Northern Cape Host the first 2014 Danone Nations Cup Provincial Final

The Northern Cape will host the first 2014 Danone Nations Cup provincial final at the Keimos Stadium, on Saturday, 22 March from 9am, with the final game at 2pm.  The winner will represent the province at the national finals in Johannesburg in June.  The ultimate champion will go on to compete in the World Finals in Brazil later in the year.

There will be 5 schools competing, all have already played gruelling qualifiers in their respective regions and are therefore winners already. The schools are: Roodepan Primary School (representing Frances Baard region), Moholeng Primary School (representing John Taolo Gaetsewe region) , Willie Theron Primary School (representing Pixley Ka Seme region), Die Kuil Primary School (representing ZF Mgcawu region and Ferdinand Brecher Primary from Namaqualand.

Roodepan Primary School will be competing in a provincial final for the first time and are proud of their achievements to date.  “Last year we competed for the first time but didn’t make it past the cluster level so used the experience as a learning curve,” said team manager and coach, Enricho Chapman.  “We started preparing for this year’s tournament back in October. The key was selecting the best team and getting them to work as a team as youngsters of this age are inclined to chase the ball as opposed to playing strategically.  That seems to have paid off as we have won every game to date.   Now we are preparing the boys psychologically as they need to be able to play well under pressure.”

Chapman says that the Danone Nations Cup is the highlight of their sports calendar and every player wants to be part of the team.  “The players are going through an intense training programme at the moment.  In the morning before school the boys warm up and we focus on fitness and in the afternoons we focus on ball control.  I believe we are ready for Saturday.”

Chapman is hoping his player that scored 10 goals in the tournament, Given Beyers, will be in action on Saturday.   “Given is a born sportsman and has also been selected for the team to represent the Northern Cape in the National Athletics Championships.”

Assisting Chapman on Saturday will be Kernel Clint, who has a SAFA Level 3 qualification.  “Kernel is coaching a National First Division team and is excellent with kids.  He is good at instilling self belief and positive thinking into the youngsters and I believe he is crucial if we want to win through to the next stage of the competition.”