National finals to be held in Durban

The provincial finals of the U-19 biggest football tournament in Africa, the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, gets underway on Saturday with Mpumalanga being the first host province.

Both the winners and runners-up will go through to the national finals in Durban in September and stand a chance of winning R1-million, to be used to fund projects that will make a difference to the learners of the school and the community at large.

The Tournament is run under the auspices of the South African Schools Association (SASFA).

"This is the most exciting period of the tournament where the best teams in the nine provinces fight for a position in the final of this prestigious tournament. We are hoping that PSL teams and SAFA Junior national team's coaches will come to scout players,” said Steve Pila, SASFA General Secretary.

In the past three years R10.2-million has gone to schools to fund legacy projects via the tournament.

That figure is set to rise over the next few months as the provincial champions each get R100 000 and the top four sides at the national finals get R1-million, R600 000, R500 000 and R400 000, respectively.

Projects that schools have spent their winnings on include boreholes, upgrading of classrooms, soccer fields, purchase desks, computers, soccer kit, fencing off the school and much more.

The defending champions are Gauteng’s School of Excellence who have completed their cluster games and are about to embark on the regional playoff stage of the competition.

Tournament Sponsors, Sanlam, believe that the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup creates opportunities that have a positive impact on the youth and also provides exposure to scouts for those players who have the talent to go further in the game.

“This sponsorship has many objectives, one of which is to give back to the community and reward excellence by offering substantial prize money. We also want to encourage as many footballers as possible between the ages of 15 and 19 to compete and possibly to be seen by soccer scouts. Players who stand out are then recruited into development structures to be nurtured and shaped into professional footballers,” said Frank Louw, Sanlam’s Sponsorships Manager.

The tournament also contributes to enhanced learning through improved educational facilities for the benefit of the rest of pupils in the winning schools and the broader communities around them.

(File photo: Gallo Images)

-ECR Sportswave