SA young soccer champs introduce new players

THREE new players have been introduced in the Hammarsdale school soccer team, Mophela Primary which will be competing in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup World Finals in New York.

Three of the players who were in the team that won the South African title won’t be making the trip due to commitments associated with their cultural and family traditions.

So, striker, Sithembiso Ngcongo, goal keeper, Siyathanda Ndlovu and right wing Nhakanipho Ndlovu will not be going and there will be three new players on the trip.

The school’s principal, Cyril Ntsele, said they will have to prepare them mentally to accept the change of culture, the different languages and the sheer size of New York and the USA.

Also read: Hammarsdale soccer stars head to USA

“The plane flight will be new to all of them, but we know what to expect, but what they will struggle to fully understand is the enormity of New York. We are showing them videos of New York and the history of the USA to get them better prepared,” said Ntsele.

“Things have changed at the school since they won the Danone Nations Cup national title. The local municipality has come in and they are very supportive of the boys, trying to help them prepare better.

“But what we need the most is a proper football field,” said Ntsele.

“There is no suitable facility in the area, so we have to travel to train on a field that will be comparable to the excellent facilities that we are going to encounter at the world finals. The ball will move faster and bounce higher there, meaning the game will be quicker so we need to get to a training facility with similar fields to get in a bit of practice,” explained Ntsele.

Apart from that challenge, Ntsele has confidence in the team.

“The three players we have brought in are as good as those they are replacing and I’m sure the boys will quickly adapt to whatever conditions they experience,” he said.

There will be teams from 32 nations competing at the world finals and the last of the other 31 nations around the world are currently finishing their qualification processes.

The participants will soon know which countries will be in their pool and the tournament will take place from Friday, 22 to Sunday, 24 September.

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