The cream of the province’s u.15 soccer talent will be in action during the provincial playoffs of the 2018 Copa Coca-Cola tournament launched earlier this month.
This year’s tournament will see 57 winning schools from the regional playoffs engage each other for the honour of representing their province at the national finals to be held in Port Elizabeth between 26 and 29 September.
The Limpopo finals to determine the provincial representatives will be hosted at Malamulele Stadium on
1 September. The finest of South African school’s football talent will be competing under the watchful eye of the new Copa Coca-Cola ambassador and scout, Jabu Mahlangu. Fifteen players will be hand-picked during the national finals for a once in a lifetime opportunity namely to form part of the Copa Coca-Cola Future Stars camp.
Coca-Cola Marketing Assets Manager, Puso Makume during the launch reportedly expressed excitement about the tournament and its ability to touch the lives of thousands of teenagers across the country. “Since its inception, Coca-Cola has successfully used this tournament to instil important values of teamwork, sportsmanship and discipline in the lives of youngsters while encouraging teenagers to create lifelong positive memories and associations,” he reportedly said.
The tournament has become synonymous with assisting scouts from various academies to discover raw talent and groom future stars for clubs and the country. The company’s investment in South Africa’s grassroots football structures has been showcased through the rise of renowned players such as former South African u.20 and Orlando Pirates striker Excellent Walaza, Bafana Bafana midfielder Andile Jali, Orlando Pirates’ defender Happy Jele and Amajita defender Notha Ngcobo.
The Copa Coca-Cola Future Stars camp will see the youngsters being introduced to professional methods of playing football as well as play a series of friendly matches against u.15 club academies in South Africa. The camp will aim to provide the talented players with yet another opportunity to be scouted on one of the best development stages.
With over 1.3 million teenagers from more than 60 countries taking part, Copa Coca-Cola is recognised globally as the leading grassroots football programme in the world. Youngsters are urged to support their teams or follow the action on social media using #EverythingForFootball.
Story: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert.observer@gmail.com
