Football Development in South Africa took centre stage in Gauteng this past weekend

Johannesburg Secondary School will be the Gauteng representative at the under-15 COPA Coca-Cola National Finals in Tshwane in early July.

Johannesburg Secondary beat Clapham High School 2-0 in the final of the Gauteng provincial playoffs at the Saul Tsotetsi Sports Grounds in Sebokeng on Saturday.

2012 is the first year that COPA Coca-Cola will be an Under 15 tournament and is run under the auspices of the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) with over 1 000 schools from around South Africa competing.

Johannesburg Secondary School is the education partner to the Orlando Pirates Youth Academy, while Clapham had players from the Mamelodi Sundowns Youth Academy in its ranks.

The presence of four Academy teams out of the eight participating in the Gauteng provincials - Highlands North Boys’ High School (JazzyQueen’s African Sport Academy) and Rosina Sedibane High School (SuperSport United) are the other two – indicates that the PSL Clubs are on a mission to boost their squads with home grown talent.

“It is the way forward,” said Themba Ngwenya, Mamelodi Sundowns scout. “The Sundowns philosophy is to look for local talent at an early age and get them into our academy to teach them the Sundowns way which is the 4-3-3 format and attacking football. Our club owner, Mr Motsepe, is also doing all he can to boost the Tshwane communities.”

Isaac Shai, the Clapham and Sundowns Academy coach was pleased with the way the day went. “We went down to a mightier opponent, but I am happy with my team. We only enrolled our players into Clapham earlier this year and we have done exceptionally well in just a few months,” he said.

I am especially pleased with the way the players approached each game. They kept their composure and never forgot the game plan.”

Johannesburg Secondary School had a big advantage: 13 of the 17 players in their squad have been together since primary school. As a team, they won a 40 nation international tournament at the Orlando Stadium back in 2009.

Rosina Sedibane suffered a setback earlier in the day when their key midfielder, OrbadjaMaluleka fell and broke his wrist so had to be taken to hospital. “It is a pity as he is our key ball supplier to the strikers,” said their coach, Reginald Patterson. “I did have back up in Zama Mzondwana, also a midfielder whose special talent is his ability to read opponents. But it was not our day and all the best to Johannesburg Secondary School.”

Craig Van Niekerk, Coca-Cola South Africa Marketing Asset Manager explains the change of age group:  “The change is in line with COPA Coca-Cola’s global strategy. The Coca-Cola Company backs football at the highest level, the FIFA World Cup™ and it is the company policy to complement this by making a direct contribution towards strengthening the sport at grassroots level through tournaments such as COPA Coca-Cola, and globally the tournament is run as an Under-15 event.  Coca-Cola South Africa also backs Club football through the Premier Soccer League (PSL).”

“But COPA Coca-Cola is not just about winning, but respecting diversity,” explains Donnay Carter, Coca-Cola South Africa Brand Manager.  “It’s about living a healthy and active lifestyle, forging friendships with those from vastly different backgrounds, harnessing the extraordinary power that football has to unite different cultures and backgrounds to bring people together and living for a difference. ”

GUATENG FINAL RESULTS

Pool A - Clapham 3 (Lovers Malatsi, Avuyile Makhudu, Tepiso Mbongwa) Highlands North 0; ThomasMofolo 1 (Tshediso Monamadi) BasaTutorial Institute 0; Clapham 1 (AvuyileMakhudu) Thomas Mofolo 1 (TshedisoMonamadi); Highlands North 3 (Warren Segage3) Basa 0; Clapham 8 (Avuyile Makhudu(3), Lovers Malatsi (3), Sizwe Chuene, Thomas Njajubana) Basa 0; Thomas Mofolo 5 (Tshediso Monanadi (4) Thabo Modubu ) Highlands North 1 (Warren Segage).

Pool B - Johannesburg 3 (Sibusiso Damini, Thula Tabethe, Sizwe Twala) Zitikeni 1 (Mongezi Sicna); Rosina Sedibane 6 (Banjatwa Hendrik (3), Mabange Sizwe (2), Thuto Marafe) EdendalePeps 1(Kagiso Maredi); Johannesburg 8 (Bonolo Sieeco, Sizwe Twala (2), Sibusiso Dlamini (2), Sibusiso Sako, Phila Vela, DanisileMqwathi), Edendale Peps 0; Rosina Sedibane 3 (OfentseMotjaana (2), Tshegofatso Pampati) Edendale Peps 1 (Kagiso Maredi); Johannesburg 1 (Sizwe Twala) Rosina Sedibane 0); Zitikeni 3 (Siche Mongezi, Tebogo Thepe, Sifiso Mtshwei ) Edendale 1(Ofentse Makhatho);

Final- Johannesburg 2 (ThulaThabethe, Mbongiseni Mazibuko) Clapham 0.

About COPA Coca-Cola:

·         Copa Coca-Cola is run under the auspices of the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA)

·         Coca-Cola started sponsoring Coca-Cola Football Stars in 2005.

·         Between 2005 and 2008 a TV reality element was introduced aimed at finding the top 18 players who would go on to compete internationally.  To keep interests high an elimination process was brought in to reduce players from approximately 70 down to 18 and the public witnessed the trials and tribulations that went into becoming a top football player.

·         In 2009 and 2010 the name changed to bring the tournament in line with Coca-Cola’s global youth strategy to COPA Coca-Cola.  The aim of the tournament remained the same i.e. to look for the top Under-19 school in the country and find the top 18 players who then competed against approximately 13 other African schools in the Copa Coca-Cola finals. 

·         In 2012 COPA Coca-Cola became an Under 15 tournament to align with the Copa Coca-Cola globally. 

·         The tournament starts off at Cluster level (this level is now complete as it happened in January)

·         Regional winners then compete in the Provincial Finals

·         Provincial winners then compete in the National Finals taking place from the 3^rd – 7^th July.

THE CLASH OF THE TITANS - MPUMALANGA HIGH SCHOOLS FIGHT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN R1 MILLION IN THE SANLAM KAY MOTSEPE SCHOOLS CUP

The best of Mpumalanga school football can be seen at the Lynville Stadium in Witbank on Saturday, 26 May, as the top four schools compete in the 2012 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Finals.

The school that emerges triumphant on Saturday will not only win the R100 000 provincial prize money but will also go on to represent Mpumalanga at the National Finals happening from 2 – 6 October. 

Participating Schools:

There will be four teams participating; Soshangana Secondary School (Bushbuckridge), Lindile High School (Ermelo), East High College of Excellence (Nelspruit) and Zacheus Malaza Secondary School (Kwaguqa).

Second time participants, East High College of Excellence, are hoping to do well following their early elimination in last year’s Provincial Finals. The school was established in 1994 and is well known for producing outstanding results in the classroom.  When the new principal joined he introduced extra mural activities and sport became compulsory.  Within a short time the school started a Sports Academy and is now a recognised boarding school that accommodates the talented Mpumalanga youth with football being one of the key sports on offer.

The school has produced some well known players such as Free State Stars central midfielder Bongani Nyathi and Speedy Mabaso who is currently with National First Division’s Sivutsa FC. Winning the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup will not only put this academy on the map, but will also serve as a stepping stone for some of the players in their quest to become professionals.

Team manager Mr Tiny Nkunu is confident his team will do well. “The team is well prepared mentality and physically to do better than last year and we are looking at the R1 million prize as the school is in need of more sports equipment and upgrades to our facilities which will go a long way to continue to attract the province’s best talent,” said Nkunu.

About the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup:

The Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup is an initiative co-funded by Sanlam, the Ubuntu-Botho Community Development Trust and the Motsepe Family Foundation.The tournament is open to public high schools as well as private and independent schools with R1 million prize for the overall National winner and R600 000, R500 000 and R400 000, respectively for the second, third and fourth placed schools.

Competing teams:

REGIONS	FIXTURES	VENUES
Bohlabela Region	Soshangana Secondary School	Lynville Stadium, Witbank.
Gert Sibande Region	Lindile Secondary School
Ehlanzeni Region	East High Academy
Nkangala Region	Zacheus Malaza Secondary  School

BARKERVILLE, 2011 DANONE NATIONS CUP CHAMPIONS, WIN THROUGH TO THE EP PROVINCIAL FINALS

On Saturday, June 2, at East London’s Mdantsane Sisa Dukashe Stadium, Barkerville Primary School from the remote Mount Frere district of the Eastern Cape will be travelling to East London to meet the other regional winners in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup provincial finals.

The nine provincial champions will go on to meet at the national finals in July and the winner there will be going to the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in Warsaw, Poland in September.

The Barkerville boys don’t get away much – they live in an isolated part of the country, where they have no electricity or running water, and it’s 10km to what could, with a bit of imagination, be called the nearest town.

Yet, the last time the Barkerville Primary School team played out of the district it was at the famous Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the home of Real Madrid.

Barkerville were the 2011 South African Danone Nations Cup champions. They came though the Eastern Cape playoffs and the National Finals to earn their place in the international competition in Madrid. They finished halfway down the rankings there – an admirable achievement given where they came from - but more importantly, they learned footballing and life lessons that they will never forget.

One year down the line much has changed and much has stayed the same in rural Barkerville. The school’s football field is still a dusty patch with homemade wooden goalposts, and the players still go down to a nearby stream to get a drink during water breaks in training.

But the four players from last year’s team that are still at school, and coach Mpilo Caga, have seen what the best looks like and have played where the giants of the game play, and Caga is doing his best to make some changes.

For Caga, the Madrid experience has meant the world. He says he learnt how important it is to pay attention to all aspects of the game at training - the mechanical movements, body positioning, balance and technique. “In the past training sessions were all about running and kicking the ball forward,” he says “Now we warm up properly and our practices have an aim and a structure.” Caga has a coaching qualification in cricket but not football.

Caga has formed the Barkerville Football Club and has been instrumental in setting up the Shinta Development Local Football Association League, in which the club plays. The team walks 5km to their matches and practices  at Kwa Shinta which is also a rural area but with better playing ground conditions.

Barkerville is the best-supported club in the community. “The four players who went to Spain last year have become celebrities,” Caga says, “the people come to see the beautiful football they play. The most important lesson for them has been to play in their positions as opposed to just chasing the football around the field.  They have learnt to trust their team mates and work as a team.  Further, their eating habits have also changed.  They all prepare their own food before games.”

There are still many challenges, but Barkerville’s participation at the Danone World finals in Madrid has inspired the community, and galvanised coach, Mpilo Caga into action, meeting those challenges head-on.

Schools that have qualified are:

Region	School
Alfred Ndzo	Barkerville jss
Amathole	Carly jss
Cacadu	Bhongweni sps
Chris Hani	Ntabelanga ps
Joe Gqabi	Maruping ps
N.Mandela Metro	Imbasa ps
O.R.Tambo	Nkunzimbini jss

GAUTENG COPA COCA-COLA PROVINCIAL FINAL WILL SEE SOME PAST WINNERS AND ONE NEW ONE COMPETING

The list of qualifiers for the National Finals in the under-15 COPA Coca-Cola football competition is starting to take shape, and it’s Gauteng’s turn this weekend to determine their participating school.

The eight Gauteng regional winning schools will gather at the Saul Tsotetsi Grounds in Sebokeng on Saturday. They will play pool matches in two sections, followed by playoffs with the action kicking-off at 9am and entrance is free.

The schools that will be in action are a who’s who of the high quality footballing schools in the province as many house players from some of the PSL Club academies.

Rosina Sedibane-Modiba High School from the Tshwane South Region is one that teaches the players from SuperSport United’s development programme, and has won provincial and national titles at various age group levels over the years, although they have only reached the provincial playoffs of COPA Coca-Cola in the past two years, finishing second last year. 

The school is determined to go one better this time around. “It’s always an educational and an inspiring experience to play in COPA Coca-Cola,” says team manager, Sanjay Baktawa. “The players always come out better from the tournament because of all the exposure and from seeing the high quality football played at the tournament.”

“Watch out for Nelson Maluleka, my key striker whom I know will one day be a household name.  Then I have Paul Keegan (Goalkeeper) and Dane Jooste (midfielder), also talented players,” said Baktawa.

Other big names to go through to this stage of the competition are Johannesburg Secondary School from the Johannesburg North Region, who educates players from the Orlando Pirates development programme and Highlands North Boys’ High School from Johannesburg East.  These teams will now have competition from Clapham High School (Tshwane North) who, as from the beginning of the year, educates players from the Mamelodi Sundowns Academy.

Zitikeni Secondary School from the Ekurhuleni North Region is also a new comer on the block. Their coach Robert Nkoana is hoping his boys will do well. “To be part of a tournament of this calibre is very exciting.  We never thought we would get this far in our first appearance.  Rosina and Johannesburg Secondary have a reputation as the teams that always do well in these tournament but we will take them on.  We might not have academy players in our team but I have excellent talent like captain, Lebogang Mashiane and Karabo Mokau (defender) and Thabo Mokwana (midfielder).”

“If we win COPA Coca-Cola we want to spend the money on soccer equipment, goalposts and flags,” said Nkoana, a Maths teacher at the school who has no formal football coaching training.

The other schools that will be involved in the Gauteng COPA Coca-Cola Provincial Championship are: Thomas Mofolo Secondary School (Johannesburg Central) Basa Tutorial Institute (Johannesburg South) and Edendale School (Gauteng North).

About COPA Coca-Cola:

·         Copa Coca-Cola is run under the auspices of the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA)

·         Coca-Cola started sponsoring Coca-Cola Football Stars in 2005.

·         Between 2005 and 2008 a TV reality element was introduced aimed at finding the top 18 players who would go on to compete internationally.  To keep interests high an elimination process was brought in to reduce players from approximately 70 down to 18 and the public witnessed the trials and tribulations that went into becoming a top football player.

·         In 2009 and 2010 the name changed to bring the tournament in line with Coca-Cola’s global youth strategy to COPA Coca-Cola.  The aim of the tournament remained the same i.e. to look for the top Under-19 school in the country and find the top 18 players who then competed against approximately 13 other African schools in the Copa Coca-Cola finals. 

·         In 2012 COPA Coca-Cola became an Under 15 tournament to align with the Copa Coca-Cola globally. 

·         The tournament starts off at Cluster level (this level is now complete as it happened in January)

·         Regional winners then compete in the Provincial Finals

·         Provincial winners then compete in the National Finals taking place from the 3^rd – 7^th July.