Rosina
Sedibane Sports School were crowned champions of the 20th Manchester United
Premier Cup South Africa Finals after beating Supersport United FC 1-0 in an
epic final at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto today. The thrilling
finish sees Rosina lift the trophy for the first time in the tournament’s
history and will go on to represent South Africa at the World Finals being held
in Manchester, United Kingdom in August this year.
Excitement
was certainly the order of the day as both semi-finals went to penalty
shoot-out to determine the teams for the final play-off; an exhilarating
display of young talent to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the tournament.
Eight of the best under-15 football teams competed for the prestigious title,
with defending champions from last year, Ajax Cape Town, missing out on their
opportunity to secure their title in the group stages.
Bafana
Bafana player and Nike athlete, Siboniso Gaxa attended the finals and went on
to say, “it is an amazing opportunity for these youngsters to play against the
best in their category and ultimately the winning team gets to see what
professional football is all about, including meeting teams from around the
world.”
The
MUPC 2013 player of the tournament as voted for by the coaches was Kamohelo
Mahlatsi from the winning team, Rosina. The top goal scorer award went to Edwin
Sekhwama who netted 6 goals each in the tournament.
Head
Coach of Rosina, tournament champions, Reginald Paterson said: “I’m so proud of
the team, all of the hard work has come together and we are really excited for
this incredible opportunity to go and play in Manchester.”
Seruscka
Naidoo, Communications Manager for Nike South Africa said, “The 20th
Anniversary of the MUPC delivered some great football from the youngsters. We
wish Rosina all the best as they represent SA in the world finals. It is an
amazing experience for these youngsters to play semi-professional football at
this age which only the MUPC can offer at such a competitive level.”
Semi-Finals
Both semi-finals went to penalty shoot-out,
with Supersport United FC beating Mamelodi Sundowns FC 6-5 and Rosina FC
qualifying for the final against SAFA School of Excellence 5-4.
3rd/4th Place
Play-Off
SAFA Transnet School of Excellence 2-0
Mamelodi Sundowns FC
Final
Rosina Sedibane Sports School 1-0 Supersport
United FC
