his studies.”

But Herwell is not just a footballer. “He is an excellent all -rounder. He is a good academic, a top sprinter and has his colours for Western Cape and Western Province,” Crowie said. “I believe he will go far in his sporting career.”

Another key player at the finals was Dillon Fransch. He played in the 2013 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals and was selected to attend trials at Mamelodi Sundowns but was signed by Ajax Cape Town before he left for the camp and has been there since then.

Fransch says he has improved in leaps and bounds this year since being at Ajax Cape Town.  He travelled to the Netherlands and played in a tournament that was held at Ajax Amsterdam and the highlight of the year was being selected to play for the under-19 national team.

He credits his parents for where he is today.  “I would not have got to where I am now without the support from my parents. They are there behind me every step of the way and watch every game I play in. My dream is to play internationally. I would like to play for Manchester United and only time will tell if I achieve that. In Mitchell’s Plain, where I live, there are many distractions and bad influences, but I am focused on my career and never get involved.”

Mondale coach, Dale Raynard concurs with Dillon on the important role parents play in player’s lives.  “Players such as Dillon and Clinton have the confidence and ability to succeed which emanates from the support of their parents.  Far too often I see talent, be this on the sports field or in the classroom, come to nothing due to lack of support from parents.”

The next step for the team is to go back to Cape Town and focus on their school work as preliminary exams are coming up soon. Only once these exams are finished will they begin preparing for the national finals.

Meanwhile, newcomers, Louwville, might not have got through to the national finals, but the experience has been invaluable to them, according to coach, Sizwe Matomla. “This is our first provincial final experience and we look at it as a learning experience,” he said. “You have to prepare thoroughly to participate at this level, and this includes getting all the player’s papers in order. On the field of play we learnt that it is imperative to communicate with each other perfectly and I believe this is one of the areas that let us down.

Defensive play was also an area of concern for the coach.  “They say the best form of defence is attack and we did not attack well enough. Soccer is a growing sport along the West Coast, which is traditionally a rugby and cricket playing area. We are now playing local soccer leagues and I believe that in a few years’ time we will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Western Cape Provincial Finals Results

Mondale 1 vs Beaufort West 0

Qhayiya 0 vs Beaufort West 1

Qhayiya 1 vs Mondale 3

Louwville 0 vs Thembalethu 0

Semifinals - Mondale 2 vs Thembalethu 0; Desmond Tutu 1 vs Beaufort West 0

3rd  4th playoff - Beaufort West 0 vs Thembalethu 0 (Beaufort West won on penalties)

Final - Mondale 2 vs Desmond Tutu 1

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.

Mondale High School from Mitchell’s Plain get their registraion forms in early for the 2014 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup

Registration for the 2014 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup has now closed and the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) will be sending all the schools that have registered their fixtures for the cluster games shortly.

Mondale High School from Mitchell’s Plain in the Western Cape have got their registration safely in.

They are the defending Western Cape provincial champions, and finished fifth overall in last year’s national finals of the competition.

Nigel Crowie, the team manager, says their preparations for the 2014 have only just begun as it was athletics season and most of the soccer players are also athletes. “The Athletics season ended at the end of March and I am currently holding trials,” he said. “One of the key attributes I am looking for in the players is their determined and focus as football is a mind game as well as a skills game.”

In accordance to the school rules, all players must have a 60% academic record before they can be part of the school team. “Academics are very important to the school,” said Crowie.

There are 6 players from last year back again and Crowie believes their experience at the national finals last year will have prepared them well and they know what to expect. “Reaching the national finals last year was a huge achievement for us and, as first timers, finishing in 5^th position out of 18 was good going. We hope to continue our winning streak this year, but we know it will not be easy,” he said.

“The quality of football improves every year, especially with academies setting the trend, and we need to keep abreast with this,” said Crowie.

As provincial winners last year, the school received R100 000 in legacy funding and Crowie said they plan to buy a mini bus. “We struggle with transportation when we have to travel for soccer and other school trips, so this will make a big difference.”

The team will be coached by Dale Raynard again this year. “We are not making any coaching changes as Dale has the experience and last year he was able to send the team to the national finals, We believe that he will be able do it again this year,” Crowie said.

Two recent ex-pupils of the school are playing for PSL teams. Dillan Fransch was part of the Ajax Academy and he has signed with the Ajax first team and Brandon Dean was part of Supersport Academy and has signed with Supersport United first team.

“I can’t take the all the credit for what they have achieved,” Crowie said. “The boys worked very hard to be where they are today. They played for the school as well as their respective academies, but it’s an honour knowing that I had a hand in shaping these boys’ futures no matter how small my contribution was.”

Crowie sees Cloesteville High School, the team they played against in last year’s provincial final, as their strongest local competition. “It was not an easy match.  Their defence was stronger than anticipated. If we were to meet up with them it’s going to be tougher than last year, they will want to deal with us,” he said.

Sanlam and the Motsepe Foundation are fantastic sponsors and Crowie says they appreciate what they are doing for the community. “When schools win the community also benefits and kids around the area are able to attend schools that have better facilities.  Their efforts are greatly appreciated.”