2012 Nestlé MILO Champions Tournament

The 2012 edition of the Nestlé MILO Champions Tournament goes to the Western Cape this weekend, when the sixth provincial final takes place at Steenberg High School in Cape Town, Western Cape on Saturday, 28th July.

After an exciting tournament last year, Nestlé MILO in conjunction with the South African Schools’ Football Association (SASFA) is excited to host the fifth edition of the U13 schools soccer tournament this year.

The battle for this year’s provincial honour to represent the Western Cape at the National Final in September will see six primary schools from around the provinces’ six districts face off against one another on Saturday.  The six schools that will be participating in the provincial final are: Teske Gedenk Primary, Nomlinganiselo Primary, Phakamisani Primary, Cloetesville Primary and Parkview Primary Schools.

While Saturday’s event promises a lot of on-field action, the Nestlé MILO Champions Tournament is so much more than just a football tournament. By using the platform of sport, Nestlé and SASFA are determined to educate the youth during their formative years about the benefits of leading healthy and active lifestyles while highlighting the positive benefits this has on other life skills.

In light of this and in an exciting development for the 2012 tournament, former Bafana Bafana and Charlton Athletic player, Shaun Bartlett has come on board as the new Tournament Ambassador.  Bartlett, who enjoyed a successful local and international football career for 15 years, remains close to his passion for the beautiful game by running his own children’s football academy in Johannesburg.

“Shaun Bartlett is the ideal Tournament Ambassador, because in addition to his outstanding sporting career, he embodies the very ethos that we at Nestlé are trying to instil in the youth – that of leading a balanced and active lifestyle, while valuing the benefits of a healthy and nutritious diet. We are very happy to have him on board and I’m sure all the participating schools will be very excited about it too,” says Kelly Wainwright, Nestlé South Africa Marketing Manager for Beverages.

The Western Cape school that will be crowned Provincial Champions on Saturday, will receive R10 000 to invest in an initiative which is in line with Nestlé MILO’s values of Nutrition, Health and Wellness. The winning school will be able to use the funds to improve the sporting facilities or buy sporting equipment for their school.

In addition, the overall Nestlé MILO Tournament Champions for 2012 will receive R150 000, to invest in a similar initiative around the school’s sports and wellness infrastructures.

“We wish the best of luck to all the participating schools in the Western Cape this weekend and hope that win or lose, Nestlé MILO and SASFA have not just changed the lives of all youth participating in the tournament by developing their football skills, but also promoted within them, a culture of living a healthy lifestyle,” says Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko, President of SASFA.