Waterberg Danone Nations Cup participation hangs in the balance
The participation of several hundred youngsters from across the Waterberg in the ambitious Danone Nations Cup hangs in the balance.
The participation of several hundred youngsters from across the Waterberg in the ambitious Danone Nations Cup hangs in the balance.
By Monday 29 April the Department of Education in Limpopo and the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) could not come up with a clear answer as to whether under-12 boys from the region will take part in the international tournament.
Warmbaths circuit school sports chairperson, Sekatudi Kgwebane, said following meetings between the two parties, it was becoming increasingly difficult for school teams to prepare and take
part in the coveted Danone Nations Cup.
He said as the regional schools soccer administration, they were still waiting for SASFA Limpopo to say in writing whether the region’s teams could participate.
In the event that the Waterberg has the green light to take part, an inter-school tournament would have to be hosted swiftly, to determine which school team would represent the region in the
provincial Danone Nations Cup tournament.
The Limpopo leg of the elimination stages is scheduled for the Polokwane capital on Saturday 8 June.
The latter preliminary fixtures for the Warmbaths circuit were initially scheduled to have kicked off on Friday 12 April.
The matches have since been kept on hold.
The education authorities have stopped short of refusing to release schoolboys to take part in the competition, until certain issues had been thrashed out.
The Danone Nations Cup for under-12 players is the biggest tournament of its kind in the whole world.
South Africa is one of the two countries to have won the Danone Nations Cup three times, in 2003, 2007 and 2009.
— The BEAT
