Eastern Cape Schools are preparing for the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup National Finals.

The Under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, is in full swing with five provincial finals compete. The tournament, which is run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE), allows both the provincial winner and runner-up the opportunity of winning some of the massive prize money that is on offer at the national final stage, which will be taking place at the University of the Free State between 23rd and 27^th September.

The Eastern Cape provincial finals took place in Queenstown earlier this month with hosts, Maria Louw High School taking top honours and winning the R100 000 prize money.  They will be joined by second place finishers, Jojo Secondary School from Mount Ayliff in the Alfred Nzo Region at the national finals.

Maria Louw deputy principal and coach, Sandile Mata, is happy that his team has progressed to the national finals in their first outing in this prestigious tournament but cautions that it is not going to be an easy ride in the Free State.  “I joined the school in August last year from Lingelihele, where I was principal and coach, and took top provincial honours in this tournament in 2012 and 2014 where we met the likes of Clapham High School and Rosina Sedibane in the nationals.  Both are linked to PSL clubs and they have exceptional talent and experienced coaches and we will be up against them again this year.”  Mata does admit he holds Introductory and Level 1 certificates as well as the FIFA Grass Roots coaching certificate.

Mata has been following the progress of the provincial finals on Facebook and has noted there are many new schools that have qualified this year.  “Over the years we often see the same schools progressing up the ranks and it is good to see some new names there this year.  It makes the nationals more exciting and challenging.  This tournament is also about gaining experience, and watching the national finals is always an eye opener and the coaches from the rural areas pick up new ideas and approaches to the game.”

The main challenge Mata says he is facing is lack of motivation and discipline.  “It is a difficult age as the boys want to have fun, but it takes dedication and hard work to become a professional and some of the key players with immense talent skip training.  I have never had such a talented bunch of players before and all compete for top clubs in the area that play in local leagues.  We have the potential to go far – but they have to be committed.”

There are areas that need to be addressed before the nationals, admits Mata.  “My defence needs more work and we need more commitment from the strikers as we cannot rely on one person alone.  Those are the areas I am looking at improving within the next two weeks.  The Sundowns academy coaches will be at the nationals again and they have already identified two of my players, but it depends on how they play in the nationals as to whether they will be brought up to Joburg next year or not.”

The national finals promise to be spectacular with 18 teams competing for the ultimate prize of R1million, making the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, the competition with the biggest prize money in Africa at under-19 level.  The runners-up will take home R600 000, third place and fourth place finishers get R500 000 and R400 000 respectively.  On top of this the nine Provincial winners will each receive R100 000.  The winnings are not handed over in cash but spent on legacy projects identified by the winning schools.

PROVINCIAL FINAL WINNERS TO DATE:

PROVINCE/PF VENUE	DATE	WINNERS	REGION
Western Province Gaansbaai	03-Aug-19	WINNER:  John Ramsay High School	Bishop Lavis Cape Town
Western Province Gaansbaai	03-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:  Beauford West Secondary School	Beaufort West Great Karoo Region
Eastern Cape Queenstown	10-Aug-19	WINNER:  Maria Louw Senior Secondary School (Queenstown)	Queenstown Enoch Mgijima Municipality
Eastern Cape Queenstown	10-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:   Jojo Senior Secondary	Mount Ayliff Alfred Nzo Municipality
Northern Cape Upington	17-Aug	WINNER:  Okiep HS	Okiep Springbok Municipality
Northern Cape Upington	17-Aug	RUNNER-Up:  Blinkklip HS	Posmasburg ZF Mgcawu Municipality
Limpopo Polokwane	24-Aug-19	WINNER:  Tshikota High School	Tshikota (Louis Trichardt) Vhembe Municipality
Limpopo Polokwane	24-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP: Ditlalemeso Secondary School	Mankweng (Turfloop) Capricorn District
Gauteng Nigel	31-Aug-19	WINNER:  Rosina Sedibane	Laudium, Centurion Tshwane
Gauteng Nigel	31-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:  Clapham HS	Queenswood, Pretoria Tshwane
KZN DURBAN	7-Sept-19	WINNER:  Dr JL Dube High School	KwaMashu Emlanjeni Durban
KZN DURBAN	7-Sept-19	RUNNER-UP:  Mount Currie Senior Secondary School	Kokstad Harry Gwala District

Motsepe Foundation and the Department of Basic Education launch R117,5 million partnership

Motsepe Foundation and the Department of Basic Education launch R117,5 million

partnership for the development of schools football,

choral and traditional music and netball

On 24 November 2015, the Motsepe Foundation announced a sponsorship amounting to R117,5 million over 10 years for the development of schools football, choral and traditional music and netball in partnership with the Department of Basic Education.

The Motsepe Foundation and the Department of Basic Education will today be launching and activating their 10 year Sponsorship Agreement.  This initiative is also supported by the Department of Sports and Recreation, as well as the Department of Arts and Culture.

During the first five years of the sponsorship, an amount of R55 million will be allocated to:

·        The Kay Motsepe Schools Football Cup

·        The ABC Motsepe Eisteddfod, Choral and Traditional Music

·        The Kay Motsepe Schools Netball Cup

For the following five years, from 2012 to 2025, the Motsepe Foundation will contribute another R62,5 million.

All the 25 000 public and private schools in South Africa, from the rural and urban areas have been invited to participate in all three competitions.

The Kay Motsepe Schools Football Cup has been in operation for the last 10 years and is regarded as having the largest prize money in the world for schools football; with the winning school receiving R1 million from a total annual prize money of R3.4 million.  The school that comes second receives prize money of R600 000 and the school the finishes in third place gets prize money of R400 000.

The schools that win the competition in each of the nine provinces of South Africa receive prize money of R100 000 each.

SAFA has supported and partnered with the Motsepe Foundation and the Department of Basic Education over the years in schools football.

Referring to the partnership, SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan said: “This partnership is a great platform and vehicle that will assist our Vision 2022 goals. We have insisted that we need to increase the number of participants that play the game of football and the biggest potential of growth lies within schools. We want more kids to be exposed to football at an early age and we also believe it is within schools that the future Bafana Bafana stars will be identified. We have also introduced the online registration platform called Inqaku for all the school’s football registration. This will assist us in having a database for all the players and curb the age cheating syndrome. The online registration for school is available on www.safa.net on the homepage.

The sponsorship amount for the ABC Motsepe Schools Eisteddfod, Choral and Traditional Music will amount to 3 million per year and the sponsorship for the Kay Motsepe Schools Netball will amount to 2 million per year.

Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga said: “Sporting and cultural activates in education help advance social cohesion and arte an integral part of a holistic education system. As the Department of Basic Education we are extremely grateful to the Motsepe Foundation for this generous contribution which we believe will go a long way in advancing the development of our learners and promote our diverse cultural understanding”

The co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe said, “Sports and music make an important contribution to the growth and development of our youth and helps them become good role models.  My father-in-law, Mr ABC Motsepe loved school football as well as choral and traditional music.  Before he started his businesses, the school for which he was a headmaster participated in schools football and choral and traditional music competitions.  I am also excited that we will be sponsoring netball which is very popular amongst our girls in the rural and urban areas.”

It's Gauteng against KwaZulu-Natal in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup final

2013 champions, Clapham High School will play Sukuma Secondary School from KZN in the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national final match on Saturday, 10 October, at the Nike Centre, Soweto, kick-off at 12.30pm.

Sukuma came into the national finals as the dark horses having registered to participate in the tournament for the first time this year. They finished in third spot in Group A and went through to the quarters as one of the lucky losers.  The school then beat HTS Louis Botha in the quarterfinals and Groblershoop from the Northern Cape in the semi-finals.

Clapham meanwhile has not lost a single match at the national finals, drawing one game against Dr Reginald Cingo from the Free State to finish top of Group A.  They played the same school in the quarterfinals managing to defeat them 2 – 0 this time.  The match of the day was the semi-final between Clapham and the SAFA Transnet School of Excellence which Clapham won on penalties.

The third/fourth playoff between the School of Excellence and Groblershoop will kick-off at 10 am tomorrow, Saturday.  This will be followed by a live performance by Mafikizolo and Jankie and the final will kick-off at 12.30pm.  In attendance will be acclaimed businessman, Mr Patrice Motsepe and a couple of ANC ministers.

Clapham will go into the finals as favourites, having won the tournament before (2013) and boosted by the Mamelodi Sundowns development players.  Head coach, Pitso Mosimane, visited the boys to give them a motivational talk and offer encouragement.  But there are no guarantees in football and at the end of the day it is the school that scores the most goals that will win.

Clapham also has in its favour a strong strike force.  Keletso Makgalwa is currently the highest goals corer having netted six times.  Ray-Shaun Modise from Groblershoop is lying second on the table with 5 goals.  Tomorrow will determine who the trophy will go to.

No matter what the outcome tomorrow, all four schools have won money. But how this will be split is still to be determined.  First prize is R1 million, Second, third and fourth prizes are R600 000, R500 000 and R400 000 respectively

Results of the day’s play:

Quarter Finals

HTS Louis Botha 0 (4) vs Sukuma 0 (5)
Excelsior 0 (3) vs Groblershoop 0 (4)

School of Excellence 3 vs Benny's Care 0
Scorers: Gift Khangala (OG), Sabelo Siphamandla, Edwine Sekhwama

Clapham 2 Dr Cingo 0 
Scorers: Mokoena Mbuti (OG), 
Keletso Makgalwa

9-12 position

Sizwakele 0 vs Phangalele 2
Scorer: Mavume Esthu x 2

Desmond Mpilo 0 vs Tshedimosetso 1
Scorers: Lucky Dikgale

17-18 position

Ingabade 0 vs Itshupeng 1
Scorer: Mongale Mosimanegape

13th - 16th position

Mmammoka 0 (4) vs Kriel 0 (5)

Weslaan 2 Walmer 0
Scorer: Breyton Steenkamp x 2

15th - 16th 
Mmammoka 2 vs Walmer 0

Scorers: Morudu Matome, Mashao Katlego

13^th – 14^th

Weslaan 1 vs Kriel 0 (Walkover)

5^th – 8^th

Benny's Care 2 vs Dr Cingo 3
Scorers: Nemazwi Mutshidzi, Munyai Khazwiiti (Benny's Care), Teboho Motsoane, Itumeleng Nkeane x 2 (Dr Cingo)

HTS Louis Botha 1 (4) vs Excelsior 1 (2)
Scorers: Lukhanyiso Sani (HTS), Gary Bailey (Excelsior)

9^th – 10^th

Tshedimosetso 1 vs Phangalele 4
Scorers: Abel Modaikgotla (Tshedimosetso) and Loyiso Mabukela x 2, Siphumao Libala, Soneliso Flephu (Phangalele )

11^th – 12^th

Desmond Mpilo 0 vs Sizwakele 2
Scorers: Thuto Tsotetsi, S'fiso Mthombeni

7^th – 8^th

Excelsior 1 vs Benny's Care 2
Scorers: Grant Cloete (Excelsior), Nemaxwi Mutshidi, Mafichi Personius (Benny's Care)

5^th – 6^th

HTS Louis Botha 1 vs Dr Cingo 2
Scorers: Immanuel Pietersen (HTS), Bongani Sethole, Mbuti Mokoena (Dr Cingo)

Semi Finals

School of Excellence 0 (3) vs Clapham 0 (4)

Groblershoop 1 (6) vs Sukuma 1 (7)

Gauteng Schools could dominate the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals

The provincial finals are over and the 18 winning schools will be making their way to the Nike Centre, Soweto, Gauteng between the 7^th and 10^th October to compete in the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals.

Up for grabs is R1 million first prize with the runners-up taking home R600 000, third place and fourth place finishers get R500 000 and R400 000 respectively.  On top of this the nine Provincial winners have each already won R100 000.  The winnings are not handed over in cash but have to be spent on legacy projects identified by the school.

Gauteng province has done well in recent years – schools from the province won the title in 2013 and 2014 – and the province will be sending two quality teams to the finals this year again.

The Gauteng champions this year are one of the most famous of South Africa’s soccer nurseries, the SAFA Transnet Football School of Excellence, and they will be joined by runners-up, and also 2013 champions, Clapham High School, which will comprise players that from the Mamelodi Sundowns Youth Academy.

Although the School of Excellence has no players that are attached to a professional club, coach, Gaven Silango believes they are ready for the challenge and hoping to return to the days when they dominated this competition (2012 champions). “It’s been a great comeback year for us in this competition,” he said. “We haven’t been at this level for a while, but our performance so far this year bodes well.”

The team has been busy since winning the Gauteng title – they play in local league competitions – and they are playing lots of warmup matches to keep the momentum going.

“We recently played in a tournament in Polokwane that involved their provincial champions, Benny’s Sports Development and Academy, and our local rivals, Clapham, and, although we lost in the semifinals, it was great experience for the team.

“I got to study Clapham, whom we beat in the provincial final, to see if they have grown from the last time we played against them and I also got watch Benny’s play for the first time. They are unbeaten in Limpopo and will be a factor at the nationals.”

Sibongakonke Mbatha, one of the team’s stars, has been called up for the national team for the under-17 World Cup, so they will have to do without him, but Silango says they have enough back up. “It’s great to have players called up for national duty, the more they play in these tournaments the more exposure they get and the better they get. We obviously do need him in the team but there is not much we can do about it.”

School of Excellence is known for playing entertaining football, and Silango said that it’s in their culture to be different from the rest.

“We have a team that is committed and we are used to playing on the artificial pitch at the Nike Centre and believe this can work to our advantage. We are not intimidated by Clapham, and expect to meet them again at the nationals,” Silango concluded.

Clapham High School’s manager Johannes Petje, believes that losing to School of Excellence in the Gauteng final was good thing because it was a wake up and brought the team together.

“The team took a hard knock from that loss, but I think that it was good for us to lose because the boys were starting to be too complacent. Some of the players were playing for themselves. We have talked about this with the team and they finally understand how important it to play as a unit. We are optimistic about the nationals.”

Apart from the Polokwane tournament, the team has been competing in the local leagues as preparation for the nationals.  “However most of the players are in grade 12 and have been writing exams so training has been kept to a minimum for the last couple of week but from this week we have been back in full action.”

Clapham will be missing three players who are in the SA under-17 team. Thendo Makumela, Walter Kubheka and Notha Ngcobo won’t be there, and they also have a couple of injuries, so they are busy preparing their reserves.

Petje said he has been doing research on the teams that have qualified, and he thinks the Free State schools will definitely be in the running for the grand prize. “Both teams that have qualified from there are very strong and will be competitive,” he said.

He also has a lot of respect for School of Excellence. “They are a very organised team and they believe in one another which shows when they play.”

“We are looking forward to playing against all the schools. We have a lot of newcomers this time around, we don’t really know what they are capable of so we are not underestimating anyone.”

The pressure is on for the two Gauteng teams, Petje said. “I think Clapham will definitely be in the top 2 at the end. I’m not sure who will be joining us. It could be a Free State team - HTS Louis Botha surprised us back in 2013 when they made it to the final. Ever since then I know not to underestimate any team.”

Games on each day commence at 9am and continue till 5pm.  The third/fourth play-off will take place on Saturday at 10am with the final kicking-off at 12.30pm.

 

The participating teams are:

·        Walmer High School-Eastern Cape

Pangalele Senior Secondary School-Eastern Cape

HTS Louis Botha-Free State

Dr Reginald Cingo Secondary School-Free State

SAFA Transnet Football School-Gauteng

Clapham High School-Gauteng

Sukuma Comprehensive School-KZN

Ingabade High School-KZN

Benny’s Sports Development & Academy-Limpopo

Mammoka High School-Limpopo

Sizwakele Secondary School-Mpumalanga

Kriel Hoerskool-Mpumalanga

Groblershoop High School-Northern Cape

Weslaan Hoerskool-Northern Cape

Tshedimosetso Secondary School-North West

Itshupeng Secondary School-North West

Desmond Mpilo Tutu Secondary School-Western Cape

Excelsior High School-Western Cape