Rebonwe girls come back victorious
IVORY PARK – After their success in Spain, Rebonwe Primary Schools' girls U15 soccer coach Emmanuel Gogela said that passion is what led them that far.
Rebonwe Primary School’s U15 girls soccer team emerged victorious during the Danone International Cup, which was held in Barcelona.
The team, hailing from Ivory Park, left for Spain in August and came back with three trophies as well as gold medals. The Danone Nations Cup is the world’s largest international soccer tournament for 10 to 12-year-old learners with over two million children participating in the tournament each year.
Emannual Gogela, who is the team’s head coach and a teacher at the school, said that he was surprised by the team’s undeniable talent which landed them in the international challenge.
“For us to end up in Spain, we had to face many difficulties yet we always made it a point to win. We started playing with about 15 schools around Ivory Park, we then played in the district cup against Alexandra schools and so forth, followed by regionals, provincials then nationals and we always came out first.
“The hard work we put it landed us in Barcelona playing against schools and soccer academies from all over the world.”
Gogela added that there is nothing that can beat passion, “What drives our team is passionate teamwork, unity and togetherness. The learners’ listening skills were vital in bringing us this far.”
Middle field player, Anna Mohlabeng, expressed her joy and said that the trip was very exciting. She added, “We enjoyed it as a team, we tried our best to win, we even got gold medals and our coaches were happy.”
Talking about the important lessons she learnt, goalkeeper, Notepe Ramokgonami said that some countries played better football. “I did not believe we would be playing against people better and taller than us, we thought we would play with people in our level but nonetheless we came back with trophies.”
Team captain Nompilo Dlamini added, “My experience was that my teammates are very good listeners and do their best to do the right thing. As a player I also encourage them when we lose and they encourage me too.”
Team managers, Lilian Mabasa and Tlhabana Simon Mavila said that they were happy with the learners’ results and it is spectacular to see how the girls have represented their school, country and continent.
Details: Rebonwe Primary School 011 261 6037.
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