By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa
Soccer bosses would do well to pay close attention to the COPA Coca-Cola tournament for the next generation of stars.
The competition is a global schools football development programme and in Africa it is fast grooming future football stars.
This initiative gives millions of young football fans the opportunity to come together and celebrate their passion for football.
Clapham Secondary School from Gauteng lifted the 2017 edition of the Copa Coca-Cola National Finals after beating North West-based Sol Plaatjie Secondary School in the final.
Pretoria-based Clapham, a Mamelodi Sundowns feeder school, eased their way into the final by beating the likes of St Francis 3-0, Moroka High School 5-0 and Luckhoff Secondary School 4-2.
The final, which was played at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Claremont, Durban, proved to be a tighter affair, with Clapham winning 1-0 against Sol Plaatjie.
Western Cape-based Luckhoff finished third, beating St Marks International School from Mpumalanga 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the third/fourth place play-off.
The top three schools walked away with R60 000, R30 000 and R25 000 respectively, with the intention that the money will be used to help develop sporting facilities in their regions.
Now in its third year, the campaign’s 'Which Part Will You Play' initiative sees ambassador Simba Marumo (a former Bafana Bafana international), together with a panel of football experts, visit all nine provinces in search of players that embody and represent the dynamic and unique roles needed to make up a successful team – The Rock, the Heart, the Perfectionist, the Rebel, the Joker, the Impossible, the Machine, the Artist, the Mastermind and the Legend. Players fitting these characteristics are selected to form the ‘Which Part Will You Play’ All-Star team, and will be given the opportunity to play at the National Finals.
Phindi Phiri, Coca-Cola South Africa’s Marketing Assets Manager commented, “We at Coca-Cola are proud to continue supporting the development of youth football through initiatives like ‘Which Part Will You Play’. These initiatives allow us to identify and reward outstanding talent in the COPA Coca-Cola u15 Football Tournament. Congratulations to our ‘Perfectionist’, Kamogelo, who has received a great opportunity to be a part of an All-Star team that will play Bloemfontein Celtics Academy at the National Finals.”
The build up to the national finals also saw, Bastiaanse winning the Western Cape Provincial Finals of the 2017 edition of the COPA Coca-Cola U15 Football Tournament hosted by Coca-Cola, in conjunction with the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA), at the Robinvale Sports Ground in Atlantis, Cape Town, after beating Robinvale High School 2-0 in the final.
Dirang Kanatla Comprehensive High School from Khuma, have been crowned as the new COPA Coca-Cola North West champions after beating three strong regional champions in a round-robin competition, at Kloofview Primary School in Rustenburg, s coupple of days ago.
Dirang Kanatla, who displayed a clinical performance throughout that day and managed a clean sheet, which then join the champions from Gauteng, KZN, Eastern, Northern and Western Cape at the COPA Coca-Cola National Finals that take place from 28-30 September.
Roy-Keane Du Plessis, a talented striker from Robinvale High School was identified as The Machine and will join the ‘Which Part Will You Play’ All-Star team, representing the Western Cape province. Keane, the speedy and explosive attacker, was chosen after showcasing great ball skills and goal-scoring characteristics, as he propelled his team to a runners-up finish.
“I am truly excited to be going to the National Finals and meet up with other young talent from outside my province. I’m grateful for the continued support and encouragement from my teammates and coaches and I believe my school will bounce back strongly in the 2018 edition of the COPA Coca-Cola tournament. I can’t wait to meet my ‘Which Part Will You Play’ team mates”, said a delighted Du Plessis.
Progress Comprehensive High School boys from Osun State, Nigeria have won the 2017 edition of Copa Coca-Cola U-15 tournament and are now in full celebratory mood after weeks of hard won and tension-filled matches, with each players smiling home with N500,000 cash prize for Education Trust Fund.
The victory came after Osun boys defeated the Imo State boys at the National Final match played at the Onikan stadium, Lagos Island on Friday.
Osun State’s emergence as champions of this year’s edition of the tournament ended weeks of football matches that started with over 5000 schools and 110,000 players from across 36 states of the federation including the FCT.
Determined and focused all through the tensioned final match that ended in a 1-0 score line, both teams put up a strong spirited fight for the trophy and the mouth-watering education trust fund. In the end, it can be said that the better team won as the Osun boys pulled an ace from their hat with a narrow victory.
Patricia Jemibewon, speaking on the memorable day, the Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria, congratulated the 2017 Copa Coca-Cola champions for their outstanding performances in the tournament, stating that their hard work and team spirit earned them the victory.
“We are forever committed to unlocking the potentials of exceptionally talented teenagers because we believe in their passion.”
And captain of the winning team, Lawal Ismail, who was unable to control his happiness, shed tears of joy and declared that he was overwhelmed and grateful to Coca-Cola for the chance to participate in the tournament.
The second place winners, Owerri City College, Imo State, were given a reason to smile home after losing out on the precious trophy when each player received a cash prize of N300,000 education trust fund while Government Junior Secondary School, Katsina were also not left out of celebration with each player receiving cash prize of N200,000 education trust fund.
Other winners celebrated at the grand finale were best goalkeeper throughout the tournament, Moses Aluko of FOSLA Academy, Abuja, Most Valuable Player of the tournament, Adesina Kumater of FOSLA Academy, Abuja, and Highest Goal Scorer of the tournament, Henry Williams of Owerri City College, Imo, who will be joined by 5 other players to visit Copa Coca-Cola International Camp in South Africa later in the year.
Some weeks ago, Jinja Secondary School from Uganda won their first ever Copa national schools football title after overcoming 8 time winners, St Mary’s Kitende in a closely contested final played at the Masaka Recreational stadium before a capacity crowd.
Joel Madondo scored the opener for Jinja S.S before Kennedy Kasozi found the equalizer two minutes from full time and force the game into post match penalties.
Jinja S.S won 4-3 in the shoot out as they earned their first ever national schools football title.
The tournament record winners Kibuli S.S overcame Nakaseke International 1-0 to take third place and be guaranteed of a slot at this year’s East Africa Secondary school games that will be hosted in Gulu district by St Joseph College, Layibi.
And with over 1.3 million teenagers from more than 60 countries taking part. COPA Coca-Cola is now recognised internationally as the leading grassroots football programme in the world.
In addition, youngsters and football supporters are urged to support their teams. And they can also follow the action on social media using #COPACocaCola for news updates and results.
No comments:
Post a Comment