Limpopo Province to host their Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Finals

When Matanta Secondary School, from the remote village of Pia in Limpopo’s Waterberg district, runs out for the provincial finals of this year’s Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup competition at the Seshego Stadium in Polokwane on the 9^th of August, it will be the realisation of a dream for the school and its coach, David Mashilo.

The school has been playing in the competition for many years, but has never progressed past the cluster level as the odds have been stacked against them. The players largely come from very disadvantaged families with no money for boots and kit, and the school’s field is little more than a piece of open field.

“This is a first for the school and we have come this far through hard work and pure determination,” Mashilo said. “The entire team is totally new to the tournament, even though they don’t have the experience they still managed to win the Waterberg district. I believe that they have what it takes to win the provincial title, their track record speaks for itself. This year we have not lost a single game despite the challenges that we encountered. It goes to show that the team is focused and they are going for what they want which is to win the tournament,” he said.

The coach realises there are challenges lying ahead. “The school had to organise a fund-raising drive to buy the 1^st team players new soccer boots. The boys really appreciated that and they know that they need to work harder to make sure that they win the R100 000 in prize money that is up for grabs at the provincial finals.”

Matanta is a team that does not go down without a fight, Mashilo said, so the other schools should expect competitive football . “We have a variety of talented players that are eager to shine and showcase their talent to anyone who is willing to watch them. I tell them to play their best at all times, because they never know when an opportunity will strike.”

 Because this is their first time at the provincial finals level, it’s going to be difficult, Mashilo knows. “We have no previous experience to help us strategise for the provincial finals so we just have to focus hard on training and building the team’s strengths. Football is all about pace and stamina, so I try to include speed in all exercises that we do.”

Mashilo has been coaching for the past seven years at Matanta. The current first team is made up of players from the under-16 team of 2 years ago. “I have been coaching them since they were 16 years old. They are familiar with my style and they know and understand my approach.”

There are four outstanding players that the teams will be looking to in the finals. “Glen Nkwana, Johannes Molekwa, Elliot Ramalebele and Ronny Magamatlo have not let us down all year, they deserve to be seen by scouts,” Mashilo said. “They are young boys but play like professional soccer players, the clubs must be on the lookout for them.”

 If the school were to win the R100 000, the projects they would like to fund include buying soccer balls, boots and training equipment that will enhance the team’s performance. “If there’s still money left; then I think that we should start working on the school sports field,” Mashilo said.

There will be five schools competing for the Limpopo provincial title.  Some regions will be playing their inter-district finals this week but one of the schools that Matanta Secondary will be playing against is Khaiso High School from the Capricorn district.

Ends

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.

Gauteng Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Finals kick-off

Months of grueling qualifiers will culminate in eight teams competing in the first round of under-19 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup provincial finals taking place on Saturday, 2^nd August, at the Giant Stadium, Soshanguve, Tshwane. The action will kick-off at 9am with the winners taking home R100 000 to be spent

Saturday’s winners and runners-up will qualify to play for a whopping R1 million on offer to the ultimate winner that emerges from the national finals taking place between the 6^th and 9^th October.

The current champions, Clapham High School of Pretoria, were given quite a scare by Boksburg’s Sunward Park High in a thrilling inter-district final played last week. They finally managed to beat them 5-3 in a penalty shootout. 

As Gauteng and national champions for 2013, Clapham won R1.1 million which they will be using to build a new Life Orientation centre, a pavilion with a coaches room; and to buy white boards, desks and chairs for learners, as well as staff tables and chairs, cabinets and a boardroom table.

Johannes Petje, Clapham’s team manager, was shaken after the Sunward encounters and admitted that while they knew Sunward Park was a good team, they were taken by surprise and did not expect such a hard game. “When you are the champions it’s not easy as everyone wants to beat you and they prepare very well,” he said

“They played better than us and deserved to win, but my guys showed guts and character and when it came to penalties the boys kept a level head. We started the game well and should have wrapped it up in the first 20 minutes but failed to capitalise on the chances we got.”

Petje puts the scare down to the boys only just returning to school after a month’s holiday. “Although we gave them each a training regime to follow, it is obvious they didn’t stick to it,” he said. “We have also not been able to schedule any practise games. We were also playing without 2 of our key players who are currently with the SA under-20 national team who are touring West Africa.”

So, for the Clapham technical team, it’s back to the drawing board as they admit there is a lot of work to be done before Saturday. “We need to re-group as the team is not playing like defending champions. We have 8 new recruits and they are under a lot of pressure to repeat last year’s success,” Petje said.

The provincial finals are not going to be easy, the manager said. “Every school will be gunning for us and it’s not going to be easy to remain at the top but we are determined to fight for the title as we want to keep the trophy in our cabinet.”

The following schools have qualified for the Gauteng Provincial Finals

Clapham High School (Tshwane North)

Thaba Jabula Secondary School (Johannesburg North)

East Bank High (Johannesburg East)

Kgoroyathuto High School (Sedibeng East)

Holy Trinity High School (Tshwane South)

M.O.M Sebone Secondary School (Gauteng East)

I.R Lesolang High School (Tshwane West)

Waterstone College (Johannesburg South)

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.

Gauteng Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Inter-district Finals kick-off

The U19 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Gauteng inter-district football finals will be played around the province on July 24 and 25 with 15 district winners playing-off to determine the final 8 schools that will compete in the provincial finals happening at the Giant Stadium, Soshanguve on August 2.

The stakes are high with the provincial winner taking home R100 000 and booking a place, together with the provincial runner-up, in the national finals where the ultimate winner will get R1 million.

The inter-district fixtures were decided by a draw which saw one school, Kgoroyathuto High School, of district D7, drawing a bye to even the teams to 14.

Clapham High School, the 2013 national winners of the competition are in the inter-district playoffs again this year, as are regular participants in the national finals, Ekurhuleni North’s SAFA Transnet Football School of Excellence.

School of Excellence did not, by their standards, have a good Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup tournament in 2013. They went out at the provincial finals stage, and their coach, Whitey Tshowa, is determined not to let that happen again. “2013 is behind them now”, Tshowa said. “We are coming into this tournament with a clear mind and with a positive attitude. The players are motivated and believe in themselves.”

The School will be playing I.R. Lesolang High next week; “We don’t know how strong they are this year but they have had a very good team in the past, so we are definitely not taking them lightly,” Tshowa said.

The problem for all the schools playing in the inter-district playoffs is that they go into the series straight after three weeks of school holidays.

In School of Excellence’s case, the players were given a training programme to follow during the holidays, and Tshowa said he hopes they have taken it seriously. “The program requires self-discipline and the players will be tested when schools reopen to see if they have been following it,” he said. “When schools open it’s back to normal training, because our game against I.R Lesolang is on the first Friday back.  But I have faith in the boys and in my coaching abilities.  Reaching the inter districts level has not been an easy task but we managed to be victorious so far and I know that we are going to continue with the momentum,” he said.

School of Excellence is an academy school and each year they go on road shows all over the country searching for the best players, particularly kids about to go into grade 8.  They are then invited to the school for trials and the best 20 to 25 players remain at the school.  The entire 2014 team might be new to the tournament, but Tshowa says they have been together for years, which gives them the edge and they have the fighting spirit.

Tshowas is a highly-qualified coach. He has a level 3 coaching qualification, a CAF coaching license and is a SAFA instructor. 

Gauteng Inter-District Playoffs Fixtures

24th JULY 2014

Eastbank High (D9) vs Thuto Lore Sec (D12) –Venue:   No. 3 Square, 13th Avenue, Alexander

Clapham High (D3) vs (D6) TBC 23^rd July –  Venue:  TBC 23^rd July

Horizon International High (D11) vs Altmond High (D14) – Venue:  Sporting Lisbon Field - Turfontein

Boitumelo Sec (D8) vs Thabajabula Sec (D10) Venue:  Sebokeng Hostel- Sebokeng

25th JULY 2014

(D2) TBC 23^rd July vs Sebone Sec (D5).  Venue-TBC Tuesday

Holy Trinity High (D4) vs Steve Bikoville (D1) –Venue:   Mbolekwa Stadium - Atteridgeville

I.R. Lesolang High (D15) vs School of Excellence (D17) – Venue:  TUT - Soshanguve

Bye – Kgoroyathuto (D7)

Teams from the North battle in the U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week

The teams at the 2014 U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week in Middelburg have all played one game now, and already the teams from the Northern part of the country have probably all fallen out of contention for a spot in Saturday’s unofficial final.

In recent years, that honour has always gone to two unbeaten teams, and when the Blue Bulls and the Golden Lions went down to Eastern Province and the Free State on day two, they joined the Pumas, who lost to Western Province on day one, in the ranks of the also-rans.

The game of the day on day two was Eastern Province’s 26-25 win over the Blue Bulls. The Bulls led for most of the game and looked to have the win in the game when some heroics by EP fullback, Curwin Bosch, turned the tables on them.

First Bosch sold an audacious dummy and scored under the posts to out his side in touch, and then, in the final minute, converted Athi Mayinje’s try from the corner to snatch the victory.

Bosch also kicked four penalties and converted his own try, for a personal tally of 21 points.

Blue Bulls flyhalf Tinus De Beer contributed 20 points via six penalties and the conversion of their lone try, scored by Ettiene Matthys.

In the final game of the day, Free State beat a disappointing Golden Lions side 33-20. The Lions made numerous handling errors and were penalised heavily at the breakdown, never really giving themselves a chance of victory.

Victor Maruping, Shirwin Cupido and Alexander Jonker scored the Free State tries, with Lourens Steenkamp adding four penalties and three conversions.

For the Lions, Gavin Delport and Armandt Grobler scored tries. Ralton October kicked a penalty and Wikus van Biljon added a penalty and two conversions.

In earlier action on day two, Griquas scored a massive, 96-0 win over Border Country districts, the second biggest victory margin in Craven Week history. The Valke beat Boland 30-26 in an exciting encounter and the Leopards beat Namibia 53-13.

Western Province face SWD in Wednesday’s big game, with the hosts, the Pumas taking on KwaZulu-Natal in the other big game of the day.

Tuesday’s Results

Griquas 96 Border Country 0, Leopards 53 Namibia 13, Valke 30 Boland 26, Eastern Province 26 Blue Bulls 25, Free State 33 Golden Lions 20.

Wednesday’s Fixtures

Zimbabwe v Griquas Country, Limpopo Blue Bulls v Border, Griffons v Eastern Province Country, Pumas v KwaZulu-Natal, SWD v Western Province.