Youngster goes from playing soccer in the dusty streets of Soweto to representing South Africa in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals

When 12 year-old Wandile Mndebele started kicking a ball around in the dusty streets of Protea Glen he wanted nothing more than to be like his older soccer-playing brother Musa. He followed the customary route of youngsters in the area and joined the local club, Protea Glen All stars, and it was that move that made all the difference in his life.

It led to him being spotted by scouts from Bree Primary School while playing a club game against Mavi Stars in Protea Glen.  Ten months later he is getting ready to travel to Morocco with his team to compete in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals.

The youngster recently played in a game against the Mamelodi Sundowns under-13 development team and was identified by the academy coach as a game maker and, if all goes according to plan, he could be with the Sundowns Academy next year.

Joining Bree Primary has made an enormous difference to young Wandile’s schoolwork as well as his soccer. “My grades are improving, the teachers at the school pay attention to us and we understand each other. I have also gained so much soccer experience because of the number of tournaments we play in. I have played many more games since I came to Bree this year, especially in the Danone Nations Cup and I have enjoyed the interaction with the other kids.”

Wandile is convinced that soccer is the only sport for him now.  He is passionate about the game and knows it will take him far.

“Before I came to Bree I had no idea that they had played in the Danone Nations Cup world finals twice, once winning the tournament,” Wandile said. “I knew that I was going to a very good school that focuses on education and sport, but I never realised they had achieved so much in soccer.”

Winning the national finals meant they achieved what they set out to do at the beginning of the tournament. “We told ourselves that we were going to be the team that brought Bree back into this competition. We worked hard from the beginning and were committed from day one.”

The school’s principal, Mr Kalicharan, and the coach, Bafana, went to France with the 2008 team that won the world title.  They encouraged the team to work hard if they also want to travel overseas to play in the world finals of the tournament.

“Ever since we won the national finals it has been an adventure, I have seen pictures and stories written about us in the newspapers, we have watched a live game between Sundowns and Bidvest Wits, and we have had fun.”

“My brother and mother have been very supportive. My brother was the first person I told when we won the nationals.  He is now 26 years old and is the father figure in my life since we lost out dad a few years ago and still helps me with my game.”

Going to Morocco will be the highlight of Wandile’s life so far. “I want to meet players from other countries especially Germany and Argentina; Germany because they won the FIFA World Cup in 2014, and Argentina because of Lionel Messi. He is an incredible player and I one day hope to play just like him,” Wandile said.

“We are under pressure because the last time Bree competed in the World Finals they won so a lot of people will be expecting a win from us and we have to work 10 times hard to make sure that we don’t disappoint them.

 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

Platinum Stars Academy Players help Rustenburg school reach the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup North West Provincial Finals

Rustenburg’s Keledi Secondary School has qualified to play in the North West Uunder-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup provincial finals in their first year of entering the competition.

The finals will be held at the Montshiwa Stadium in Mafikeng on Saturday 12^th September and Lawrence Sedumedi, the team’s manager, is confident that they will proceed from there to the national finals in Soweto from 7^th to 10^th October.

Keledi is the school that the players in the Platinum Stars Academy attend and that, according to Sedumedi has made all the difference.

“We have 17 players that are part of the academy, the partnership with Platinum Stars started last year and since then it has been growing tremendously,” he said. “We have Kobamelo Kodisang, an attacking midfielder who has been selected for the under 17 national team that will compete in the under 17 FIFA World Cup coming up between the 17^th October to the 8^th November, and Charles Baloyi an exceptional midfielder who also plays for the under 17 national team.

“We have always been a school that takes sports seriously, but having the backing of Platinum Stars academy has really boosted the schools performance in soccer.”

Sedumedi said that, while he knew about the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup before, his previous teams were not ready for it. “Last year was the first time the players from Platinum Stars joined us.  I didn’t want to put them under pressure so decided I would use the year to build the team. I wanted to enter this tournament with a strong team and I believe that I have one now,” he said.

Last year’s programme included many friendly games as preparation and Sedumedi feels they are ready this year.

“It’s a huge achievement to qualify for the provincials in our first outing in the tournament,” he said. “There are teams that have been playing since the tournament started who have never reached this level.”

The team is a young one, made up mainly of 16 and 17 year-olds, so they will all still be around next year. “I wanted a team that will play for two years for the school, not having to start afresh every year,” Sedumedi said.

The players are experienced as they play for the Platinum Stars Academy in ABC Motsepe League and SAB Castle League. So they are used to the pressure of high level competitions and that should be to their advantage, Sedumedi believes.

“They have excelled so far, but I knew that they would. They have worked very hard preparing for this tournament. We are just waiting for the 12^th September to come so that we take the title, and then focus on the national finals. That’s where we see ourselves, we want to be in the nationals and compete for the national title.”

The teams participating in the provincial finals are:

Hoerskool Zeerust-Ngaka M Molema District

Tshedimosetso Secondary School-Dr Kenneth Kaunda District

Keledi Secondary School-Bojanala District

Ithuteng Secondary School-Dr R Mompati District

Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Western Cape Provincial Finals Kick-Off

The months of gruelling qualifiers will culminate on Saturday, 5^th September at the Nyanga Stadium with the six Western Cape regional winners battling it out to be crowned the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup provincial champions.  The winner takes home R100 000 and both teams that play in the final match will compete in the national finals taking place in Gauteng from 7^th to the 10^th October.

The teams that have qualified include:  Thembalethu Secondary School (Eden District), Qhayiya Secondary School (Overberg District), Ilingelethu Secondary School (West Coast District), Beaufort West Secondary School (Central Karoo), Excelsior High School (Cape Town) and the Winelands district is still to play their finals.

Excelsior and Qhayiya are not new to the provincial finals having made it this far a couple of times, but for Ilingelethu Secondary School not only is this their first time competing in the provincials but they are competing in the tournament for the first time as well. 

Coach Mfundo Nyunguza came to the school this year and he has made it his mission to build the soccer teams and enter as many tournaments as possible.

“The school did have an under 19 team when I can but it was not competitive.  I have started afresh and select new players,” he said. “The boys responded well and we now have an under-17 and an under-19 team,” he said.

It’s been a great experience for the boys, although so far things have been relatively easy admits Nyunguza. “We didn’t play as many games as I thought we would (6 in total), and I think the real challenge start now in the provincials. We are inexperienced at this level and there is a lot at stake as all the schools will be fighting for the provincial title.”

They don’t really know what to expect, Nyunguza said. “So we will be taking each phase as a learning curve and we hope to soak in as much information as we can for next year.”

Winning the regionals was a huge achievement for Nyunguza personally. “I never thought that I would lead the team to victory especially as this is my first year with the team,” he said. “This has proved to us that if you set your mind on something and put in 100 percent effort you can achieve anything.”

The entire school was surprised to learn that the team had qualified for the provincials for the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup. “They are behind us all the way and we truly appreciate their support, but they are not putting any pressure on the team to win the provincials,” Nyunguza said.

Preparations for the provincial are now underway, with the team training 3 to 4 times a week.

“Luckily we have our own field, even though it’s not in good condition, but at least we don’t have to worry about finding a ground to use,” Nyunguza said. “Another plus is that the boys play for local clubs, so if we don’t train after school, we know they will be training there.

“It’s good for them to be coached by different coaches who have different techniques and methods. What they learn from me they can also learn from their local coaches, which is a win-win situation.”

First timers win the Northern Cape Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial

The under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Northern Cape Provincial Finals took place last weekend and it was Groblershoop High School who emerged victorious after beating Weslaan High School 2 – 1 in the final match. Both teams will be representing their province at the Nationals in Soweto from 7^th – 10^th October.

This is the first time that Groblershoop will be going to the nationals in the 10 years that they have been playing in the competition and the team’s manager, Leon Cloete, puts it down to the school’s changing into a soccer school from a rugby-playing one.

“Rugby was the main sport played,” he said, “but more and more boys are choosing soccer now so we have changed the focus. We still play rugby, which is not a bad thing because our players are very fit, and our backs are all big strong boys who also play rugby,”

The team has worked very hard for this achievement, Cloete said. “We have challenges when it comes to scheduling training as some players live very far from the school and transport is a problem. Sometimes I have to drop the players off at home after training. But we are all dedicated to the cause and did everything we could to ensure that this year we would qualify for the nationals.”

The win was made even more special when a representative from the Department of Basic Education as well as the sports coordinator from their district came to the school to congratulate the boys and wish them well for the national finals.

As provincial winners, Groblershoop has been granted R100 000 by the sponsors, the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, to spend on legacy projects at the school and, although the School Governing Body will have to sit down to discuss how it is going to be used, Cloete would like to buy portable soccer goals for the rugby field that they train on.

Hard work and being focused is what Cloete believes let the team to success. “The team was focused from the beginning.  We were in the same group as Okiep, who are experienced in this competition.  We played them twice, drawing the first game and managing to beat them 2-0 in the second game, which gave the team confidence.”

Then it was Weslaan in the final and, thanks to goals from strikers Ruwey Bosmon and Brandon Scheepers, they managed to win 2-1. “It was a team effort though, every player worked very hard,” Cloete said. “Both teams deserved to be in the final. I am happy that we will be taking two strong teams to the nationals and hopefully one of us at least makes it into the semi finals.”

Now it’s down to hard training. “The nationals will be a new experience for us so my focus will be on keeping the boys fit as we will be playing up to three games a day, building confidence and fine tuning skills.”

Results

Remmogo 1 vs Weslaan 1

Groblershoop 1 vs Okiep 1

Weslaan 3 vs Tetlanyo 1

Okiep 0 vs Groblershoop 2

Tetlanyo 2 vs Remmogo 2

Final - Groblershoop 2 vs Weslaan 1