St Marks International School from Nelspruit are the new Mpumalanga champions of the COPA Coca-Cola U15 Football Tournament.
The school won the provincial tournament hosted by Coca-Cola in conjunction with the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA), held at the Ka-Mhlushwa Stadium in Malelane on Saturday after beating Zecheous Malaza Secondary School 3 – 1 in the final.
COPA Coca-Cola is a global initiative that gives millions of young football fans a chance to come together and celebrate their passion for football, and also affords them the opportunity to realise their greatest potential by living an active healthy lifestyle.
The South African initiative searches for raw talent to find the best U15 school teams, as well as the most promising U15 talent in the country by conducting level-by-level knockout competitions.
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Furthermore, COPA Coca-Cola has added a new innovation to the 2015 edition of the tournament through the new ‘Which Part Will You Play’ campaign which recognises that every footballer plays an important role in their team beyond football skills.
Coca-Cola will be selecting an invitational side, which will travel to the COPA Coca-Cola National Finals, comprising of 11 individuals who epitomise the key components which make up a successful football team.
Mandla Mokoena, a striker from Zecheous Malaza Secondary School was selected to join the invitational side after being identified as ‘The Legend.’ Mokoena was selected for his fearless and impressive defensive skills which helped keep his team in the in the tournament right through to the final.
Mokoena will join the 10 other character selectees at the COPA Coca-Cola National Finals scheduled for 23–26 September 2015.
MPUMALANGA RESULTS
TEAMS
• Lindile Secondary School – Ermelo
• Zecheous Malaza Secondary School – Emalahleni
• St Marks International School – Nelspruit
• Manekuse High School – Bushbuckridge
TEAM RESULTS TEAM
Lindile Secondary School 0 – 0 St Marks International School
Manekuse High School 0 – 3 Zecheous Malaza Secondary School
Lindile Secondary School 0 – 3 Zecheous Malaza Secondary School
St Marks International School 5 – 0 Manekuse High School
Lindile Secondary School 1 – 0 Manekuse High School
Note: Lindile secondary school & Manekuse secondary school forfeited points for fielding default players.
FINAL
TEAM RESULTS TEAM
St Marks International School 3 – 1 Zecheous Malaza Secondary School
St Marks International joins St Francis College (KwaZulu-Natal), Moroka Secondary School (Free State) Luckoff Secondary School (Western Cape), Sol Platies Secondary School (North West), Molly Blackburn High School (Eastern Cape) and Steynville High School (Northern Cape) in the COPA Coca-Cola National Finals list. The seven teams will wait for the remaining finalists to be determined in the remaining Provincial Finals.
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