After 11 weeks of intense regional and provincial finals Sol Plaatjie were crowned national champions
Sol Plaatjie Secondary School were crowned McDonalds-SASFA Under-14 Schools League champions on Saturday at the Sinaba Stadium in Daveyton. The school from the North West Province were victorious over Oval North from the Western Cape.
After a tactically intense match that finished goalless in the Final, the boys from the North West prevailed 4-2 on penalty kicks to walk away as national champions after a gruelling weekend-long tournament, which comprised of nine teams.
The final day of the tournament kicked off with playoffs for various positions. Motloboni from the Limpopo Province were beaten 3-0 by Retshidisitswe of the Free State to finish seventh.
Ntsikayendlu from Kwa-Zulu Natal then defeated Coramondel from Mpumalanga to finish the tournament in fifth place.
In the playoff match for third position, Bophelo from Gauteng – who were favourites for the title but then fell short in the semi-finals – were victorious over Kimberley Boys from the Northern Cape.
The president of the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA), Mandla ‘Shoes’ Mazibuko, congratulated Sol Plaatjie on their win and emphasised the greatness of seeing underdogs prevailing.
“These boys have done well to have come this far and be national champions,” said Mazibuko, who is also the deputy president of SAFA.
“We are used to seeing teams from the big cities doing well. Teams from Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal always do well in these tournaments but it is a good thing to see Western Cape, Northern Cape and North West being up there with the usual suspects.
“Everyone that has taken part in the tournament is a winner no matter what because 10 years later if they visit their current schools they will see their pictures in the principal’s office.”
The winning coach said that his boys hadn’t had enough time to gel but
discipline, hard work and talent saw them through.
“We only got these boys this year at the school,” said Clifford Shale, who is also an educator at the Mafikeng based school. This is the youngest team we have at our school and in the little time they have been with us they have done well, exceeding all expectations.
“Imagine where they could be next year as a team if they are playing like this now. We are extremely proud of them and we hope that they continue this in the classroom because education is balanced with sport. They know the books come first, I am very strict when it comes to discipline with them.”
With McDonalds and SASFA having begun this relationship just after the 2010 FIFA World Cup to start this tournament, Corporate Affairs Director at McDonalds, Sechaba Motsieloa, is excited about the future.
“There is no reason why we can’t grow from strength to strength,” says Motsieola.
“We hope that these boys develop as better footballers and people after this tournament. These are future Bafana Bafana players that have been playing at this tournament.”
Champions: Sol Plaatjie (North West)
Runners-up: Oval North (Western Cape)
Third Place: Bophelo (Gauteng)
Fourth Place: Kimberly Boys (Northern Cape)
Fifth Place: Ntsikayendlu (Kwa-Zulu Natal)
Sixth Place: Coramondel (Mpumalanga)
Seventh Place: Retshidisitswe (Free State)
Eighth Place: Motloboni (Limpopo)
Disqualified: Vulamazibuko (Eastern Cape)