U14 schools league set to kick-off
JOBURG - Grassroots football players in Alexandra and around Gauteng schools are hard at work preparing their teams in the hope of reaching the 2014 McDonald’s U14 Schools League provincial finals scheduled for Women's Day on 9 August.
Schools in Alexandra and around Gauteng are hard at work preparing their teams in the hope of reaching the 2014 McDonald’s U14 Schools League provincial finals.
The Gauteng finals are scheduled for Women’s Day on 9 August.
The preliminaries of the fifth edition of the league started on 22 April, leading up to the various provincial finals and the ultimate national finals which are scheduled to take place in Gauteng at the Nike Sports Stadium in Pimville, Soweto from 1 to 4 October.
The tournament, run by McDonald’s South Africa in partnership with the South African Schools Football Association (Sasfa), is a legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa and has become McDonald’s South African social responsibility programme.
“The 2010 Fifa World Cup cemented our passion for the game on an international level, and four years later on the eve of yet another World Cup – this time in Brazil – we at McDonald’s South Africa are proud to be still fulfilling our legacy and long-term commitment to developing football around children,” said McDonald’s South African corporate affairs director, Sechaba Motsieloa.
Speaking at the launch president of Sasfa, Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko said, “We shall not sit out another World Cup. We are going to Russia and McDonald’s South Africa is making sure of that through its development of grassroots football, which is the cornerstone of the success of Bafana Bafana,” he said.
McDonald’s South Africa football ambassador Teko Modise of Mamelodi Sundowns said he grew up watching and idolising the likes of Steve Lekoelea. “I loved the crafty football he played.
“This is a message to all youngsters not to stop dreaming because where there is a dream, there will always be a way. If you don’t dream, then you are doomed. Dream first and then live that dream and all will be okay,” Modise said.
