Eastern Cape on a drive to increase the number of schools participating in the Danone Nations Cup

 

The South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) is on a drive to boost the number of schools that will play in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup competition this year, and the Eastern Cape coordinator is expecting numbers to increase to over 220.

Traditionally schools focus on athletics in the first term which has resulted in increased pressure to get their soccer teams ready for the Danone Nations Cup. The Tournament is held earlier in the year to accommodate the world final held overseas.

Thankfully, this year there is more time as the 2018 World Finals will only be taking place next year, together with the 2019 World Finals, in celebration of Danone’s Centenary Anniversary.

This was good news for coach Masixole Goli from Charles Morgan Primary School of King William’s Town in the Amathole region.

The school has been entering the tournament since 2012 and managed to get into the provincial finals in 2013.  In an attempt to change their fortunes, Goli made the decision not to enter the tournament last year but rather send the children to local clubs in the King Williams Town where they could get better coaching throughout the year. “In preparation for 2018 I decided that the kids needed to play soccer throughout the year as opposed to just playing the sport in term two. In this way they will get first class coaching and more match practice as they participate in the local leagues.”

In 2017, Goli decided to be a spectator and take note of how the professionals coach.  “I have no coaching qualifications and learnt a lot from watching the professional coaches.  With what I’ve learnt I have now started to get our school squad together and to begin practicing applying what we’ve learnt.  I believe we have a much better chance this year.”

New Horizon Senior School from Bungeni Township in Butterworth has also entered again this year. Siphiwe Nkunkuma, the coach, is an administrator at the school and has noted the difference the tournament makes in the lives of the kids so in 2016 he decided to approach the school and enter a team. “We didn’t make it past the district phase of the tournament, but I have done a lot of research on different football teachings and I think I am better prepared for this year.”

But both teams will have to get past Isaac Booi Primary, the 2017 provincial champions.  “Playing in the national finals was an eye opener for me,” said coach, Siphiwo Witbooi.  “The biggest lesson was that young kids need to be encouraged and their self-esteem needs to be really high to compete in such tournaments,” he said. “Last year the boys went to Gauteng and were completely overwhelmed

 They had little confidence going into games, but this year we can better prepare them. They were not themselves and didn’t play to their full potential.”

The Eastern Cape produced a national final winner in 2011 when Barkerville Primary won and went on to represent their country at the World Finals in Madrid, finishing 38^th out of the 40 teams competing.

Schools can still 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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Registration opens for the 2018 Danone Nations Cup

As the new school year begins educators have the awesome responsibility of providing opportunities and experiences that will help young people to develop their whole personality and character, and school sport is an acceptable medium to do this through. 

Sponsorships such as the Danone Nations cup, a soccer tournament for kids between the ages of 10 and 12, play a vital educational role in developing kids because they provide a way for schools to teach valuable life lessons in a fun way, by keeping kids active.

“Every year, through our competition, we touch the lives of over 2.3 million kids around the world and since its inception in 2000 over 35 million kids have played in our competition making it the biggest tournament of its kind in the world,” said Chantel Ehlers, Communication Manager, Danone Southern Africa.  “We are proud of these statistics and locally we are pleased with the fact that South Africa has managed to win the world finals 3 times (2003, 2007 and 2009).”

Schools use sports such as soccer to teach children how to think laterally; to solve problems; the importance of teamwork and trust; how to handle defeat and to bounce back and keep going with confidence. 

In 2017 over 2 700 schools, ranging from rural and farm schools, to elite private institutions, registered for the South African leg of the Danone Nations Cup.  With entries expected to come in at a fast pace this week, the organisers are hoping to grow this to over 3 000 this year.

Youth development coaching is specialised as it is at this age that kids want to learn. It’s vital that young players perfect their skills without picking up bad habits and these kids dream big.

In South Africa the majority of coaches at this level are generally teachers, who don’t always have the necessary experience and qualifications. Many of these coaches rely on the internet for advice and information and, to help them, Groupe Danone has put every game played on the final day of the Danone Nations Cup world finals last year, which took place in New York, onto Youtube so that coaches can access them. They can upskill through watching what happened last year. 

Danone takes the educational role it plays very seriously. “There are many facets to the Danone Nations Cup,” explains Ehlers, “Groupe Danone has built the tournament on four fundamental pillars: fair play, openness, accessibility and passion for the game and uses football as an important platform to bring health through sport to as many kids as possible. We promote healthy eating habits and encourage the youth to believe in their dreams.”

Many of the teams that participate in the competition’s World Finals each year are drawn from football programmes that operate in distressed areas and from social development initiatives that use football as a vehicle to uplift young people.

“Many of the schools that have gone on to compete in world finals have done so against all odds,” Ehlers says. “It’s a life-changing experience. Players come back better footballers due to watching how other countries play and learn from them. They meet and make friends from all around the world.” 

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 also on Danone.co.za )

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