Rosina to represent South Africa at the world finals of the MUPC 2013

Pretoria-based Rosina Sedibane sports school makes history as the first school team to compete at the annual Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals.

The most talented young footballers from around the world will travel to Manchester, United Kingdom to compete for the coveted Manchester United Premier Cup 2013 championship title. The tournament will see the top twenty under-15 football teams battle it out for the crown from 6th - 9th August.

The talented Pretoria-based squad from Rosina Sedibane sports school will represent South Africa at the most prestigious under-15 football tournament in the world.  The winner’s made history at this year’s South African regional finals, beating Supersport United FC 1-0 and becoming the first school team to qualify for the MUPC World Finals since the tournament was founded in 1993.

Since qualifying for the World Finals, the Rosina youngsters have been hard at work preparing for the international competition, including several trainings sessions with the senior coaching team of one of the top South African football clubs, Mamelodi Sundowns, where they gained valuable technical and tactical experience.

Rosina Sedibane head coach, Reginald Paterson said, “While the boys do not train with a professional football academy like many of the international teams that made it through to the MUPC World Finals, these players have earned their right to represent South Africa and are ready to challenge the best teams from around the globe.”

The youngsters from Rosina were afforded a further experience of a lifetime, meeting internationally renowned players at the top of their game including England’s Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards and James Milner and Serbia’s Matija Nastasić, during a master class training session at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto in July. The young players gained insight into the level of skill required to participate at the top level.

Matches will take place at the Manchester United first team training ground, with the MUPC finalists earning the privilege of playing at one of the most prestigious football grounds around the world, Old Trafford.

The 20 competing teams in this year’s tournament include:

Dallas Texans (USA)

Chivas FC (Mexico)

San Luis de Quillota (Chile)

Boca Juniors (Argentina)

Internacional (Brasil)

Arsenal (UK)

Manchester United (UK)

Borussia Dortmand (Germany)

AC Milan (Italy)

NK Domzale (Slovenia)

GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Real Madrid (Spain)

Grasshopers (Switzerland)

Right to Dream (Ghana)

Rosina Sedibane Sports School (South Africa)

Saswco (Indonesia)

Ulsan Hyundai FC (Korea)

Omiya Ardija (Japan)

Shandong Luneng FC (China)

Onehunga Sports (New Zealand)