Junior football showdown

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” –

Marcus Aurelius

EAST London will host the eight district winners in the Danone Nations Cup Eastern Cape Provincial Finals this weekend.

The 2019 world finals of the Danone Nations Cup will take place in October at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain and the race is on to see which school will represent South Africa there.

When the world tournament was last in Spain, in Madrid in 2011, a school from the Eastern Cape – Barkerville Senior Primary School of Mount Frere – won the South African national finals and competed against 39 other nations there.

This weekend schools from the province will fight for the right to go to the 2019 nationals to see if they can repeat Barkerville’s success. The eight district winners will be at the Orlando Sports Fields, Saule Road, NU2 Mdantsane, East London today for a 9.30am kickoff. Entrance is free and every spectator at the stadium will receive Nutriday, Yogisip, Danup and more, courtesy of the sponsors Danone.

Representing the Amathole district again this year will be Fort Malan Primary School based in Willowvale, north of East London.

The school principal, Zama Mgedezi, is also the team manager. The school has been participating in the tournament for years, but they have never progressed far. In 2015 Mgedezi became principal and his workload became excessive, and in 2017 he called in a passionate soccer fanatic from the area to help coach the team, and he became the manager.

It was the right decision and the past two years they made it to the provincial finals. This year he hopes to go a step further and take the boys to the national finals in Gauteng on June 15.

“I take my coaching seriously and I believe that one must show the boys, so I get into my kit at training and go on to the field and show the boys different tactics,” Mgedezi said. “I teach football in the classroom as well as on the field. It’s important that the boys know the rules of the game.”

Mgedezi believes in the power that soccer has in bringing people together. In 2004 he formed a club, the Red Lions.

“There are too many distractions for the youth, so I decided to start a football club to keep them occupied and we have been very successful over the years. Recently the local ward councillor held a tournament which we won and we received a set of soccer kit.”

Bisho Full Service School, coached by Vuyani Hermans, will represent Buffalo City at the provincial finals. This is the second time they have entered, and reaching the provincial final in their second year is a dream come true for the coach.

“I enjoy coaching these young boys. They listen well and are keen to improve their skills.”

Nutrition and hydration are important and the coach has purchased food and sports drinks in preparation.

“We will play many games on the one day which will be challenging and I want to ensure the boys are always at their peak,” Hermans said.

Their strategy is simple, Hermans explained.

“My boys are versatile and can adapt quickly. I hope we don’t play in the first game of the day so we can observe the other teams and adapt accordingly. That’s how we approached the games at cluster and district level.”

Today’s provincial winner will go on to compete against the other eight provincial champions at the national finals in Gauteng on June 15. The ultimate winner will represent the country at the world finals. All the teams will play their final match of the tournament at the RCDE Stadium (home of La Liga club Espanyol) in Barcelona, on October 12.

To celebrate Danone’s centenary and the 20th edition of the Danone Nations Cup both the 2018 and 2019 world finals will take place together this year. The winner of the 2019 national finals will join last year’s winner, Nomlinganiselo Primary from the Western Cape.

The world finals are also a platform for Danone to educate youngsters.

“This year coincides with our new brand positioning and purpose, One Planet One Health, which reflects our belief that the health of humankind and that of the planet are interlinked and both need to be protected and nurtured,” said Marlinie Kotiah, of Danone Southern Africa.

“Through the Danone Nations Cup we are contributing to bringing this vision to life by promoting the importance of exercise. Further, we are encouraging our young athletes to ‘Play Football, Change the Game’, which is a rallying message to unite children, irrespective of their backgrounds and cultures, and to encourage them to become catalysts for positive change,” said Kotiah.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS:

ALFRED NZO: Patekile Primary School AMATHOLE: Fort Malan Senior Primary School

BUFFALO CITY: Bisho Lower Primary School

CHRIS HANI: Ntabelanga Senior Primary School

JOE CQABI: Maruping Primary School NELSON MANDELA BAY: Seyisi Primary School

OR TAMBO: Guqaza Primary School SARAH BAARTMAN: Luxolo Intermediate School