Northern Cape to host Danone Nations Cup provincial final

Northern Cape will host the second provincial final at the Upington College soccer fields in Upington on Saturday, 27^th April. The five regional winners will compete for the chance to travel to Gauteng to play in the national finals.  The ultimate winner will catch a flight to Barcelona to represent South Africa at the competition’s world finals between 10^th and 12^th October.

Tshwerelela Primary School from Kimberley will represent the Frances Baard region for the first time in the provincial finals.  The school has been competing in the tournament for a number of years but, according to coach, Thuso Marupeng, they have never managed to reach this stage before.

Marupeng, a Natural Science and Life Orientation teacher at the school, believes he has the best team he has had at the under-12 level for many years, and he feels they could well help take the school to the national finals. 

“The entire squad is good, but I have an outstanding midfielder in General Leburu,” he said.  “He has exceptional skill and soccer comes naturally to him.  He scored six goals at the district final. My goalkeeper, who we call Khune, is also excellent as is defender Thato.  They all have a good knowledge of the game and can read the game well.  Just watch us, we are about to do great things!”

Marupeng has no formal coaching qualifications but competed a Sports Management diploma, so he does have some knowledge of working with kids.

In order to get to the nationals Marupeng will have play against coach Modise Seemo’s school, Segonyana Primary School from Kuruman, representing the John Taolo Gaetsewe district.

“My boys play with passion,” said Seemo.  “I have a good combination of players, particularly in the midfield, this year.  Our road to the provincials was tough, but we won all our games and we are ready to take on the other four finalists!”

The team with the best statistics is Namakwa’s, Ferdinand Brecher Primary School.  According to their new coach, Gerrit Afrikaner, the school played 6 qualification games and scored 22 goals and conceded only 3.

Afrikaner has no formal qualifications but has played the game since the age of 11 and has played at National First Division level for most of his adult life.  “I moved to Steinkops (where Ferdinand Brecher is based) four years ago,” said the coach.  “And while I was playing for the local soccer club a member of the School Governing Board (SGB) asked me to coach the Grade R kids at the school.  This year they asked me to coach the under-12’s as they were not doing well.  I am very proud to have taken the team to the Danone Nations Cup provincial finals.”

Afrikaner said he has a midfielder who has talent that he has never seen before at such a young age.  “Miguel is a right-footed player but can pass with both feet and reads the game incredibly well.  I can see him going far in the sport provided he keeps his focus and passion.  I also have three other players that are skilled, and I am really looking forward to the provincials to see how they match up with the other schools.”

Pixley region is still to complete their regional finals.

Games kick-off at 10am and entrance is free.  Everyone coming to the stadium will get to sample Danone’s yoghurt products including NutriDay, YogiSip, DanUp and many more.

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).

Roodepan Primary School wins Danone Nations Cup Northern Cape Provincial Final

Roodepan Primary School from Francis Baard District, Upington, Kimberley have retained the Northern Cape Danone Nations Cup provincial trophy, after beating Keidebees Primary School 3-2 on penalties at the Xolisile Dicky Jacobs Stadium, Upington, over the weekend.

“It’s exciting and humbling to get the opportunity to represent the Northern Cape at the national finals again this year,” said team manager, Enricho Chapman. “The next step is to redeem ourselves at the nationals and we want to be the first team from the Northern Cape to win the trip to represent South Africa at the world finals in Morocco this year.”

Chapman credited the players for the win resulting from the hard work they put in from the cluster level of the tournament.  “The boys put in the time and effort.  They have been disciplined, focused and always listened to the coach (Christopher Jafta) and we are proud of them.”

There were two players from 2014 back in the team again; Given Beyers and Jemone Kaffer.  “Jemone, who we call ‘Messi’ is of particular value to the team,” said Chapman.  “He is not just a skilled player but is also a great motivator.”

Roodepan is boosted this year by youngsters from the Technical High Soccer Academy.  “This year we have become affiliated to the Academy and we educate all their youngsters.  Of the current team we have only two that are not affiliated to the academy,” said Chapman.  “This is very helpful as the boys have professional coaches looking after them and they know what to expect.  I think that we have an excellent chance of winning this year.”

Keidebees Primary was Roodepan’s toughest competition says Chapman, who went to college with the team manager, Mr Matthy.  “We both wanted to prove a point to each other.  It was a tough game and ended in a 0-0 draw but we managed to win on penalties.”

Chapman says that their finishing was their down fall last year. “We missed a lot of chances last year and we didn’t execute properly and this is what we will be focusing on over the next couple of months.  We know that the 2015 Free State school Nelson Mandela were also at the national last year.  We beat them so feel confident that we can do that this time around as well.”

One player that Chapman rates very highly is striker, Laumad Williams. “He scored 5 goals for us on Saturday and received the Danone Nations Cup top goalscorer.  This youngster is with the Academy and has a bright future ahead of him if he remains focused and believes in his dreams.”

Results

Roodepan Primary 0 (2) vs. Dr Izak van Niekerk 0 (1)

Rapelang Primary 0 (1) vs.  Keidebees Primary 0 (2)

Van Rensburg Primary 0 vs Roodepan Primary 1

Dr Izak van Niekerk 1 vs.  Rapelang Primary 0

Keidebees Primary 1 vs. Van Rensburg Primary 2

Roodepan Primary 4 vs. Rapelang Primary 0

Dr Izak van Niekerk 0 vs.  Keidebees Primary 1

Rapelang Primary 1 vs. Van Rensburg Primary 0

Keidebees Primary 1 vs. Roodepan Primary 0

Van Rensburg Primary 1 vs. Dr Izak van Niekerk 0

Final

Keidebees Primary 0 (2) vs. Roodepan Primary 0 (3) 

Northern Cape Primary School eying the trip to Morocco

Northern Cape is yet to produce the winning school that will represent South Africa and compete in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup World Finals, and Keidebees Intermediate School of Upington in the ZF Mgcawu District are hoping they might be the one to achieve this goal – but first they have to emulate their 2012 provincial win to get them through to the national finals.

They take their next step on the road to that dream when they line up for the Northern Cape provincial finals at the Xolisile Dicky Jacobs Stadium in Upington on Saturday 28^th March.

Hendrick Matthys, their team manager, explains that they represented Northern Cape during 2012 Nationals Finals.  They did not compete in 2013 and last year they were knocked out during the cluster stage last year.

“This year again we are through to the provincials and it’s a great feeling knowing that what we have worked hard for is paying off,” he said. “From the get-go the boys have taken this tournament seriously, they have been focused and determined to make it to the provincials.  They have had a lot of support from the entire school which has helped build their confidence as half the battle is won when the kids believe in themselves,” Matthys said.

The coach is manager Hendrick Matthys’ cousin Sylvester Matthys, who was brought in as an external coach two years ago.

“I end up getting swamped with a lot of school work, so I cannot always focus on the team, so we brought him in,” Matthys explained. “And it certainly has been a great idea as, because of him the under 12 team is going through to the provincials this year. He does not have a qualification in coaching, but he knows the game very well and the kids have grown fond of him and his style of coaching.”

Their strongest opposition is no doubt going to be Northern Cape defending champions, Roodepan Primary.

“I know that they will defend their title no matter what, but we are also not going to back down,” Matthys said. “We are not scared of any school, but we do know that when we meet up against Roodepan it’s not going to be an easy game.

Matthys said the current team is filled with good players, but there is one who stood out during the regional playoffs. He is 11 year-old winger Tristan Mans who scored 4 magnificent goals.

“He is an all-rounder, he can attack, defend and score. He has ben outstanding in every game we have played so far,” said Matthys

Matthys is full of praise for the sponsor, Danone. “It’s because of sponsors that these kids end up being discovered, and because of sponsors that these kids are healthy and active. I congratulate Danone for getting involved in school sports, these kids need tournaments like this.

Participating teams:

ZF Mgcawu District- Keidebees Intermediate School

Pixley District- Van Rensburg Primary School

Francis Baard District- Roodepan Primary School

John Taole Gaetsewe District- Rapelang Primary School

Namakwa District- Dr Izak Van Niekerk Primary School 

Upington’s AJ Ferreira High School made history in the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup

Upington’s AJ Ferreira High School made history this weekend. After competing in the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup soccer competition for years, without ever advancing beyond the cluster stage of the tournament, they not only reached the provincial finals, but went on to win and now get to compete in the national finals.

AJ Ferreira beat veterans, Okiep High School 3 – 1 to be crowned provincial champions and the win earns them  R100 000 to be used to fund legacy projects for the school. Both Okiep and AJ Ferreira progress to the national finals happening at the Giant Stadium, Soshanguve from 5 – 9 October and get a chance to win the R1 million first prize.

An exuberant coach, Monty Swaartbooi, was delighted at, what he said, was a long overdue win, but admitted it was also unexpected. “Every year we go into the tournament with the hope of progressing through to the provincials.  This year was different as every member of the team was new to the tournament and I did not think that we would progress very far, so this is a surprise.  The players rose to the occasion and proved me wrong.  I thought that Okiep and Rietvale would beat us because they have more experience and have been successful at this level before.”

Swaartbooi was surprised at how easy it was to get into the provincials. “We only played three games in our cluster and won them all,” he said. “And I honestly thought that we would finish last at the provincials, but I must give credit to my team who showed guts and determination.  We even beat Okiep convincingly in the final game.”

Swaartbooi is not sure what the school will do with their winnings as it will be the principal and the SGB to decide, but he does say they need a proper field and training equipment, and there are lots of broken windows and doors in the school building that also need fixing.

So, now it’s down to preparing for the nationals and Swaartbooi says they will stick to their programme of training four times a week and playing friendlies against local teams on Fridays. 

He also knows that some of the teams at the nationals will be academies and wants to bring in outside coaches to help him prepare tactically and technically. “I coach for the love of the game and have no qualifications and if we are to prepare properly I am going to have to seek support from coaches at our local clubs,” he said. 

Winning the provincial title has been the most rewarding outcome of the coach’s career. “To have finally made it fills my heart with pride.

And it doesn't end with playing soccer. “Another reason I started coaching soccer was to keep the learners away from the bad influences that are prevalent in our community so I also act as their adviser.  I always tell the players to work hard in everything that they do, be it soccer, school work or in their personal lives,” Swaartbooi said. “Putting in the extra work will always bring positive results. They now know and understand why they have to put in 110% into their training.”

RESULTS:

Pitso Jantjie 0 vs. Rietvale 2

Bongani 0 vs. AJ Ferreira 2

Rietvale 0 vs. Okiep 0

AJ Ferreira 2 vs. Bongani 0

Okiep 4 vs. Pisto Jantjie 0

FINAL:

AJ Ferreira 3 vs. Okiep 1